ANTH324: The Human Machine: Anatomy, Biomechanics, and Evolution
Instructor:David Raichlen
Course description and Objectives:
The purpose of this course is to examine the biomechanics of human activities and, where relevant, the evolution of associated human anatomy. Activities the course will cover include walking, running, grasping, throwing, chewing, speaking, breathing, and thermoregulation. The unique combination of studying anatomy and evolution together will allow us to explore not only how the human body works, but why it works the way it does. We will draw together information from human and nonhuman mammalian anatomy, biomechanics, engineering, and paleoanthropology to accomplish these goals. In addition to covering basic anatomy, biomechanics, and evolution, this course will examine how we know what we know. That is, we will carefully discuss the methods used to understand human movement patterns.
Course Requirements:
1)Exams. There will be two non-cumulative exams (25% each).
2)Term Paper. There will be one 6-8 page term paper due on the last day of class (25%). The topic of the paper is open, but must address the mechanics of a human activity. You must include at least 5 primary references (journal articles). We will go over how to search for appropriate articles in class, and you will become familiar with the indexing sites Web of Science and Pub Med.
3)Laboratories. Laboratories will meet once per week and will cover mostly anatomy and biomechanics. There will also be labs examining the evolution of the human body (25%)
Grading:
Total grade will be calculated out of 400 points as follows –
Exam 1: 100 points
Exam 2: 100 points
Term Paper: 100 points
Laboratory Total: 100 points
Each laboratory will consist of an activity and a lab report which will be worth 10 points. At the end of the semester, your cumulative lab grade, as a percentage of total lab points, will be calculated. This value, expressed in points, will be used to determine your overall grade in the course.
A: 360 – 400 pts
B: 320 – 359 pts
C: 280 – 319 pts
D: 240 – 279 pts
F: < 239 pts
Textbook:
Aiello, L. and Dean, C. (1990). An introduction to human evolutionary anatomy.
Academic Press: London.
Lectures and Readings:
Meeting 1 / Course IntroductionMeeting 2 / The Human Skeleton
Meeting 3 / Muscles and Nerves
Aiello and Dean (1990), Chapter 2
Meeting 4 / Biomechanics I: Bone Biomechanics
Aiello and Dean (1990), Chapters 2 & 3
Meeting 5 / Biomechanics II: Movement
Aiello and Dean (1990), Chapters 2 & 3
Meeting 6 / Lower limb anatomy
Review website lower limb
Meeting 7 / Walking
Aiello and Dean (1990), Chapter 19
Alexander, R. McN. (1984). Walking and running. American Scientist. 72, 348-354.
Meeting 7 / The evolution of Walking
Aiello and Dean (1990), Chapter 14
Stern JT (2000). Climbing to the top: A personal memoir of
Australopithecus afarensis. Evolutionary Anthropology. 9, 113-133.
Meeting 8 / Running
Bramble DM and Lieberman DL (2004). Endurance running and the evolution of Homo. Nature. 432, 345-352.
Saibene F and Minetti AE (2002). Biomechanical and physiological aspects of legged locomotion in humans. European Journal of Applied Physiology. 88, 297-316.
Meeting 9 / Breathing, Circulation and Energy
Aiello and Dean (1990), Chapter 15
Cartmill et al. (1987). Human structure. Harvard University
Press: Cambridge, MA. Pp.115-126.
Meeting 10 / Midterm1
Meeting 11 / Upper limb anatomy
Review website upper limb
Meeting 12 / Reaching and Throwing
Aiello and Dean (1990), Chapters 16 & 17
Larson SG (1993). Functional morphology of the shoulder in
primates. In (Gebo, DL, ed.) Postcranial adaptation in nonhuman primates. Northern Illinois University Press: Illinois. Pp. 45-69.
Meeting 13 / Grasping and Toolmaking
Aiello and Dean (1990), Chapters 16 & 18
Marzke et al. (1998). EMG study of hand muscle recruitment
during hard hammer percussion manufacture of oldowan tools. American Journal of Physical Anthropology. 105, 315-332.
Marzke MW and Marzke RF (2000). Evolution of the human
hand: Approaches to acquiring, analyzing, and interpreting the anatomical evidence. Journal of Anatomy. 197, 121-140.
Meeting 14 / Anatomy of the head
Review website cranium
Meeting 15 / Chewing and eating
Aiello and Dean (1990), Chapter 6
Spencer MA and Demes B. (1993) Biomechanical analysis of
masticatory system configuration in Neandertals and Inuits. American Journal of Physical Anthropology. 91, 1-20
Meeting 16 / Speech
Aiello and Dean (1990), Chapter 13
Tecumsah Fitch, W. (2000). The evolution of speech: A
comparative review. Trends in Cognitive Sciences. 4, 258-267.
Meeting 20 / Hearing and balance
Carey, J & Amin, N (2006) Evolutionary changes in the cochlea and labyrinth: Solving the problem of sound transmission to the balance organs of the inner ear. Anatomical Record Part A. 288A: 482-489.
Meeting 21 / Sight and Smell
Dominy, NJ, Lucas, PW, Osorio, D, & Yamashita, N (2001) The sensory ecology of primate food perception. Evolutionary Anthropology. 10: 171-186.
Meeting 22 / Midterm2
Meeting 23 / Thermoregulation
Ruff, CB (1993). Climatic adaptation and Hominid evolution:
The thermoregulatory imperative.
Meeting 24 / Size and Scaling in animals
Schmidt-Nielson, K (1984) Scaling: Why is animal size so important? Chapters 2 and 3
Fleagle J (1985) Size and adaptation in primates. In W Jungers (ed): Size and Scaling in Primate Biology, pp. 1-19, Plenum Press.
Meeting 25 / Comparative locomotion
Alexander, R (2003) Principles of Animal Locomotion, Chapter 3
Meeting 26 / Sports: Cycling
Alexander, R (2003) Principles of Animal Locomotion, Chapter 18
Meeting 27 / Sports: Swimming
Alexander, R (2003) Principles of Animal Locomotion, Chapter 17
Meeting 28 / Robotics
Delcomyn, F (2004) Insect walking and robotics. Annual Review of Entomology. 49: 51-70.
Meeting 29 / Conclusions - The future of the human body
Meeting 30 / Final
1