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COURSE SYLLABUS
ANTHROPOLOGY 455: Human Biology of the Pacific
Instructor: Professor Michael Pietrusewsky
e-mail: mikep@hawaii.edu
This course focuses on the biological/physical anthropology of the Pacific and surrounding regions. In
addition to examining the biological diversity of Pacific peoples, past and present, this course provides
background on evolutionary biology, human ecology, and human adaptability. After reviewing the
geography, prehistory, and languages of the Pacific, the course examines several broad themes in Pacific
biological anthropological research. The topics that will be explored in this course include: early
paradigms; human ecology/adaptability and the “cold adaptation hypothesis”; Polynesian phenotype;
evidence for the initial peopling of the Pacific: dental, skeletal and genetic evidence; Lapita skeletal
record; ancient DNA; early inhabitants of Australia and Indonesia; health and disease; migration and
modernization in the Pacific. More specialized topics will include malaria, kuru in New Guinea, ALS-PD
in the Mariana Is, etc.
This is a writing-intensive course with Focus Designation-W, which also fulfills the Biological Science
(DB) Diversification Requirement at UHM. Pre-requisite: Anth 215, or consent of Instructor.
Readings: A syllabus (list of readings) will be distributed at the beginning of the course and posted on
the web site for this course at:
http://www.anthropology.hawaii.edu/People/Faculty/Pietrusewsky/anth455/
PDF files of all readings will be available throughout the semester.
Other texts: Although there are no assigned texts for this course, several books provide context for the
course:
Howells WW. 1973. The Pacific Islanders. London: Weidenfeld & Nicholson
Houghton P. 1996. People of the great ocean. Cambridge University Press
Hill, AVS, S.W. Serjeantson SW, editors. 1989. The colonization of the Pacific: A genetic trail. Oxford:
Oxford Science Publications.
Friedlaender JS, editor 2007. Genes, language, and culture history in the Southwest Pacific. New York:
Oxford University Press.
It is expected that everyone has read all the assigned reading prior to attending the lectures.
Weekly Written Assignments and Discussion (20 pts.)
The normal format of this course will consist of lectures and discussions based on the assigned readings.
Each student is encouraged to read ALL of the assigned readings and be prepared to participate in class
discussions. To facilitate these discussions, each student will prepare a written summary (one-half to one
page in length) of a specific article assigned to them each week. The structure and content of these
summaries should follow the Annotated Bibliography Assignment. All written summaries should be sent
to the Instructor prior to the day the reading is assigned. Each summary will be worth 1 pt.
Map Quiz
Value: 5%
Date: February 11, 2015
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To facilitate the learning of the geography (including the names of the major island groups)
students should obtain a copy of a relatively new edition of a map of the Pacific similar to the one
published by the Hawaii Geographic Society. [Usually available at the UH Bookstore] A short quiz that
will test your knowledge of the geography of the Pacific will be given during class time. Smaller (8.5 X
11) versions of theses maps will be distributed during class.
Mid-Term Exam:
Value: 20%
Due Date: March 4, 2015
The mid-term will cover readings and lecture material presented in approximately the first half of
the course. The format will be a mixture of short definition and short essay questions. A study guide will
be issued prior to this exam.
Assignment One: Annotated Bibliography
Value: 10%
Due Date: March 11, 2015
After consulting with the instructor, students will develop an annotated bibliography on a
research topic that is relevant to the biological anthropology of the Pacific. A list of possible topics will
be distributed early in the course. A minimum of 8-10 references (journal articles, book chapters, books
etc.) is required for this assignment; the works selected should include both important theoretical works as
well as case studies. Provide comments and notes on how each work listed in the bibliography pertains to
your topic and the reason for its selection. In addition to the individual annotations (250-300 words each),
a 1-2 page (500 words max.) general review that includes what you found in the literature and how this
relates to your chosen topic must be included. Consult the guidelines on referencing styles and how to
prepare an annotated bibliography that will be distributed.
