Anthro Quiz Questions
The "bigman" as a form of leadership is associated with: Select one: a. Increasing food production and redistribution. b. Communal living and socialism. c. Population decline and cultural disintegration. d. Occupational specialization and market exchange. e. Decreasing food production and reciprocity.
ANSWER: a
The concept that caring for the elderly is a burden: Select one: a. Is widespread and occurs even in societies where group harmony is valued. b. Is most common among foraging societies. c. Rarely occurs in pre-modern societies. d. Is a particular aspect of current-day Western society because of its focus on money earning. e. Is linked to conditions where warfare is common.
ANSWER: a
The dominance of a political elite based on a close identification between their own goals and those of the larger society is called: Select one: a. Hegemony. b. Power. c. Legitimacy. d. Juxtaposition. e. Authority.
ANSWER: a
The economic production of Turkish women: Select one: a. Is best understood in terms of their social obligations and relations of reciprocity. b. Is slight and has little impact on the overall economy. c. Is best understood through the lens of market exchange. d. Is believed to have high monetary value in Turkish society. e. Is clearly demonstrated in women's basket weaving.
ANSWER: a
The principal resource that Spanish Conquistadors sent back from the Inca Empire was: Select one: a. Gold. b. Slaves. c. Tobacco. d. Diseases. e. Sugar.
ANSWER: a
Traits such as skin color, hair color and texture, and nose shape are often chosen to determine race because: Select one: a. They are easily visible. b. They are the most important to human cultures. c. They determine physical attractiveness and hence mating behavior. d. They have greater biological importance than other traits (regardless of their other cultural importance). e. They occur in more consistent, predictable ways than other traits.
ANSWER: a
Transnationalism is: Select one: a. The pattern of close ties and frequent visits between immigrants and those remaining in their home country. b. The pattern of immigrating to a new country. c. The pattern of creating new ties in the country an immigrant has migrated to. d. The pattern of splitting time equally between two countries. e. The pattern of migrating nuclear family members to a new country.
ANSWER: a
What does a Manam (a group in New Guinea) girl display at the time of her initiation? Select one: a. Wealth her parents and clan have contributed for the event. b. Pigs that she and her sisters have raised. c. Food that she has prepared. d. Jewelry that she has made. e. New dances that she has developed to display her personality.
ANSWER: a
Which of the following statements about the past 100 years is correct? Select one: a. It is probably the bloodiest century in human history. b. There was a great deal of bloodshed during the cold war but international levels of violence have greatly declined since then. c. There has been little bloodshed in the poor nations but a great deal in the wealthy nations. d. It has seen less bloodshed and suffering than most previous eras. e. There has been little bloodshed in the wealthy countries but a great deal in the poor nations.
ANSWER: a
The fieldwork technique that involves gathering cultural data by observing people's behavior and participating in their lives is called: a. Cross-cultural survey. b. Participant observation. c. Laboratory experimentation. d. Structured interview. e. Stratified random sampling.
ANSWER: b
The process of movement of culture traits from one society to another is called: Select one: a. Innovation. b. Diffusion. c. Reintegration. d. Invention. e. Sublimation.
ANSWER: b
The rise of plow agriculture has generally: Select one: a. Resulted in lower birth rates. b. Lowered women's status. c. Raised women's status. d. Not affected women's status. e. Increased women's longevity.
ANSWER: b
The stability of the Asante state was built on an economy whose key items included: Select one: a. Wide trade networks for luxury goods, especially in animal products. b. Shallow gold deposits and intensive agriculture. c. Pastoralism and the slave trade. d. Intensive agriculture and industrialization. e. A skilled and educated class of artisans and priests.
ANSWER: b
For the Trobriand Islanders, the central part of the Kula trade is: Select one: a. Trading for types of food that are unavailable on their home island. b. The after-parties that accompany all trading. c. The opportunity to meet potential mates. d. The opportunity to prove their manhood by taking long sea voyages. e. Trading for bracelets and armbands.
ANSWER: e
In a system of cross-cousin marriage, a man would be required to marry: Select one: a. A member of his own village. b. His father's brother's daughter. c. A woman with whom he has no blood relations. d. His mother's sister's daughter. e. His mother's brother's daughter.
