Course description

The aim of the course is to familiarize students with aspects of human evolution in the context of development, individual and species-specific traits, skill acquisition, adaptation, and species diversification from primates to Homo sapiens sapiens. Students will explore the foundations of scientific inquiries into evolutionary theory, its principles, and research methods used to determine genotypes and date sediments and fossils of various origins. The course is designed to trace the evolutionary history of humans and their ancestors based on anatomical changes resulting from adaptations to different environmental niches, influenced by climate changes and events of regional and global significance.

• Approaches to the Study of Human Evolution
• Evolutionary Processes and Time Scale
• Primates – how important they are in human evolution
• Hominidis – variations and taxonomy
• Human origin – hypotheses and speculations
• Homo ergaster and erectus – Emerging Modern Morphology
• Emerging Modern Behaviors: Early Stone Age/ Lower Palaeolithic Age
• Homo heidelbergensis and neanderthalensis or Early „Archaic” H. Sapiens
• Origin of Modern Homo sapiens: Morphology and Genetic Evidence
• Modern Human Diversity: Distribution, Morphological Variations and „Races”
• Final test