- UCAS course code
- B940
- UCAS institution code
- M20
Bachelor of Science (BSc)
BSc Biomedical Sciences
Duration: 3 years
Year of entry: 2025
UCAS course code: B940 / Institution code: M20
- Key features:
Study abroad
- Typical A-level offer: AAA-AAB including specific subjects
- Typical contextual A-level offer: AAB-ABC including specific subjects
- Refugee/care-experienced offer: ABB-ABC including specific subjects
- Typical International Baccalaureate offer: 36-35 points overall with 6, 6, 6 to 6, 6, 5 at HL, including specific requirements
Course unit details:
Primate Evolution and Human Origins
| Unit code | EART36202 |
|---|---|
| Credit rating | 10 |
| Unit level | Level 6 |
| Teaching period(s) | Semester 2 |
| Available as a free choice unit? | No |
Overview
Through a combination of lectures and practical classes, the unit will explore the evolution of humans and study particular morphological and behavioural adaptations through comparative anatomy of the skeleton. Considerations into the environmental background of human evolution and the dispersals of ancestral human species will be included, along with studies of cognitive evolution and the formation of primate and human societies. Although largely focussed on primate skeletal morphology, this unit will also include components relating to material culture as well as the latest developments in genetics and proteomics that inform our understanding of human evolution and the origins of modern human populations.
Aims
To detail our latest understanding of human evolution, adaptation and the impacts that our species has had on others.
Learning outcomes
On the successful completion of the course, students will be able to: | Developed | Assessed | |
ILO 1 | Identify key differences between human skeletons and those of our primative relatives | X | X |
ILO 2 | Explain what information is used to identify and describe distinct hominin species | X | X |
ILO 3 | Identify the principles of evolutionary adaptation and explain their role in human evolution | X | X |
ILO 4 | Be able to discuss how modern technologies have revolutionised our understanding of human evolution | X | X |
ILO 5 | Describe the key lines of evidence for the evolution of human cognitive capacity | X | X |
ILO 6 | Discuss the impact that human evolution has had on other animal species | X | X |
Syllabus
Topics:
Lecture material includes the fossil record and dating methods, primate fossils, primate evolution and locomotion, hominin evolution, encephalisation, skeletal variation between the sexes, genetics, skeletal variation with ageing, primate behaviour, tools, culture and human impacts on the environment, palaeoclimates, dispersals and language.
Laboratory practical classes will largely focus on skeletal anatomy, ranging from studying primate crania, stature and locomotion, australopithecine crania and encephalisation, sexing and ageing, as well as learning about lithic cultures.
Teaching and learning methods
Predominantly based on lecture-informed laboratory practical sessions (6 x 3-hour sessions, composed of 2 x 1/2-hour lectures and 2 x 1-hour laboratory practical classes, see course content below for titles, supplemented with two additional introductory and summary lectures prior and subsequent to the 6-week block of combined classes).
Assessment methods
| Method | Weight |
|---|---|
| Written exam | 50% |
| Practical skills assessment | 50% |
Feedback methods
Assessment type | % Weighting within unit | Hand out and hand in dates | Length
| How, when and what feedback is provided | ILO tested |
Exam | 50 | 2 | 3, 4, 5 & 6 | ||
| Lab practicals (report) | 50 | One week after each lab | 2 | Optional self-tests via blackboard, along with written feedback given during special session at end of semester 2 | 1, 2, 5 |
Recommended reading
Gibson, K.R., Gibson, K.R. and Ingold, T. eds., 1993. Tools, language and cognition in human evolution. Cambridge University Press.
King, G.E., 2015. Primate Behavior and Human Origins. Routledge.
McKee, J.K., Poirier, F.E. and Mcgraw, W.S., 2015. Understanding human evolution. Routledge.
Sahle, Y., Reyes-Centeno, H. and Bentz, C. eds., 2019. Modern Human Origins and Dispersal. Kerns Verlag.
Scarre, C., 2005. The human past: world prehistory and the development of human societies. Thames & Hudson.
Study hours
| Scheduled activity hours | |
|---|---|
| Lectures | 10 |
| Practical classes & workshops | 14 |
| Independent study hours | |
|---|---|
| Independent study | 76 |
Teaching staff
| Staff member | Role |
|---|---|
| Michael Buckley | Unit coordinator |