anth 210 chapter 1 reading

5 specialties within biological anthropology

1. paleoanthropology 2. human genetics 3. human growth and development 4. human biological plasticity 5. primatology

enculturation

a process in which children learn traditions and cultures by growing up in a particular society

human biological plasticity

a specialty of biological anthropology that focuses on the living body's ability to change as it copes with environmental condiiotns

paleoanthropology

a specialty within biological anthropology that focuses on human biological evolution as revealed by the fossil record

cultural anthropology

a subdivision of general anthropology that focuses on societies of the present and recent past

one of the most fundamental assumptions shared by all anthropologist is that a. a comparative, cross-cultural approach is essential b. time and space form boundaries that cannot be crossed by researchers looking for patterns in variation c. recent changes in anatomy are key to understanding contemporary social change d. culture is a function of race

a. a comparative, cross-cultural approach is essential

in contrast with an anthropologist, a political scientist would be more likely to study a. a program developed by planners at a national level b. how a national program affects local communities c. the impact of local farming practices on community health d. the systematic repression of groups of people

a. a program developed by planners at a national level

during the past 10,000 years, the rate of human cultural adaptation has a. accelerated b. declined, leading to a growing gap between proximate cultures c. stabilized due to the spread of industrial production d. slowed down after a long period of acceleration

a. accelerated

which of the following are studied by archaeological anthropologists? a. animal bones b. tools c. garbage d. linguistics e. folktales

a. animal bones b. tools c. garbage

humans continue to adapt and change a. biologically and culturally b. despite the onset of cultural and biological stasis c. culturally, despite stabilizing biologically d. biologically but not culturally

a. biologically and culturally

the term food production srefers to the a. cultivation of plants and domestication of animals b. methods of industrial agriculture c. manufacture of processed foods d. creation of edible products of any kind, throughout human history

a. cultivation of plants and domestication of animals

cultures are traditions that a. form and guide the beliefs and behavior of the people exposed to them b. are transmitted through biology c. people learn in adulthood d. unite all societies around the world, no matter their individual attributes

a. form and guide the beliefs and behavior of the people exposed to them

the study of ecosystems that includes people, focusing on the ways people interact with nature based on cultural values, is known as a. human ecology b. sociology c. physical anthropology d. paleoecology

a. human ecology

in relatively recent eras, the spread of ___ has/have profoundly affected human life a. industrial production b. cultural adaptations c. environmental change d. food production

a. industrial production

which of the following statements are true of anthropology? a. it offers a cross-cultural perspective b. it is the study of non-Western and non-industrial cultures only c. it is the study of the human species around the world through time d. it is the study of all societies e. it is the study of plants native to certain regions

a. it offers a cross-cultural perspective c. it is the study of the human species around the world and through time d. it is the study of all societies

which of the following would be examples of topics studied in sociolinguistics? a. linguistic features that correlate with socioeconomic class b. linguistic variation corresponding to regional dialects c. relationships between social and linguistic variation d. speech characteristics related to specific defects in the structure of the tongue

a. linguistic features that correlate with socioeconomic class b. linguistic variation corresponding to regional dialects c. relationships between social and linguistic variation

anthropology's comparative, biocultural perspective recognizes that cultural forces a. mold human biology b. affect animals more than humans c. change much about human bodes, though not how they grow and develop d. have replaced physical and biological forces, which no longer apply to humans

a. mold human biology

adaptation refers to the process by which a. organisms cope with environmental forces and stresses b. cultures change to conform to new technological paradigms c. societies adopt new cultural forms over time d. humans change as they interact with people from different cultures

a. organisms cope with environmental forces and stresses

which of the following are aspects of linguistic anthropology? a. reconstructing ancient languages b. studying linguistic differences to discover cultural variations in perception and thought c. making inferences about universal features of language d. using languages to determine when countries engaged wars with each other e. analyzing language as a means of determining how racial differences first developed

a. reconstructing ancient languages b. studying linguistic differences to discover cultural variations in perception and thought c. making inferences about universal features of language

what best describes anthropology's subdisciplines? a. they influence eachother b. interdisciplinary comparisons are not as valuable as in other sciences c. they are strictly subdivided based upon the culture to which they apply d. they develop along independent trajectories

a. they influence each other

the study of modern garbage provides evidence of which of the following concerning the people who produced the garage? a. what the people actually did in everyday life, not what they reported they did b. how people's production of waste decreases over time c. what the people reported they did in everyday life, not what they said they did d. what the people did to recycle garbage

a. what the people actually did in everyday life, not what they reported they did

