Angeloni, E. (Ed.). (2002). Annual Editions: Physical Anthropology 03/04 (12th ed.).Guilford, CT: Dushkin.

Harris, M. & Johnson,O. (2003). Cultural Anthropology (6th ed.). Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.

Hasten, L. L. (Ed.). (2000). Annual Editions: Archaeology 01/02 (6th ed.). Guilford, CT:
Dushkin.

Spradley, J. & McCurdy, D. W. (2003). Conformity & Conflict: Readings in Cultural
Anthropology (11th ed.). Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.

Weiner, A. B. (1988). The Trobrianders of Papua New Guinea (Case Studies in Cultural Anthropology). Belmont, CA: International Thomson Publishing.

Our goal for this course is to give you a greater understanding of what it means to be human-an understanding that we are animals, but animals with culture. After completing this course, you should be able to:

• discuss the central themes of anthropology as they are studied in its four dimensions-biological anthropology, archaeology, linguistic anthropology, and sociocultural anthropology-and used in applied settings
• trace the development of our species from an ape-like quadruped to a two-legged walker, talker, and thinker
• understand the concept of culture, the way in which anthropologists study it, and its essential role in our survival as a species
• describe how the anthropological view of cultural and ethnic differences can generate solutions to problems of contemporary human existence
• appreciate anthropology as a profession and outline its role beyond the academic community

This course will introduce you to the study of what it means to be human. Beginning with the basic principles of evolution, the course traces the development of our species from an ape-like creature to the two-legged thinker and talker who depends on the unique invention called culture for survival.

To answer the questions of where we came from and why we behave the way we do, biological anthropologists and archaeologists study the physical and material remains of our ancestors, whereas anthropological linguists and sociocultural anthropologists observe the behavior of contemporary human groups.

This course begins with a brief history of the discipline and an introduction to the concepts that unify and guide research in the four dimensions of anthropology, (1) sociocultural anthropology, (2) biological anthropology, (3) linguistic anthropology, and (4) archaeology.

After examining the fossil evidence for human evolution over the past two million years, we will consider what can be learned about the basic patterns of cultural behavior in human society today. We will look at cross-cultural research on language acquisition and social interaction, plus comparative studies of economic, political, and legal institutions. You will learn how anthropologists go about studying human interaction and how they survive the challenges that confront them during fieldwork.

We will complete this course with an evaluation of anthropology in a complex society and its future as a discipline in the twenty-first century.

 3 Writing Assignments:
(1) Physical Anthropology-10%,
(2) Archaeology-10%,
(3) Cultural Anthropology and Ethnology-10%,
(4) Midterm Exam-35%,
(5) Final Exam-35%

Course Grades will be assigned as follows:

A = 90 to 100
B = 80 to 89
C = 70 to 79
D = 60 to 69
F = Less than 60

1. Physical Anthropology Research Writing Assignment  (Using Course Materials)
   Please address the following assignment in essay format and include in-text citations and a bibliography. Write 1500 words.
   For this assignment, you are required to use course materials. Please plan on incorporating at least three different sources in your paper. More sources are better. In this paper, describe the human evolutionary family tree. Start with Sahelanthropus tchadensis and go through Homo Sapiens Sapiens. Give the basic characteristics of species along the way. What are the controversies of this scheme? Detail at least one controversy. Which argument do you favor? Explain why.
   In your essay, include introduction and conclusion. Be sure to document sources throughout, including page numbers. This is a research paper with your resources being the course materials.
   Assignment due: __________________
   
   
2. Archaeology & Prehistory Research Writing Assignment (Using UMUC's Library Electronic Databases)
   This writing assignment requires the use of databases accessible through UMUC's electronic library. Please do not use popular search engines for this research. You may use resources previously listed in your Bibliographic mini-assignment. (described below).
   For this assignment, you are to write a letter to a nephew or niece explaining the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA).
   • Please explain to your young relative what NAGPRA is, what the law says and what it is trying to accomplish.
   • Relate some of the controversies around this law and the different points of view. Tell your young relative who supports this law and why, and also who has objections to the law and why.
   • Tell your young relative about "Kennewick Man." Relate the background and the accompanying controversy. Explain what the most current situation is.
   • Share with your young relative your opinion of NAGPRA and of the Kennewick Man situation.
   • Please address all parts of this question in your letter. Please include in-text citations and a bibliography. Your letter should be about 1500 words.
     Date Due:*nbsp;_____________
     
     
3. Cultural Anthropology Research Writing Assignment: Ethnography
   I read and I forget.
   I see and I remember.
   I do and I understand.
   -Confucius

   Choose one of the two topics below to enhance your sense of what cultural anthropologists do, how they think, and why their work is important. Please clear your topic with the instructor. Write about 1500 words plus appendix.

   1. Mini-Ethnography
      This is your opportunity to "do" anthropology; to do a mini-ethnographic study. One way of thinking of this project is that you are the proverbial Martian coming from outer space to learn about life on earth. You are to choose a cultural setting to describe in a formal ethnography.
      1. Preliminary preparation:
         • Choose a cultural setting to focus on. It should be a narrowly defined situation. Your cultural scene may be new or one that is familiar to you.
         • Write an ethnography
         • The physical and social setting you are studying, e.g., the location, the details about the social and cultural "artifacts," the persons involved, and any other defining aspects of the situation
      2. Your methodology (describing how you went about your research)
         • Your findings (what you learned)
         • Your conclusions (what is important about what you learned)
         • Your role as participant observer (what your reactions are to being an outsider and how your perceptions have changed as a result of your work)
         • Relate what you learned to concepts presented in the course materials
         • Include in appendices a chart showing the taxonomies of your project Use the above list as a guide for the sections of your paper as you write your mini-ethnography.
            
           OR
            
           
   2. Interview of a Practicing Cultural Anthropologist
      • In this assignment, you are to interview a professional practicing anthropologist. Address each of the following points in your essay.
      • Explain in detail the work the anthropologist does. If the anthropologist works with a team, describe the roles of the team members, the mission and purpose of their project.
      • Describe the training and educational background of the anthropologist.
      • Detail the skills used by the anthropologist in his/her work.
      • Analyze the anthropologist's work in terms of the basic anthropological unifying concepts of holism, universalism, adaptation, and cultural relativism. To what extent do these concepts support the anthropologist's work?
      • Evaluate the importance of the anthropological perspective in this work.
        Date Due: _____________

Week 1 Introduction to Anthropology. Read: Harris Ch 1-3; Hasten, units 1 and 2; How to avoid plagiarism tutorial.
Biology and Behavior. Read: Angeloni Units 1-3;
Harris, ch.6

Week 2 Fossil Evidence of Human Evolution. Read: Angeloni units 4-6, Modern Humans. Read Angeloni, unit 5

Week 3 Electronic and Ethnographic Research. Read: Weiner, xi-31, Spradley, part 2
Written Assignment #1 Due
Tools for tracking human evolution. Read: Hasten units 3 & 4

Week 4 Beginnings of Social Complexity and Language. Read: Harris
Ch. 4-7, Hasten unit 5
Midterm Exam

Week 5 Cultural meaning of adaptation. Read: Harris Ch. 8, Spradley, parts 5 & 6, Making a Living. Read:Spardley, part 4, Harris, Ch.7 Assignment #2 due

Week 6 Law and Society. Read: Spradley part 7, Harris ch.9-12 In the field. Read:Harris (re read) Ch.1

Week 7 Applied Anthropology. Read: Spradley, Part 9, Harris 17,18 and 19
Written Assignment #3 due

Week 8 Contemporary Issues. Angeloni, unit 7, Hasten unit 6.
Final Exam.