Our species has a capacity for flexible biological response to environmental conditions within a lifetime, as well as specific adaptations acquired over the long span of evolution. Pre-industrial human populations, sharing a similar range of physiological capacities, succeeded in occupying much of the globe and a wide diversity of environments. This course examines this adaptability and its limits in an anthropological context, with particular attention to nutrition, the physical environment, and disease. The main sections of the course will be: on nutritional ecology, discussing the adequacy of the diet (especially in energy and protein) for health and growth, and environmental and social influences on nutrition; on environmental physiology, especially responses to physical factors (e.g. climate), also psychosocial factors (e.g. stress); on disease ecology, contrasting patterns of disease occurrence in traditional and developing societies with those in developed societies, and considering the processes involved in selected cases; and finally on the critical assessment of arguments that interpret aspects of culture as adaptations to biological variables, such as protein needs, population pressure or nutrient flows in the ecosystem. Throughout, examples for study will be selected on a cross-cultural basis, with a focus on indigenous, traditional and developing societies, but with some attention also to developed societies.

By the end of this course, you should be able to

          ·        Master the essentials of the factual groundwork presented in the course, especially in the lectures and the required readings; and demonstrate awareness of key facts and the contributions of pivotal authors in the literature on human population nutrition, population health, and environmental stress and adaptability, viewed cross-culturally

          ·        Demonstrate a secure grasp of fundamental concepts in nutrition, epidemiology and general human adaptability, especially at social, cultural and population levels

          ·        Master basic epidemiological measures sufficiently to be able to draw correct inferences from population health information, including simple quantitative information, with which you may be presented

          ·        Use a selective case study approach to explain a topic or argument in the field orally to your peers, in a clear, concise, analytical and evidence-based manner, couched so as to elicit discussion; and respond thoughtfully to the substance of peers' similar contributions

          ·        Draw together material from a range of scholarly sources relevant to a topic or proposition in the field, to form a unified text which sets out your own independent, where appropriate critical, assessment of that material, balancing general argument and supporting evidence

2,500 word essay (45%), examination (40%), tutorial presentation (15%).

Normally offered in even-numbered years
Up to 2 hours lectures, one hour of tutorial and one hour of film per week

Two first-year courses in the School of Archaeology and Anthropology (ANTH, ARCH or PREH) and/or the School of Botany and Zoology. This course is intended to complement BIAN2125 which focuses more on skeletal evidence.� Biological Anthropology students are recommended to take both.

Harrison, G., Tanner, J., Pilbeam, D. and Baker, P. Human Biology, Part IV, 3rd edn, Oxford UP, 1988.
Ashcroft, F. Life at the Extremes, Harper Collins, 2000.
McMichael, T. Human Frontiers, Environments and Disease, Cambridge UP, 2001.