Physical Anthropology

Physical Anthropology, also called Biological Anthropology or Human Biology, represents the biocultural approach to understanding the human condition. Central concerns are the study of human diversity, the biological history and evolution of our species, and the biocultural factors that have shaped human biology and populations in the past and present.

Physical Anthropology, also called Biological Anthropology or Human Biology, represents the biocultural approach to understanding the human condition. Central concerns are the study of human diversity, the biological history and evolution of our species, and the biocultural factors that have shaped human biology and populations in the past and present.

Because not every one of these courses is taught in every year, students are advised to consult the timetable about course scheduling.

1st-year courses include:

• 1AA3 - Introduction to Anthropology: Sex, Food, and Death. This course examines major issues in Anthropology in contemporary and past societies from archaeological, biological, cultural, and linguistic perspectives. It will focus on sex, food, illness, death, and related themes.
  
• 1AB3 - Introduction to Anthropology: Identity, Race, and Power. This course examines major issues in Anthropology in contemporary and past societies from archaeological, biological, cultural, and linguistic perspectives. It will focus on identity, power, migration, race, and related themes.

2nd-year courses include:

• 2AN3 - The Anthropology of Food and Nutrition, looks at human food use and nutrition from a broad anthropological perspective.
• 2DO3 - Genetics in Anthropology, explores the application of DNA to anthropological questions.
  
• 2EO3 - Human Variation and Evolutionary Change, provides an introduction to the mechanisms of producing human biological diversity;
• 2FF3 - Human Skeletal Biology and Bioarchaeology, studies the human skeleton and its analysis in archaeological contexts; and
• 2UO3 - Plagues and People, examines the interactions between populations and disease.

3rd-year courses include:

• 3FA3 - Forensic Anthropology, explores the analysis of human skeletal remains in medico-legal contexts;
• 3H03 - Anthropological Demography, offers an overview of basic demographic principles and methods from an anthropological perspective;
• 3PP3 - Palaeopathology, in which origins and evolution of human diseases are examined

4th-year courses include:

• 4R3 - Skeletal Biology of Earlier Human Populations, explores the methods used in the investigation of human skeletal samples; and
• 4S3 - Infectious Disease in Human Evolution, where the role of infectious disease in human history and contemporary society is examined.

Special topics in Anthropology (3W03, 3WW3, 4JJ3) and Independent Research (4G03, 4GG3) can also be used to study special topics with one of the physical anthropologists in the department.