ANTH 1032
Introduction to Biological Anthropology and Archaeology
Winter 2026; Orillia
Topics
- Archaeological methods and interpretation of evidence
- Evolution, genetics and primates
- Early hominins, the genus Homo and Neanderthals
- Human migration and biological variation
- Domestication, food production and health
- Art, status, wealth, death and burial
- Power, economy, travel and trade
Readings
- Required: Larsen, C. S. Essentials of Biological Anthropology. W. W. Norton & Company, 2025. Edition number not stated in the materials section.
- Permitted older alternative: The syllabus permits the 2022 version but states that students remain responsible for the 2025 assigned content and that pagination and information may differ.
- Additional required readings: Journal articles supplied on MyCourseLink and listed in the syllabus reading list; read before the corresponding class.
Fall 2025; Georgian/Barrie
Topics
- Archaeological methods and interpretation of evidence
- Evolution, genetics and primates
- Early hominins, the genus Homo and Neanderthals
- Human migration and biological variation
- Domestication, food production and health
- Art, death and burial
- Power, economy, travel and trade
Readings
- Required: Larsen, C. S. Essentials of Biological Anthropology. W. W. Norton & Company, 2022. Edition number not stated in the materials section.
- Additional required readings: Assigned journal articles supplied through MyCourseLink, with a reading list in the syllabus.
Fall 2025; FDE
Topics
- Biological origins of humans and the emergence of culture and civilization
- Evolutionary thought, genetics and modern evolutionary theory
- Human biological variation and adaptation
- Primate taxonomy, living non-human primates and primate evolution
- Human evolution and the study of past peoples
- Archaeological concepts, methods and relevance to the modern world
Readings
- Required for biological anthropology half: Explorations: An Open Invitation to Biological Anthropology. 2nd edition. Open-access online text: https://explorations.americananthro.org/ . Author and publication year are not stated in the required-text section.
- Assigned for archaeology half: No textbook required for archaeology; assigned videos and readings are specified in the course outline and supplied through D2L.
Sources
- Course catalogue ↗2026–2027
- syllabus ↗Winter 2026; Orillia
- Course source ↗
- syllabus ↗Fall 2025; Georgian/Barrie
- syllabus ↗Fall 2025; FDE
- Additional readings or course materials are supplied through the course site or course pack.; Manually checked Required Materials and Lecture Outline. Readings are the 2025 textbook plus assigned journal articles. Topics come from the actual course description and lecture schedule, excluding policy and copyright text. A further full journal bibliography appears on pages 5–6 of the source.
- Additional readings or course materials are supplied through the course site or course pack.; Manually checked Required Materials and course description. This section specifies the 2022 book, unlike the Winter 2026 Orillia section. Topics summarize the anthropology and archaeology scope; policy text is excluded.
- Additional readings or course materials are supplied through the course site or course pack.; Manually checked Required Texts, course description and course schedule. This online section differs from the Whitaker sections and uses an open-access textbook. Required-text heading explicitly says no textbook for the archaeology half. Policy and copyright text is excluded.