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Bioanthro lab activity: Estimating Miocene ape body mass
We’ve arrived at the Planet of the Apes, also known as the Miocene, in my “Bones, Stones and Genomes” course. The living apes are but a small remnant of what was a pretty successful radiation starting...
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Bioanthro lab activity: Primate proportions
My Intro to Bio Anthro course, focusing on human uniqueness, has moved from the brain to bipedalism. After the abysmally big brain, perhaps the most grotesque aspect of the human species is our wont to...
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Gracile & robust Australopithecus
Last week, I introduced my Human Evolution students to the “robust” australopithecines. It was a very delicate time, when we had to have a grown up, mature conversation about adult things. I reminded...
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Bioanthro lab activity: What species is it?
We’re learning about the divergence between robust Australopithecus and early Homo 2.5-ish million years ago in my Human Evolution class this week. Because of this multiplicity of contemporaneous...
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Bioanthro lab activity: Sexual dimorphism
A few weeks ago we examined sexual dimorphism – characteristic differences between males and females – in my Intro to Bioanthro class. Sexual dimorphism roughly correlates with aspects of social...
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Bioanthro lab activity: Hominin brain size
Last week in my Human Evolution class we looked at whether we could estimate hominin brain sizes, or endocranial volumes (ECV), based on just the length and width of the bony brain case. Students took...
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Updated bioanthro syllabi
This term I’m teaching two of my favorite classes, and I’ve updated their syllabi on my Teaching page. First is a 200-level class about human biological variation and issues surrounding race. Second...
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Scientific Racism
The site’s been quiet in 2017, with little time to blog on top of my regular professional responsibilities, and of course watching the fascist smoke rising from the garbage fire of our 45th...
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New anthropology syllabi for 2017
This Fall I’m teaching three courses at Vassar, two in Anthropology and one in Environmental Studies. Syllabi are posted to my Teaching page in case anyone wants to use them – here are the highlights:...
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New decade, new syllabi
We just kicked off the Spring semester here at Vassar College, and so I’ve got some freshly-updated bio-anthro syllabi hot off the press. This semester, I’m doing my annual introductory class (Anth...
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