2 dimensions of anthropolgy

academic anthropology and applied anthropology

public archaeology

aka applied archaeology includes activities such as cultural resource management, public educational programs, and historic preservation

william rathje

an archaeologists that launched a long-term study of modern garbage disposal practices (garbology)

franz boas

anthropologist that noted that contact between neighboring tribes has always existed and has extended over enormous areas "human populations construct their cultures in interaction with one another, and not in isolation"

the activity within cultural anthropolgy that gathers data to provide an account of a particular group, community, society, or culture is called a. biology b. ethnography c. psychology d. archaeology

b. ethnography

the process used in archaeology of digging through a succession of levels at a particular site in order to document changes over time is known as a. garbology b. excavation c. ethnology d. foraging

b. excavation

because of cultural traditions, North American girls, in comparison to Brazilian girls, a. are more competitive but less successful when it comes to sports b. excel at running and swimming c. are discouraged from pursuing success in physical competitions d. are far less physically active

b. excel in running and swimming

today's global economy and communications a. connect only those people in industrial societies b. link all people in the modern world system c. make connections between cultures more tenuous d. undermine the sense of human connectivity that initially thrived after the industrial revolution

b. link all people in the modern world system

according to garbology, what are actually the most significant major waste problems? a. disposable diapers b. plastic c. paper d. styrofoam

b. plastic c. paper

Which of the following areas have benefited from the work of applied anthropologists? a. physics b. public health c. marketing d. business e. graphic design

b. public health c. marketing d. business

when non-natives' breathing and heart rates increase in mountain highlands, this is an example of ____ adaptation a. genetic b. short-term physiological c. cultural d. long-term physiological

b. short-term physiological

which of the following are among the four subfields of general anthropology? a. geological anthropology b. sociocultural anthropology c. biological anthropology d. historical anthropolgy e. anthropological arcaheology

b. sociocultural anthropolgy c. biological anthropolgy e. anthropological archaeology

the origin of anthropology as a scientific pursuit can be traced to a. european departments b. the 19th century c. the mid-20th century d. studies in polynesia

b. the 19th century

public archaeology has been given an important role in evaluating sites a. that are owned by the public at-large, such as parks b. threatened by construction activities c. insufficiently studied by other types of anthropologists d. revealed after earthquakes or other natural disasters

b. threatened by construction activities

how can archaeologists infer cultural transformations?

by observing changes in the size and type of sites and the distance between them

the subfield of anthropology that describes, analyzes, interprets, and explains social and cultural similarities and differences is ___ anthropology a. archaeological b. biological c. cultural d. physical

c. cultural

the study of the whole of the human condition is known as a. entireism b. completism c. holism d. comprehensivism

c. holism

primatology is relevant to paleoanthropology because a. the earliest primates lived at the same time as the earliest humans b. humans and primates mainly share cultural rather than biological characteristics c. primate behavior sheds light on early human behavior d. contemporary humans have rid themselves of all the behavioral traits they once shared with their primate relatives

c. primate behavior sheds light on early human behavior

in archaeology, the number of settlement levels in a city is a measure of a. technological complexity b. income variation c. social complexity d. social homeogeneity

c. social complexity

which of the following are human biological capacities upon which culture depends? a. the ability to mutate one's genes b. the ability to make and use forms of transportation c. the ability to think symbolically d. the ability to use language e. the ability to learn

c. the ability to think symbolically d. the ability to use language e. the ability to learn (this question permits more than one answer)

historical linguistics

considers variation in language over time

cultural traditions

customs and opinions, developed over generations, about proper and improper behavior

applied anthropology uses anthropological data, perspectives, theory, and methods to a. interpret past events through the lens of the contemporary world b. promote the advantages of past historical practices over current ones c. bring cultural attitudes from industrialized countries to developing countries, so as to promote progress d. address contemporary social problems