Assignment Two: Research Paper
Value: 25%
Word limit: 2500 [5000 words for graduate students]
Due date: April 29, 2015
The research paper will be based on the annotated bibliography assignment (the grade you receive
will reflect this). The research paper will be an extension of what you learned in reviewing the literature
pertinent to your chosen topic in physical/biological anthropology in the Pacific. Begin your research
paper with a general question or set of related questions that you want to address. Refer to the distributed
guidelines on research paper writing and referencing styles and be consistent in your use of these
guidelines. Include a full bibliography.
Final Exam
Value: 20%
Due date: May 11, 2015 [12-2 PM]
The final written exam will cover readings and lecture material since the mid-term exam. The
format will be a mixture of short definition and short essay questions. A study guide will be issued prior
to this exam.
Final Grade for Course: Weekly Writing Assignment & Discussion (20%); Map quiz (5%); Annotated
Bibliography (10%); Mid-term (20%); Research Paper (25%); and Final Exam (20%).
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Anth 455
Wed. 12:30-3
Human Biology of the Pacific
Reading Assignments: Spring 2015
Jan 14.
Introduction and organization, Pietrusewsky’s research in Pacific
Jan. 21
The Pacific World: geography, geology, European explorers, colonialism, and challenges
Chappel DA. 1999. The Postcontact Period. In: Rapaport M, editor. The Pacific Islands environment and
society. Honolulu: The Bess Press. p 134-143.
Howells WW. 1973. Ch. 2. The Pacific Islanders. Wellington: A.H. & A.W. Reed. p 10-29.
Kirch PV. 2000. Ch. 2. On the road of the winds. An archaeological history of the Pacific Islands before
European contact. Berkeley: University of California Press. p 42-62.
Map of The Pacific Islands 1999. Honolulu: Hawaii Geographic Society, or its equivalent.
Jan. 28. Peopling of the Pacific: prehistory, language, and models
Kirch PV. 2010. Peopling of the Pacific: A holistic anthropological perspective. Annual Review of
Anthropology39: 131-148 DOI: 10.1146/annurev.anthro.012809.104936
Pawley A. 1999. Language. In M. Rapaport , editor. The Pacific Islands environment and society.
Honolulu: The Bess Press. p 181-194.
Gibbons A. 2001. The peopling of the Pacific. Science 2891:1735-1737.
Hurles ME, Matisoo-Smith E, Gray RD , Penny D. 2003. Untangling Oceanic settlement: The edge of the
knowable. Trends in Ecology and Evolution 18: 531-540.
Oppenheimer S. 2004. The ‘Express Train from Taiwan to Polynesia: on the congruence of proxy lines of
evidence. World Archaeology 36:591-600.
Feb. 4.
Pacific peoples: race concept, studies of human variation/biology, Polynesian phenotype
Houghton P. 1996. Chapter 2: Physique. In: People of the great ocean. Cambridge University Press. p 2255.
Howells WW. 1979. Physical anthropology. In: Jennings JD, editor. The Prehistory of Polynesia,
Canberra: Australian National University Press. p 271-285.
Mielke JH, Konigsberg LW, Relethford JH. 2011. Ch 1: Comprehending human biological diversity
Human biological variation. New York: Oxford University Press. p 3-22.
Pietrusewsky, M. 2012. Physical anthropology of the Pacific, In: Physical (Biological) Anthropology,
[Eds. UNESCO-EOLSS Joint Committee], in Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems (EOLSS),
Developed under the Auspices of the UNESCO, Eolss Publishers, Oxford, UK, [http://www.eolss.net]
[Retrieved June 29, 2012].
Feb. 11. Principles of human ecology, human adaptability, Houghton’s cold adaptation hypothesis
[Map Quiz]
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Kormondy, EJ and Brown DE. 1998. Ch. 7. Human adaptability to cold and heat. In: Fundamentals of
human ecology. Prentice-Hall, p 131-161.
Bindon JR. 2004. Box 11.7 Opinion: Thrifty genes in Polynesia? In: Jobling MA, Hurles ME, TylerSmith C, editors. Human evolutionary genetics: origins, peoples and disease. New York: Garland
Science, p. 362.
Bindon JR, Baker PT. 1997. Bergmann’s rule and the thrifty genotype. American Journal of Physical
Anthropology 104:201–210.
