Faculty Syllabus
ANTH-2301 Physical Anthropology
Sherry Heiden
Credit Spring 2026
Section(s)
ANTH-2301-020 (34003)
LEC TuTh 12:00pm - 1:20pm RGC RG10 1326.00
Course Requirements
There will be four (4) noncumulative exams for the 4 Units of work in this course. Each exam will be composed predominantly of multiple-choice questions, though true/false, matching, and short answer questions may also be used. The questions will be drawn from lectures, readings, class discussion, and videos. Exams will be taken in lecture.
There are also graded activities: Class Phenotype Profile (20pts), Zoo Observation Project (40pts), Skeletal Structure Quiz (20pts), and Hominin Skulls Quiz (20pts).
Students may replace missed Unit Test or lowest Unit Test score with optional cumulative Final and/or submit a 20pts Extra Credit Review..
Readings
Essentials of Physical Anthropology, 10th edition (2017), by R. Jurmain, L. Kilgore, W. Trevathan, and E. Bartelink. Wadsworth Cengage Learning.
There will be a link to a free online version of edtion 9 posted in Blackboard.
ISBN-13:978-1-305-86623-2 and ISBN-10: 1-305-86623-1
Additional Zoom lecture, readings and supplementary material will be posted to Blackboard
Course Subjects
Introduction to Physical Anthropology/Genetics:
-what is anthropology, what is physical anthropology, scientific theory
-key individuals and their contributions to evolution
-DNA, DNA replication, Cell Division, Protein Synthesis, Genes, alleles, Mendelian traits, inheritance, population genetics (Hardy-Weinberg equation)
-Natural Selection, Genetic Drift, Mutation, etc.
-Human variation and adaptation
-Forensic anthropology
Primates: macroevolution, taxonomy/phylogeny, primate characteristics, living primates, primate behavior and culture
Paleoanthropology: Primate evolution, early hominins, bipedalism, early Homo, modern human origins
Student Learning Outcomes/Learning Objectives
By the end of this course, the student
-Will be able to describe what anthropology and physical anthropology are.
-Will understand the methods and theories of physical anthropology.
-Will understand the processes of evolution.
-Will understand the processes of biocultural evolution and hominin evolution.
-Will understand human diversity.
Office Hours
T Th 10:30 AM - 11:55 AM RGC nain building rm 1131
NOTE You may also email me sheiden@austincc.eduPublished: 01/21/2026 15:00:20