ANSWER: e
"Inis Beag," a community near Galway in Ireland, is known as one of the most sexually naïve of all the world's societies. Select one: True False
TRUE
A leveling mechanism is a practice or form of social organization that evens out wealth in a society. Select one: True False
TRUE
All children, regardless of culture, go through the same stages and sequence for language learning. Select one: True False
TRUE
All cultures are made up of learned behaviors. Select one: True False
TRUE
Applied anthropologists are usually trained in one of the four primary subdisciplines. Select one: True False
TRUE
Gender is the social, cultural, and psychological constructs that are imposed on the biological differences of sex. Select one: True False
TRUE
In the United States, single motherhood is increasing today. Select one: True False
TRUE
Inequality is inevitable in large-scale social systems. Select one: True False
TRUE
Members of Melanesian cargo cults believe that the material wealth of whites was the result of their secret magical knowledge. Select one: True False
TRUE
Modern-day Wiccans often believe that everything they do, good or bad, returns to them three-fold. Select one: True False
TRUE
More than any other form of political organization, the state can carry out military action for both defensive and offensive purposes. Select one: True False
TRUE
One anthropological explanation for the incest taboo is that such taboos prevent sex with close relatives from causing disruption within the family. Select one: True False
TRUE
One anthropological perspective understands male initiation as a type of fertility cult. Select one: True False
TRUE
Productive resources are goods, natural resources, or information that is used to create other goods. Select one: True False
TRUE
Race and racism are highly correlated with industrial pollution. Select one: True False
TRUE
The gathering and interpretation of information based on intensive, firsthand study is called ethnography. Select one: True False
TRUE
To replace the population, women must have, on average, between 2.1 and 2.5 children. Select one: True False
TRUE
Warfare may be a means of regulating population in tribal societies. Select one: True False
TRUE
Wearing clothes with designer labels on them can be considered a form of nonverbal communication. Select one: True False
TRUE
Preindustrial agriculture uses all of the following techniques except: Select one: a. Pesticides. b. Fertilizer. c. Irrigation. d. Crop rotation. e. Selective livestock breeding.
ANSWER: a
According to the text, how many Americans were living in poverty (defined as an annual income of $22,314 or less per family of four) in 2010? Select one: a. 46.2 million. b. 79.8 million. c. 37.6 million. d. 13.7 million. e. 6.4 million.
ANSWER: a
For Rastas, the use of I-centered words emphasizes: Select one: a. The radical equality of all people. b. The importance of the individual in the world. c. Their history of protest against the Jamaican government. d. The importance of vision as the most important of the senses. e. The personal nature of meaning in Reggae.
ANSWER: a
In a matrilineal society: Select one: a. Inheritance and succession pass from the mother's brother to her son. b. Marriages are extremely stable. c. There is no concern over who the child's biological father is. d. Women occupy the politically important positions. e. Men are afraid of women.
ANSWER: a
Lewis Henry Morgan and Edward Tylor classified small-scale societies as: a. Savage. b. Barbarian. c. Primitive. d. Childlike. e. Civilized.
ANSWER: a
Men in Andalusia, Spain generally view women as: Select one: a. Lustful. b. Naive. c. Trustworthy. d. More intelligent than men. e. Angels.
ANSWER: a
New international conditions have created problems and opportunities for anthropologists working in the field. What are some of the challenges that J. Christopher Kovats-Bernat associates with doing "ethnography of violence"? Select one: a. There is often unstable political organization, difficult and dangerous physical conditions, and difficulties in making ethical decisions. b. Informants do not want to work with the anthropologist because of lack of anonymity and the anthropologist cannot live in a central location. c. Social conditions are difficult, the anthropologist faces challenges in breaking local laws, and newspapers will not publish personal interest stories. d. It is difficult to study violence because it is infrequent and cannot be controlled. Also, the anthropologist frequently cannot get official permission to work in areas of violence. e. Violence is a cultural concept and anthropologists find it difficult to define this term. The "ethnography of violence," according to Kovats-Bernat, is an ethnocentric concept.
ANSWER: a
One aspect of language that appears to contradict the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis is that human languages are similar in that: Select one: a. Anything that can be said in one language can be translated into every other human language. b. They are all created by humans. c. They are only so many words that can be invented in a language. d. There are only so many ways that humans can interpret the world around them. e. Every language uses the same set of sounds.
