Human Origins and
Prehistory
Laboratory Assignments
These relatively simple labs are designed to
provide you with insights to key issues in Bioanthropology and
Archaeology.
Because we don't have lots of space or equipment, some labs
will be "talk and demonstration" in nature. Some require you to do
simple tasks outside the classroom. You should prepare a brief report on
the lab, 3-5 pages in length, outlining what you did in the lab and what
you learned from it. These reports are mostly free form, but try to
address the following key questions:
- What are the key principles of this lab as discussed in class?
- Can you see elements of what is dealt with in the lab in your life outside the classroom? If so, how?
- If the lab required outside work, what were the results of your efforts?
- What do you think you learned from this lab?
Laboratory 1: Concepts of Time
A key variable in both bioanthropology and archaeology is explored in demonstration, discussion, and a small, take-home assignment.
Laboratory
2: Evolution of Primate Anatomy
Several key features have undergone remarkable evolutionary change and are visible in the skeletons of our fossil ancestors. You should be able to identify most of them in lab specimens and and some of them in the human population at large. This lab has you make a chart and make observations of some of the traits in those around you in order to observe the variation.
Laboratory 3: Civilizations and Sacred Landscapes
All cultures develop a feeling of deep attachment to their landscapes and hold them in high regard, whether they are religious, historical, or ideological. In this lab you analyze the IUPUI campus as a sacred landscape.
Laboratory
4: Monumental Architecture