Houghton P. 1990. The adaptive significance of Polynesian body form. Annals of Human Biology 17:1932.
van Dijk N. 1991. The Hansel and Gretel Syndrome: A critique of Houghton's cold adaptation hypothesis
and an alternative model. New Zealand Journal of Archaeology 13:65-89.
Feb 18
Craniology: metric and nonmetric variation, biodistance studies.
Chapman PM, Gill GW. 1997. Easter Island origins: non-metric cranial trait comparison between Easter
Island and Peru. Rapa Nui Journal 11:58-63.
Pietrusewsky M. 2014. Biological distance in bioarchaeology and human osteology. In Smith C., editor.
Encyclopedia of Global Archaeology, DOI 10.1007/978-1-4419-0465-2, New York: ©Springer
Science+Business Media.
Pietrusewsky M, Douglas MT. Review of Polynesian and Pacific skeletal biology. In Stefan, V, Gill, G,
editors. Skeletal biology of the ancient Rapa Nui (Easter Islanders). Cambridge UK: Cambridge
University Press. In press.
Stefan V, Chapman PM. 2003 Cranial variation in the Marquesas Islands. American Journal of Physical
Anthropology 121:319-331.
Feb. 25
Peopling of the Pacific: dental studies
Brace CL, Hinton RJ. 1981. Oceanic tooth-size variation as a reflection of biological and cultural mixing.
Current Anthropology 22:549-569.
Hanihara T. 1993. Dental affinities among Polynesian and circum-Polynesian populations. Japan Review
4: 59-82.
Nelson GC, Fitzpatrick SM. 2013. A first look at dental morphometrics of early Palauans. In: Scott GR,
Irish JD, editors, Anthropological perspectives on tooth morphology: genetics, evolution, variation. p
319-339.
Turner CG II. 1990. Major features of Sundadonty and Sinodonty, including suggestions about East Asian
Microevolution, population history, and late Pleistocene relationships with Australian aboriginals.
American Journal of Physical Anthropology 82: 295-317.
Mar. 4.
Mid-term Exam
Mar 11. Microevolution, small islands, and genetic evidence for peopling of the Pacific
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Chambers, Geoffrey K (January 2013) Genetics and the Origins of the Polynesians. In: eLS. John Wiley
& Sons, Ltd: Chichester. DOI: 10.1002/9780470015902.a0020808.pub2
Friedlaender JS, Friedlaender FR, Reed FA, Kidd KK, Kidd JR, et al. 2008. The genetic structure of
Pacific Islanders. PLoS Genet 4(1): e19. doi:10.1371/journal.pgen. 0040019
Matisoo-Smith E. 2012. The great blue highway: human migration in the Pacific. In: Crawford MH and
Campbell BC, editors. Causes and consequences of human migration. Cambridge University Press. pp.
388-416.
Soares P, Rito T , Jrejaut J, Mormina M, Hill C , Tinkler-Hundal E, Braid M, Clarke DJ, Jun-Hun Loo JH, Thomson N. et al. 2011. Ancient Voyaging and Polynesian Origins. American Journal of Human
Genetics, Feb 3, 2011 DOI: 10.1016/j.ajhg.2011.01.009
Mar. 18. Australia and Tasmania and Homo floresiensis
Aiello, LC. 2010. "Five years of Homo floresiensis". American Journal of Physical Anthropology 142(2):
167–179. doi:10.1002/ajpa.21255. PMID 20229502.
Brown, P. 1997. Australian palaeoanthropology. In: Spencer F, editor. History of physical anthropology:
an encyclopedia, 2 volumes. New York: Garland Publishing, p 138-145.
Henneberg, M., Eckhardt, R., Chavanaves, S., & Hsu, K. 2014. Evolved developmental homeostasis
disturbed in LB1 from Flores, Indonesia, denotes Down syndrome and not diagnostic traits of the invalid
species Homo floresiensis. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 111 (33), 11967-11972
Pugach I, Frederick Delfin F, Gunnarsdóttir E, Kayser M , Stoneking M. 2013.
Genome-wide data substantiate Holocene gene flow from India to Australia. Proceedings of the National
academy of Sciences 110 (5): 1803–1808. www.pnas.org/cgi/doi/10.1073/pnas.1211927110
March 23-27: Spring Recess
Apr. 1.
