ANTHROPOLOGY SERIES
Adventures with our Ancestors:

The Relationship of Neandertals to Modern Humans
Professor Janet Monge

This course is co-sponsored by the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, located at 33rd and Spruce Streets, Philadelphia. The entrance for the course is at the east end of the building, next to the garage.

LECTURES ARE HELD FROM 6:30 to 8:00 PM

1. Monday, October 3, 2011 - A brief synopsis of all of human evolution.
   During this class meeting we will visit the new installation of the human evolution exhibit at the Penn Museum.
2. Monday, October 10, 2011 - An evolutionary definition of Homo sapiens.
   This lecture will explore the essential biological and behavioral substrate of what constitutes our species and how we have come to understand the evolutionary origins of Homo sapiens.
3. Monday, October 17, 2011 - Are we part Neandertal?
   The anatomy of Neandertals and early modern human forms.
4. Monday, October 24, 2011 - Are we part Neandertal? Part 2.
   The behavior and archaeology of Neandertal and early modern human sites. Discussion also includes information about the geographic and temporal distribution of both groups.
5. Monday, October 31, 2011 - Early Homo sapiens.
   What do we know about the earliest fossil forms that are placed in our species Homo sapiens? Are they different from Neandertals in both biology and behavior?
6. Monday, November 7, 2011 - The origins of humanness.
   Did humanness emerge with the origin of the fossil forms that we call Homo sapiens? Or did modern behaviors pre-date modern biology? We should all revel in our evolutionary history as Neandertals!
7. Monday, November 14, 2011 - Comparative anatomy lab.

Neandertal and early modern human fossils are national treasures of their country of origin. We have dozens of first quality casts illustrating most of the major fossils in the late phases of human evolution. Compare these casts to each other and see the actual evidence for human evolution.

One of the most enigmatic fossils in all of human evolution is placed in the category Neandertals. Recognized as an extinct form of humans for close to 150 years, these fossils are easily the most numerous group in all of the 6 million year history of human evolution. Even with many newly discovered fossils, and with recent ancient genetic studies, the relationship of this group to ourselves (Homo sapiens sapiens) is a constant source of debate and discussion. In the end, the discussion of the place of Neandertals is predicated upon the formulation of a definition of what constitutes humanness and when the behaviors associated with humanity emerge.

Recommended reading:

The Clan of the Cave Bear.  By Jean M. Auel. Any edition. (A novel about the co-existence of Neandertals and modern peoples. There are several books in this series, but this is the best one.)

What Does It Mean to Be Human? By Rick Potts and Chris Sloan. National Geographic Press, 2010.

Smithsonian Intimate Guide to Human Origins. By Carl Zimmer. Harper Paperbacks, 2007.

The Complete World of Human Evolution. By Chris Stringer and Peter Andrews. Thames & Hudson, 2005.

Cro-Magnon: How the Ice Age Gave Birth to the First Modern Humans. By Brian Fagan. Bloomsbury Press, 2011.

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