Syllabus
1. Phylogeography of contemporary populations of humans as revealed by genetic characters Mitochondrial DNA, Y-chromosom, allozymes, antropometric characters.
2. Phylogeography of contemporary populations of humans as revealed by linguistic characters ¨ Lexical and gramatical characters, Indo-European languages, Austronesian languages, Bantu languages, Afro-Asian languages.
3. Social structure and ecology of traditional societies: anthropological approach Traditional societies of Africa, America and Oceania. Classical approaches of cultural and social anthropology. Hunter-gatherers as a model.
4. Nuer society as an example Evans-Pritchard and his detailed description of Nuer tribes in Sudan.
5. Classical sociobiology Biological evolution of human behaviour, universal and general characters in human behaviour. Sociobiological approach to morality, moral decisions, altruism. Pseudospeciation and war. Incest taboo, exogamy, prescriptive marriage. Kinship.
6. Crosscultural studies Distribution of polygyny, polyandry and monogamy. Hypergamy. Infanticide, infant killing in traditional societies.
7. Behavioral genetics Learned and inherited in human behaviour, IQ, personality.
8. Evolutionary psychology I. Evolution of desire, choice of a partner, the role of sexual selection.
9. Evolutionary psychology II. Standard model in social sciences versus evolutionary psychology, classical experiments.
10. Cultural transmission of characters and memetics Natural versus cultural selection, gene-culture coevolution.
11. Ethnical classifications of animals and Principles of ethnobiological classification, generic names.
12. Consequences of human attitudes to animal species for conservation biology Cross-cultural experiments, differential willingness to conserve animal species
13. Phylogeny of Primates and patterns of distribution of behavioural characters Phylogenetic tree and evolutionary history of primates. Matri- versus patrilocality, antipredatory strategies, food sharing.
14. Social and mating systems: I. Prosimians and Platyrhini Nocturnal activity and its consequences, solitary species, monogamy, polyandry, female dominance.
15. Social and mating systems: II. Langurs and their relatives Infanticide, single male matrilinear groups.
16. Social and mating systems: III. Baboons, macaques, and guenons matrilocal and patrilocal societies, friendships, multi-male groups, competition for food, matrilines.
16. Social and mating systems: IV. Great apes Social behaviour of chimpanzees, bonobos, gorillas, orang-utans and gibbons
Annotation
Please note, the lectures are given in Czech language. English version of the course can be requested in advance if there are at least 3 students.
Structure and ecology of traditional communities; social and mating systems in primates: treeshrews, prosimians, New World monkeys, Old World monkeys, apes; general characteristics of man behaviour; genetics of behaviour (alcoholism, IQ tests, mental diseases, personality); cultural transmissions; human sociobiology; evolutionary psychology - mate choice and sexual selection in man; ethnical classification of nature and animals
The lecture is supplemented by one-day excursions to a selected zoo (students' financial participation required - entrance and travel fees).