ANSWER: a
One of the most important functions of the clan across cultures is to: Select one: a. Regulate marriage. b. Manage economic affairs of the family. c. Preserve the environment by sacred identification. d. Determine political positions. e. Educate young people.
ANSWER: a
A Pidgin is: Select one: a. A language made by blending of other, earlier languages. b. A language of contact and trade that includes a mixture of other languages. c. A language that can be taught to parrots and other non-human animals. d. The language of lower class or oppressed groups in a society. e. The language dialect speakers use when conversing with speakers of the standard version of a language.
ANSWER: b
A Tuareg man wears his veil at different positions on his face in different social situations. This is an example of: Select one: a. The genetic patterning of behavior. b. Nonverbal communication. c. Universal grammar. d. The universal relationship between language and action. e. Bad manners.
ANSWER: b
A dialect is: Select one: a. A language that contains fewer than 1,500 words. b. Language that is used by less powerful groups in society. c. A language that does not have a logical system of grammar. d. Language that is used in informal social settings. e. Speech that consciously breaks the grammatical rules of language.
ANSWER: b
Among extensive cultivators, one of the key factors that determines whether land will be considered exclusive and defended is: Select one: a. The presence of irrigation works (lands with such works are defended, others are not). b. The relationship of land and population (societies with high population density defend lands, others do not). c. The presence of warrior societies (cultures with warrior societies defend lands, others do not). d. Contact with Western cultures (societies that have Western contact defend, others do not). e. The types of crops planted (lands where tree crops are planted are defended but root crops are not).
ANSWER: b
An example of an achieved status is: Select one: a. Caste. b. Occupation. c. Sex. d. Clan. e. Ethnic group.
ANSWER: b
An important source of status for women in Nukumanu was: Select one: a. Fishing. b. Controlling swamp taro lands. c. Drinking kareve. d. Wage labor. e. Weaving.
ANSWER: b
Anthropologists say that human adaptation is biocultural. Which of the following best represents what is meant by this statement? a. Human adaptation is both biological and cultural, and anthropologists cannot distinguish between the meanings of these concepts. b. Human adaptation involves both biological and cultural dimensions and each influences the other. c. Human adaptation is unique among all animals because it is based exclusively on physiological adaptations. d. Human adaptation is the same as that of all animal because culture plays a role in the adaptation of all forms of life. e. Human adaptation is based exclusively on culture. Biology is subsumed within the cultural dimension and does not exert an independent influence on humans.
ANSWER: b
Biopsychological equality is the notion that: Select one: a. Every person has equal intelligence. b. All human groups have equal biological and mental capabilities. c. From a biological and psychological perspective humans are, for all practical purposes, the same as other primates. d. There should be political programs to assure equal rights of all people. e. Human culture is rooted in human biology.
ANSWER: b
Charles Hockett argues that the following two steps were critical in the evolution of human language: Select one: a. Duality of pattern and productivity. b. Blending and duality of patterning. c. Displacement and blending. d. Productivity and displacement. e. Blending and dual structure.
ANSWER: b
Contemporary anthropological approaches to gender emphasize: Select one: a. Questions about why there are so few women in anthropology. b. The central role of gender relations as a basic building block of culture. c. The ways in which men in many cultures feel threatened by female empowerment. d. Ways to increase women's power in contemporary society. e. Explanations for universal male dominance.
ANSWER: b
For the Gwich'in, the most important result of climate change has been: Select one: a. The need to find more sophisticated ways of keeping warm as their area cools. b. The decrease in size and health of the caribou herd on which they depend. c. Increased ability to use snowmobiles to hunt caribou and fur bearing mammals. d. The increased presence of outside industries that have negative impacts on local culture. e. Increased contact with outsiders and increasing ability to sell furs and native crafts.
ANSWER: b
Human speech is infinitely productive. This means that: Select one: a. Every normal adult can produce an infinite number of sounds. b. Humans can combine words into new, meaningful utterances that they have never heard before. c. The more human beings talk, the more productive they are economically. d. Human beings never become tired of talking. e. Human speech is always directed toward some productive purpose.
