Through examples and hands-on exercises, this laboratory manual offers a basic, yet thorough, background in the main areas of an introductory physical anthropology lab course: genetics, evolutionary forces, human osteology, forensic anthropology, comparative/functional skeletal anatomy, primate behavior, and paleoanthropology. It may also be used as a text for an introductory laboratory course in physical or biological anthropology or serve as a supplementary text or workbook for a lecture class, particularly in the absence of a laboratory offering. It can be used with a minimum of laboratory materials.

A lab class typically provides appropriate specimens (skeletal material, fossil casts, and the like), but not all institutions possess a complete collection. This manual can fill in many gaps by providing a full set of graphics and photos to supplement a laboratory collection. Most of the experiments and exercises utilize common, everyday materials.

Other features include:

The graphics provided make it possible to use this manual as a workbook for lecture classes to reinforce the material (Chapter 8 is the only chapter that is primarily dependent upon lab specimens for completion of exercises)

Throughout the book, reference is made to the discussion in earlier chapters, building on previously gained knowledge.

The exercises are planned to be easily completed in the course of a 15-week semester.

Flexibility is built in by the following:

Longer chapters are broken into sub-sections; instructors can choose to include or leave out portions to fit their schedule.

The Self-Test section(s) within each chapter may be used either in or out of class.

The online Instructor's Manual includes a set of Additional Exercises for some chapters; these may also be done in or outside of class.

Additional specimens and greater detail can be obtained by supplementing this manual with A Photographic Atlas for Physical Anthropology, by Paul F. Whitehead, William K. Sacco, and Susan B. Hochgraf (Morton, 2005) and the brief edition of the atlas (Morton, 2005).

Be sure to examine A Photographic Atlas for Physical Anthropology and A Photographic Atlas for Physical Anthropology, Brief Edition as a companion atlas for your course.

Contents:

Preface
Chapter 1: Physical Anthropology as a Science
Chapter 2: The Organism and the Cell
Chapter 3: The Double Helix
Chapter 4: How Cells are Made
Chapter 5: Inheritance
Chapter 6: The Major Forces of Evolution
Chapter 7: The Bones Within Us
Chapter 8: Forensic Anthropology
Chapter 9: Comparative Osteology and Functional Complexes
Chapter 10: Biological Classification and the Living Primates
Chapter 11: Observing the Behavior of Living Primates
Chapter 12: Early Primates from the Paleocene through the Miocene
Chapter 13: Who's in our Family?
Chapter 14: The Genus Homo
References
Appendix A & B
Glossary
Index

Errata
Sample Chapter 5
Sample Chapter 10