d. address contemporary social problems

Cultural resource management involves not only preserving some sites but also a. giving tours of sites to the media and the public b. making appeals to politicians to use other sites as research areas c. preparing artifacts for sale to the public d. allowing insignificant sites to be destroyed

d. allowing insignificant sites to be destroyed

language first developed in humans a. approx. 10,000 years ago b. as soon as they developed from primates c. approx. 300,000 years ago d. at an unknown time

d. at an unknown time

the invention of pressurized airplane cabins equipped with oxygen masks in order to survive at the high altitudes reached during flight is an example of ____ adaptation a. biological b. psychological c. physiological d. cultural

d. cultural

biological anthropology is the study of __ in time and space a. fossil records b. cultural norms and values c. ethnographic research d. human biological diversity

d. human biological diversity

through enculturation, behavior and thought in a society are a. made less important than ritual and tradition b. discouraged in favor of blind allegiance c. diversified to a greater degree than they would otherwise be d. made somewhat consistent

d. made somewhat consistent

according to sociolinguists, a. all languages are determined solely by their social context b. gender is more determinative than class in how people use language c. in some pre-industrial societies everyone speaks the same because their is no social stratification d. no language is a homogeneous system

d. no language is a homogeneous system

anthropologists have traditionally studied groups that are a. leaders of society b. elite c. powerful d. poor

d. poor

anthropological archaeologists reconstruct, describe, and interpret human behavior and cultural patterns mainly a. through oral texts b. by ignoring the contemporary societies in which their sites are located c. by analyzing geographic data d. through material remains

d. through material remains

excavating

digging through a succession of levels at a particular site

cultural anthropologists engage in two kinds of activity to study and interpret cultural diversity:

ethnography and ethnology

enthnology

examines, interprets, and analyzes the results of ethnography data, using data to compare and contrast and to generalize about society and culture

t/f adaptation is an entirely cultural process

false

t/f archaeologists only study prehistory

false "although archaeologists are best known for studying prehistory... they also study the cultures of historical and even living peoples"

t/f culture is biological

false "culture itself is not biological, but it rests on certain features of biology"

t/f society and culture are both uniquely human traits

false "people share society... with other animals, including monkeys, apes, etc" culture is human

t/f we know when our ancestors started speaking/using language

false "we dont know (and probably will never know) when our ancestors started speaking, although biological anthropologists have looked to the anatomy of the face and the skull to speculate about the origin of language"

foraging

hunting and gathering nature's bounty

sociolonguistics

investigates relationships between social and linguistic variation

society

organized life in groups

ethnography

provides an account of a particular group, community, society or culture (based on fieldwork)

anthropological arcaheology

recontructs, describes, and interprets human behavior and cultural patterns through material remains

4 subdisciplines of general anthropology

sociocultural anthropolgy anthropological archaeology biological anthropology linguistic anthropology

human ecology

study of ecosystems that include people, focusing on the ways in which human use "of nature influences and is influenced by social organization and cultural calues"

linguistic anthropology

study of language in its social and cultural context, throughout the world and over time

paleoecology

study of the ecosystems of the past

primatologists

study primate biology, evolution, behavior, and social life, often in their natural environments

food production

the cultivation of plants and domesticated animals

prehistory

the period of history before the invention of writing

adaptation

the process by which organisms cope with environmental forces and stresses.

biological anthropology

the study of human biological diversity through time and as it exists in the world today

anthropology

the study of humans around the world and through time

ecology

the study of interrelations among living things in an environment

primatology

the study of monkey, apes, and other nonhuman primates (a specialty of biological anthropology)

holism

the study of the whole of the human condition: past, present, and future; biology, society, language, and culture

what is the most ciritical element of cultural traditions?

their transmission through learning rather than through biological inheritance

culture

traditions and customs, transmitted through learning that form and guide the beliefs and behavior of the people exposed to them

t/f anthropology is a uniquely comparative and holistic science

true

t/f for millions of years, foraging was the sole basis of human substinence

true

t/f no language is a homogeneous system in which everyone speaks just like everyone else

true

t/f well-developed, grammatically complex languages have existed for thousands of years

true

biocultural

using and combining both biological and cultural perspectives and approaches to analyze and understand a particular issue or problem