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ANTH 310 Course website

Anthropology (ANTH) 310
Primate Behaviour (Revision 1)

Revision 1 closed, replaced by current version.

Delivery mode: Individualized study. Video component.*
*Overseas students, please contact the University Library before registering in a course that has an audio/visual component.

Credits: 3 - Social Science.

Prerequisite: 3 credits at the junior level in anthropology, biology, or psychology.

Centre: Centre for Work and Community Studies

ANTH 310 has a Challenge for Credit option.

Course website

Overview

This course examines the behaviour and evolution of modern non-human primates. Primates include monkeys, apes, lemurs and other prosimians, and people. Understanding other primates helps us to contextualize the behaviour, culture and language, and biology of our own species, as well as being fascinating in its own right. Video materials allow the student to observe the behaviour of several different species.

Outline

ANTH 310 is organized into eleven units, listed below.

Unit 1: Introduction to the Order Primates

Unit 2: Primate Diets and Feeding Adaptations

Unit 3: Ranging Patterns and Social Organization

Unit 4: Sexual Selection and Reproductive Strategies

Unit 5: Sociosexual Behaviour and Dominance Hierarchies

Unit 6: Infant Development

Unit 7: Play Behaviour and Social Learning

Unit 8: Communication and Cognition

Unit 9: Tool Use

Unit 10: Primate Conservation

Unit 11: Primate Models of Human Evolution

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Evaluation

Your final grade in Anthropology 310: Primate Behaviour is based on the grades you achieve on a telephone quiz, two written assignments, and two examinations. To receive credit for this course, you must complete both examinations, achieving a minimum grade of 50 percent (D) on each examination, and a minimum composite course grade of at least "D" (50 percent).

Telephone Quiz Assignment 1 Mid-term Exam Assignment 2 Final Exam Total
5% 15% 30% 15% 35% 100%

To learn more about assignments and examinations, please refer to Athabasca University's online Calendar.

Course Materials

Textbooks

Burton, Frances D., and Mathew Eaton 1996 Multimedia Guide to Non-Human Primates: CD-ROM version. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall.

Fedigan, L. M. 1992 Primate Paradigms: Sex Roles and Social Bonds. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Jolly, Alison 1985 The Evolution of Primate Behavior, 2nd. ed. New York: Macmillan.

Richard, Alison 1986 Primates in Nature. New York: W. H. Freeman.

Other Materials

The course materials also include a study guide, student manual, and a reading file.

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