Undergraduate Course: Human Origins (ARCA10003)

Course Outline
School	School of History, Classics and Archaeology	College	College of Humanities and Social Science
Credit level (Normal year taken)	SCQF Level 10 (Year 3 Undergraduate)	Availability	Available to all students
SCQF Credits	20	ECTS Credits	10
Summary	The course provides an overview of human biological and cultural evolution from the first hominins to the emergence of our own species, Homo sapiens, using evidence provided by archaeology, molecular biology, and biological and social anthropology.
Course description	The aim of the course is to provide students with a greater awareness of where we came from, and how we have developed physically and culturally over the past seven million years. Topics covered include: how scientists study human evolution; climate change and evolution; primate origins; the earliest hominins and the origins of bipedalism; evolution of the brain, intelligence and language; reconstructing diet and behaviour; the origin and global expansion of modern humans.

Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
Pre-requisites		Co-requisites
Prohibited Combinations		Other requirements	Pre-requisites: Archaeology 2A and 2B, or Honours entry to degrees in Classics, or equivalent.
Additional Costs	None

Information for Visiting Students
Pre-requisites	Visiting students should have at least 3 Archaeology courses at grade B or above (or be predicted to obtain this). We will only consider University/College level courses.
High Demand Course?	Yes

Course Delivery Information

Academic year 2017/18, Available to all students (SV1)		Quota: 8
Course Start	Semester 1
Timetable	Timetable
Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info)	Total Hours: 200 ( Lecture Hours 22, Summative Assessment Hours 2, Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4, Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours 172 )
Assessment (Further Info)	Written Exam 40 %, Coursework 60 %, Practical Exam 0 %
Additional Information (Assessment)	Essay: 2000-word limit (excluding bibliography) - 40% Poster: A2-size (420 x 594 mm) - 20% Exam: 2 hours; 2 questions to be answered from a choice of 6 - 40%
Feedback	Students will receive written feedback on their coursework, and will have the opportunity to discuss that feedback further with the Course Organiser during their published office hours or by appointment.
Exam Information
Exam Diet	Paper Name		Hours & Minutes
Main Exam Diet S2 (April/May)			2:00

Academic year 2017/18, Part-year visiting students only (VV1)		Quota: 6
Course Start	Semester 1
Timetable	Timetable
Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info)	Total Hours: 200 ( Lecture Hours 22, Summative Assessment Hours 2, Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4, Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours 172 )
Assessment (Further Info)	Written Exam 40 %, Coursework 60 %, Practical Exam 0 %
Additional Information (Assessment)	Essay: 2000-word limit (excluding bibliography) - 40% Poster: A2-size (420 x 594 mm) - 20% Exam: 2 hours; 2 questions to be answered from a choice of 6 - 40%
Feedback	Students will receive written feedback on their coursework, and will have the opportunity to discuss that feedback further with the Course Organiser during their published office hours or by appointment.
No Exam Information

Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to: demonstrate, by way of coursework and examination as required, command of the body of knowledge considered in the course; demonstrate, by way of coursework and examination as required, an ability to read, analyse and reflect critically upon relevant scholarship; demonstrate, by way of coursework and examination as required, an ability to understand, evaluate and utilise a variety of primary source material; demonstrate, by way of coursework and examination as required, the ability to develop and sustain scholarly arguments in oral and written form, by formulating appropriate questions and utilising relevant evidence; demonstrate independence of mind and initiative; intellectual integrity and maturity; an ability to evaluate the work of others, including peers.

Reading List
Arsuaga, J.L. and Martinez, I. 2006. The Chosen Species: The Long March of Human Evolution. Oxford: Blackwell. Cartmill, M. & Smith, F.H. 2009. The Human Lineage. Hoboken, Wiley-Blackwell. Dinnis, R. & Stringer, C. 2014. Britain: one million years of the human story. London, Natural History Museum Harris, E.E. 2015. Ancestors in our Genome. Oxford, Oxford University Press. Jobling, M.A., Hurles, M. and Tyler-Smith, C. 2004. Human Evolutionary Genetics: Origins, Peoples and Disease. New York: Garland. Stringer, C. 2012. The Origin of Our Species. Harmondsworth, Penguin.