SUBJECT

Title

Human ecology II

Type of instruction

lecture

Level

Master

Part of degree program
Credits

2

Recommended in

Semesters 1-4

Typically offered in

Autumn/Spring semester

Course description

1. Population dynamic reconstruction of the ancient environment in the periods of human evolution

2. Influence of the Pleistocene climatic pulsation on the Homo sapiens’ origin and differentiation, monocentric and policentric model

3. Relationship between the ancient humans and their environment: environmental archeological introduction, environmental archeological methods  

4. Contradiction between the ancient environmental reconstruction and the populational movements, the harmony of the geographical diversity and zonic environmental conditions  

5. Paloeecological human populations’ dispersion pattern: random, regular, cluster dispersions, dispersion of fossils, morphological variations

6. Functional bone morphology in the view of adaptation: morphological variations’ dispersion patterns and their gradients, theoretical morphology, analysis of specific structures  

7. Ecosystems and communities in the paleoecology: community theory, Q and R analysis; community structures; terminology of diversity; measuring diversity: richness, dominancy, disharmony; diversity patterns (time, stability, resource); community studies in the paleoecological reconstruction  

8. Growth of ancient communities and their main ecological characteristics, their influence on human ecosystems  

9. Paleobiogeography: factors controlling geographic distribution of human populations: depth-elevation, temperature, other environmental parameters, geologic history  

10. Infectious and non-infectious diseases’ distribution frequency in ancient human communities; ancient medical techniques (fractures, amputations), trepanations  

11. Environmental changes in the Carpatian basin and their influence ont he ancient human communities: climatic changes, changes in flora and fauna  

12. Environmental changes in the Carpatian basin caused by human attendance: consequences of gathering, joint consequences of huntering and climatic changes on the wild animal stores, the destruction of the natural vegetation, forest burning, distribution of the cultivated vegetables, domestification

13. The life style of the Paleolithic and Mezolithic humans in the Carpatian basin, environmental influence on their life circumstances, ancient cultivators, huntering-gathering, floods in the Copper Age, life style of humans lived in the Bronze and Iron Age 14. Environmental changes in the Carpatian basin in the Roman age, Conquest period and in the „Árpád Age” 

Readings
  • Dodd, J.R., Stanton, R.J. (1990) Paleoecology. Concepts and applications. John Wiley and Sons, New York.

  • Freye, H-A. (1985) Humanökologie. Fischer Verlag, Jena.