Lapita skeletons and Polynesian ancestors, aDNA
Buckley HR, Tayles N, Spriggs MJT, Bedford S. 2008. A preliminary report on health and disease in
early Lapita skeletons, Vanuatu: possible biological costs of island colonization. Journal of Island and
Coastal Archaeology 3:87-114
Katayama K, Nunn PD. Kumar R, RD, Matararaba S. Minagawa M, Oda H. 2007. Osteological
description of the Lapita-associated human skeleton discovered on Moturiki Island, Fiji. People and
Culture in Oceania, 23: 73-98.
Matisoo-Smith E. 2015. Ancient DNA and the human settlement of the Pacific: A review. Journal of
Human Evolution.
Pietrusewsky. M, Buckley H, Anson D, Douglas, MT. 2014. Polynesian origins: a biodistance study of
mandibles from the Late Lapita site of Reber-Rakival (SAC), Watom Island, Bismarck Archipelago.
Journal of Pacific Archaeology 5(1):1-20.
Apr 8. Commensal species, Polynesians in America
Matisoo-Smith E. 2009. The commensal model for human settlement of the Pacific 10 years on: what can
we say and where to now? Journal of Coastal and Island Archaeology, Special Issue 4:151-163
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Matisoo-Smith E., Ramirez J-M. 2010. Human skeletal evidence of Polynesian presence in South
America? Metric analyses of six crania from Mocha Island, Chile. Journal of Pacific Archaeology, 1 (1),
76-88.
Thorsby E. 2012. The Polynesian gene pool: an early contribution by Amerindians to Easter Island.
Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B. 367:812-219.
J. Víctor Moreno-Mayar, Simon Rasmussen, Andaine Seguin-Orlando, Morten Rasmussen, Mason Liang,
Siri Tennebø Flåm, Benedicte Alexandra Lie, Gregor Duncan Gilfillan, Rasmus Nielsen, Erik Thorsby,
Eske Willerslev, Anna-Sapfo Malaspinas. 2014. Genome-wide ancestry patterns in Rapanui suggest preEuropean admixture with Native Americans. Current Biology 24(21): 2518–2525. DOI:
10.1016/j.cub.2014.09.057
Apr. 15. Prehistoric health and disease in the Pacific
Buckley HR. 2007. Possible gouty arthritis in Lapita‐associated skeletons from Teouma, Efate Island,
Central Vanuatu. Current Anthropology 48(5):741-749. DOI: 10.1086/520967
Pietrusewsky M, Douglas MT. 1994. An osteological assessment of health and disease in precontact and
historic (1778) Hawai`i. In: Larsen CS, Milner GR , editor. In the Wake of Contact: Biological Responses
to Conquest. pp. 179-196. New York: Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Heathcote GM, Diego VP, Ishida H, Sava VJ. 2012. Legendary Chamorro strength. In Stodder ALW,
Palkovich AM , editors. The bioarchaeology of individuals. University of Florida Press, pp. 44-67.
Pietrusewsky M, Douglas M, Swift MK, Harper RA, Fleming MA. 2014. Health in ancient Mariana
Islanders: a bioarchaeological perspective. Journal of Island and Coastal Archaeology 9:319-340. DOI:
10.1080/15564894.2013.848959
Apr 22 Post-contact health and disease in the Pacific: migration and modernization studies
Bindon JR. 1995. Polynesian responses to modernization: Overweight and obesity in the South Pacific.
In: I. de Garine and NJ Pollock (editors). Social Aspects of Obesity. London: Gordon and Breach. Pp.
227-251.
Keighley ED, McGarvey ST, Quested C, McCuddin C, Viali S, Maga U. 2007. Nutrition and health in
modernizing Samoans: temporal trends and adaptive perspectives. In: Ohtsuka R, Ulijaszek SL, editors.
Health change in the Asia-Pacific region: biocultural and epidemiological approaches. Cambridge, UK:
Cambridge University Press. p 147–91.
Neel JV. 1962. Diabetes mellitus: A thrifty genotype rendered detrimental by progress? American Journal
of Human Genetics 14: 353-362.
Ulijaszek SL, Ohtsuka R. 2007. Health change in the Asia-Pacific region: disparate end-points? In
Ulijaszek SL, Ohtsuka R, editors. Health change in the Asia-Pacific region: biocultural and
epidemiological approaches. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. p 1-19.
