Offered By	ANU College of Arts and Social Sciences
Areas of Interest	Biological Anthropology

Biological anthropology is the branch of anthropology that focuses on the evolutionary and biological aspects of humankind: Homo sapiens as an evolved species - human populations as varied and dynamically changing sets of biological individuals, adaptable but also vulnerable to ever-changing circumstances. It is also concerned with the non-human primates, and with current debates on the biological bases of human social behaviour. The subject thus encompasses what used to be called physical anthropology, as well as primatology, palaeoanthropology and human population biology, including human genetics and the study of human health, nutrition, growth, demography and ecological adaptation, viewed comparatively and synthetically.

The pass degree courses are planned, not to provide specialised professional training, but to present students with an overall understanding of biological anthropology and its main sub-fields. Honours courses offer more specialist training and examine in more depth the discipline's theoretical basis. Students considering the possibility of entering careers as professional biological anthropologists should plan their courses with a view to taking the degree with Honours. Specific preparation for honours work begins in third year.

 

IMPORTANT NOTE:

Due to structural changes in the undergraduate program rules in 2012, the courses that make up the new 2012 majors may be different to the pre-2012 majors, and therefore some courses cannot be counted between majors.  Students are advised to contact the CASS Student Office if they are unsure about their Majors.

 

Learning Outcomes

Students who complete this major will have the skills and knowledge to:

• define the scope of biological anthropology as a discipline and situate it in a wider anthropological context
• apply the discipline’s theoretical approaches and research methodologies in the investigation of primate evolutionary and population biology
• critically discuss contemporary and historical research in at least four of the following subfields: fossil evidence for human evolution; evolutionary primatology; behavioural primatology; human skeletal morphology; bioarchaeology; anthropological genetics; human population health, nutrition and environmental adaptability; human population dynamics.
• recognise and reflect on local and international perspectives on research in biological anthropology.

Requirements

This major requires the completion of 48 units, which must include:

A maximum of 12 units from completion of 1000-level courses from the following subject areas:

ANTH – Anthropology

ARCH – Archaeology

BIOL – Biology

 

A minimum of 24 units from completion of core courses from the following list:

BIAN2013 – Human Evolution (6 units)

BIAN2115 – ‘Race’ & Human Genetic Variation (6 units)

BIAN2119 – Nutrition, Disease & the Human Environment (6 units)

BIAN2125 – Ancient Health & Disease (6 units)

BIAN2126 – Primate Evolutionary Biology (6 units)

BIAN2127 – Primate Ecology & Behaviour (6 units)

BIAN3012 – Topics in Primatology (3 units)

BIAN3013 – Topics in Human Evolution (3 units)

BIAN3014 – Research Design & Analysis in Biological Anthropology (6 units)

BIAN3015 – Human Skeletal Analysis (6 units)

BIAN3017 – Research Design in Biological Anthropology (3 units)

BIAN3115 – Regional Topics in Human Genetic Variation (3 units)

BIAN3119 – Regional Topics in Nutrition, Disease & the Human Environment (3 units) - Scheduled for deactivation

 

A maximum of 12 units from completion of courses from the following list:

ANTH2026 – Medical Anthropology (6 units)

ANTH2127 – Genes, Memes & Cultural Difference (6 units)

ANTH2132 – Food for Thought: Anthropological Theories of Food & Eating (6 units)

ANTH2133 – Social Animals: Anthropological Perspectives on Animal-Human Relationships (6 units)

ARCH2054 – Archaeology of Death & Mortuary Practices (6 units)

ARCH2108 – Animals, Plants & People (6 units)

ARCH2126 – Analytical Methods for Anthropology & Archaeology (3u) (6 units)

BIAN2064 - Anthropology of Environmental Disasters (6 units)

BIAN2120 – Culture, Biology and Population Dynamics (6 units)

BIAN2124 – Human Society as Animal Society: Sex, Conflict, Co-operation & Human Uniqueness (6 units)

BIAN2128 – Forensic Anthropology & Archaeology  (6 units)

BIAN2129 – Supervised Research in Biological Anthropology (6 units)

BIAN2130 – Ancient Medicine (6 units)

BIAN3010 – Scientific Dating and Isotope Analysis for Archaeology & Palaeoanthropology (6 units)

BIAN3016 – Analysis of Mammalian Remains (3 units)

BIAN3120 – Regional and Thematic Topics in Demographic Anthropology (3 units)

BIOL2103 – Human Physiology (6 units)

BIOL2151 – Principles of Genetics (6 units)

BIOL2191 – Ecology of Health & Disease (6 units)

BIOL3131 – Evolutionary & Behavioural Ecology (6 units)

BIOL3142 – Parasitology  (6 units)

BIOL3204 – Human Genetics (6 units)

ENVS2011 – Human Ecology (6 units)

ENVS2012 – Sustainable Systems: Urban (6 units)

ENVS2022 – Sustainable Systems: Rural (6 units)

PSYC2007 – Biological Basis of Behaviour (6 units)

The information published on the Study at ANU 2012 website applies to the 2012 academic year only. All information provided on this website replaces the information contained in the Study at ANU 2011 website.