Undergraduate Course: Human Origins and the Genesis of Symbolic Thought (SCAN10055)
Course Outline
| School | School of Social and Political Science |
College | College of Humanities and Social Science |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 10 (Year 3 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | The course covers human origins from a social anthropological point of view. Topics include the history of the idea of 'human origins' in social anthropology; comparisons between humans and other primates; fossil finds; group size and settlement from early prehistory to the Neolithic; hominin learning, sharing and exchange; the origins of language and symbolism; the evolution of kinship structures; and the relevance of social anthropology to ideas from sociobiology, evolutionary psychology and other disciplines. We will also look at the settlement of Australia, migrations to the Americas and early rock art. The thematic heart of the course is the explosion of religion, art and language at the 'Symbolic Revolution', and the social consequences of these. That is normally dated at between 130,000 and 60,000 BP.
The course stems directly from the course convener's two most recent books: Social Anthropology and Human Origins (2011) and Genesis of Symbolic Thought (2012). Although the course will touch on some material also in Human Origins (ARCA10003), taught in the Archaeology department, the focus is quite different. Combined degree students may certainly take both courses. |
| Course description |
Not entered
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | Visiting students should have at least 3 Anthropology courses at grade B or above (or be predicted to obtain this). We will only consider University/College level courses. |
Course Delivery Information
| Not being delivered |
Learning Outcomes
| By the end of the course students will have a critical understanding of the debates and issues in social anthropological aspects of human origins, and especially of the origins of symbolic culture. They will learn to engage in discussion of issue of great importance to understanding the social nature of humanity, and will do so from a though knowledge of relevant data and issues from other disciplines. By way of background, it is expected that students will learn species names and reputed cognitive abilities, important archaeological sites, and dates. More importantly, they will be able to debate with confidence issues such the social anthropological significance of the relation between neocortex size and group size; how and why language emerged; the place of myth and totemism in cognitive, linguistic and social evolution; whether MSA kinship systems possessed socio-centric categories or not, embedded symbolic structures or not. And they will know how to employ ethnographic evidence from modern hunter-gatherer societies to examine such issues, as well as being able to assess the limitations of such endeavours.
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Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Not entered |
| Keywords | Social Anthropology and Human Origins |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Prof Alan Barnard
Tel: (0131 6)50 3938
Email: A.Barnard@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Mr Ewen Miller
Tel: (0131 6)50 3925
Email: Ewen.Miller@ed.ac.uk |
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