Anthropology 1: Uncovering Human Mysteries

What makes us human? Is it our ability to use language, tools, or technology? Trace the history of homo sapiens and explore our evolutionary trail through an anthropological lens to observe our movement from cave dwellers to modern humans. Learn how we forged our way and developed all of the things that make us humans, such as our cultures, languages, and religions.

Topics include:

The field of anthropology

Human evolution

Culture, language, and environments

Material culture

Religion

Family relationships and social bonds

Enculturation

Anthropology in current cultures

This paced course uses content from eDynamic Learning taught by a VHS Learning instructor who is certified in their content area and who follows VHS Learning policies. The course will be hosted in the Buzz learning management system. The course will include a variety of individual assignments and projects, as well as class discussions.

Acknowledgements

This course contains an end-of-course proctored exam. Instructions for students to identify an appropriate adult proctor are included in the course lessons.

Course Objectives

Course Learning Objectives:

Describe anthropology as a field, the significance of anthropology in contemporary society, and the relationship between anthropology, sociology, and other social sciences.
Identify key stages of human evolution and characteristics of early human species.
Analyze the relationship between culture, language, and society.
Analyze how location, population dynamics, and environmental factors influence the development of different societies.
Describe key elements of religion and understand the role of religion in social cohesion.
Explain how kinship systems and marriage rules shape social bonds in different cultures.
Evaluate the role of anthropology in addressing contemporary global issues.