Apr. 29. Malaria, Kuru and ALS-PD in the Mariana Islands
Gadjusek DC. 1977. Unconventional viruses and the origin and disappearance of Kuru. Science 197:943960.
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Lindenbaum S. 2008. Understanding kuru: the contribution of anthropology and medicine. Philosophical
Transactions of the Royal Society B. 363:3715-3720.
Lum JK. 2007. Contributions of population origins and gene flow to the diversity of neutral and malaria
selected autosomal genetic loci of Pacific Island populations. In: Friedlaender JS, editor. Genes, language,
and culture history in the Southwest Pacific. New York: Oxford University Press. p 219-230.
Plato CC, Garruto RM, Galasko D, Craig UK, Plato M, Gamst A, Torres JM, Wiederholt W. 2003.
Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis and Parkinsonism-Dementia Complex of Guam: changing incidence rates
during the past 60 years. Am. J. Epidemiol. 157(2): 149-157 doi:10.1093/aje/kwf175
May 6 Review [Research papers are due]
May 11. Exam period [12-2 PM]
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Anthropology 455 Human Biology of the Pacific--Spring 2015
Week
Jan. 14.
Jan. 21
Topic
Reading
Introduction; organization;
instructor’s Pacific research
The Pacific World: geography, early
European explorers
Jan. 28
Peopling of the Pacific: prehistory,
languages, and linguistic models
Feb. 4
Pacific peoples; race concept, studies
of human variation/biology
Feb. 11
Principles of human ecology, human
adaptability: physique and
Houghton’s cold hypothesis Map
Quiz
Craniology: metric and non-metric;
biodistance studies
Feb. 18
Feb. 25
Dental studies: morphology: dental
pathology
Mar. 4
Mar. 11
Mid-term exam
Microevolution: genetic evidence for
peopling of Pacific Assignment # 1
due
Mar 18
Australia, Tasmania, Homo
floresiensis
Apr. 1
SPRING RECESS Mar 23-27
Lapita skeletons: Polynesian ancestors
Apr. 8
aDNA, & commensal species,
Polynesians in America
Apr. 15
Health & disease in the Pacific:
prehistoric
Apr. 22
Health & disease in the Pacific:
contemporary, post-contact,
modernization studies
Malaria, Kuru, ALS-PD Assignment
# 2 due
Apr. 29
May 6
May 11
Review
Final exam 12-2 PM
8
Kirch (2000: Ch. 2); Howells
(1973:Ch. 2); Chappel (1999)
& Map
Kirch (2010); Pawley (1999);
Gibbon (2001); Hurles et al.
(2003); Oppenhieimer (2004).
Houghton (1996:Ch. 2);
Howells (1979); Mielke et al.
(2011); Pietrusewsky (2012)
Kormondy & (1998:Ch. 7);
Bindon (2004); Bindon &
Baker (1997); Houghton
(1990); van Dijk (1991)
Chapman & Gill (1997);
Pietrusewsky (2014);
Pietrusewsky & Douglas
(n.d.); Stefan and Chapman
(2003)
Brace & Hinton (1981);
Hanihara (1993); Nelson &
Fitzpatrick (2013); Turner
(1990)
Chambers (2013); Giles
(1973); Relethford (2010);
Friedlaender et al. (2008);
Matisoo-Smith (2102); Soares
et al. (2010)
Aiello (2010); Brown (1997);
Henneberg et al (2014);
Pugach et al. (2013)
Buckley et al. (2008);
Katayama et al. (2007);
Pietrusewsky et al. (2014);
Matisoo-Smith (2015)
Malaspinas et al. (2014);
Matisoo-Smith (2009);
Matisoo-Smith & Ramirez
(2010); Thorsby (2012)
Buckley (2007); Pietrusewsky
M, Douglas (1994); Heathcote
(2012); Pietrusewsky (2014)
Bindon (1995); Keighley et al.
(2007); Neel ( 1962);
Ulijaszek & Ohtsuka (2007)
Gadjusek(1977); Lindenbaum
(2008); Plato et al. (2003);
Garruto et al. (2003); Lum
(2007)