ANSWER: b
In a system of unilineal descent: Select one: a. A household is composed of a man, his wife, his sons, and their children. b. An individual belongs to the descent group of either the mother or the father, but not both. c. Descent groups, which include relatives from both the father's and the mother's side, are formed. d. A man is not allowed to marry his cousin. e. The grandfather is recognized as the only father.
ANSWER: b
Karen houses are generally: Select one: a. Built in the shade under trees. b. Built without windows. c. Built with adobe brick. d. Built with their main living floor two or three feet below ground level. e. Built by men but owned by women.
ANSWER: b
Many linguists argue that there is a universal grammar. This is: Select one: a. An alphabet in which all languages and the sounds that make them up can be written. b. A set of principles, conditions, and rules that underlie all languages. c. A single word order in which different parts of speech must appear in all languages. d. A simple way of speaking that can be understood by everyone all over the world. e. A set of words that means the same thing in every language.
ANSWER: b
Sexual relations in Mangaia: Select one: a. Don't begin until men and women are in their thirties. b. Take place in private, but with much public joking. c. Are as common between men as between men and women. d. Are a very serious and private matter, generally kept secret until the birth of children. e. Frequently take place in public.
ANSWER: b
The English word "cats" has how many morphemes? Select one: a. No morphemes. b. 2 morphemes: cat-s. c. 3 morphemes: ca-t-s. d. 4 morphemes: c-a-t-s. e. 1 morpheme: cat.
ANSWER: b
Which of the following correctly characterizes Dalva, one of the informants in Mary Kenny's study of the favela of Olinda? Select one: a. Like many other children, she will use her formal schooling to escape conditions of poverty. b. Although only 12, by organizing younger children and generating income, she has become the head of her household. c. A victim of child abuse, she will most likely have to spend the rest of her life in an institution. d. Although her family is poor, she receives strong support from her parents, particularly her mother. e. She works 12 hours a day sewing shirts for American corporations but barely makes enough money to feed herself, let alone her brothers and sisters.
ANSWER: b
Which of the following is most likely to occur in a society where polygyny is frequent? Select one: a. A matrilocal residence rule. b. The composite family. c. Matrilineal inheritance. d. Cross-cousin marriage. e. The nuclear family.
ANSWER: b
Which of the following is the most important function of marriage? Select one: a. Arrangement between families for economic gains. b. Creation of a stable environment in which to raise children. c. Ritual ordained by religion so that the church can endure. d. Accord between individuals so that they can obtain political status. e. Agreement between parties to maximize sexual competition.
ANSWER: b
Which of the following practices is commonly found among the Navajo? Select one: a. Children are believed to belong to the tribe itself and are not members of any nuclear family until they marry. b. A woman's children are considered legitimate members of the matriclan whether or not she is married. c. Sexual activity is never permitted outside of marriage, and it is rare for children to be born outside of wedlock. d. A man's children are considered legitimate only if he resides with the woman for more than one year. e. The patriclan of the tribe controls children and they are raised by the father's family.
ANSWER: b
Which of the following statements is correct? a. There is no such thing as a cultural universal. b. There are cultural universals, but there is no single explanation about how they developed. c. Anthropologists believe that cultural universals exist because at one time there was a single human culture. d. Periodically cultural universals occur, especially at points of evolution. e. Human evolution could not occur without cultural universals.
ANSWER: b
A tribal society: Select one: a. Lacks any social mechanisms to hold its different units together. b. Is constantly in a state of warfare. c. Imagines all of its members to be related by kinship. d. Is a creation of Western colonial administrators and not naturally occurring. e. Is characterized by peaceful relations among its different segments.
ANSWER: c
According to anthropologist Laura Klein, Tlingit men: Select one: a. Resent women's power. b. Share equally in domestic chores so women can work. c. Are supportive of women taking leadership roles in the community. d. Blame women for the break-up of Tlingit families. e. Initiate a high degree of domestic violence.
ANSWER: c
Among the Maasai, pasture land is: Select one: a. Rented from the neighboring Nuer. b. Far less important than garden land and, therefore, ecologically degraded. c. Owned collectively rather than individually. d. Passed from mother's brother to sister's son. e. Owned by individual families.
ANSWER: c
Anthropologists find that the concept of humanness and the recognition of human status is: Select one: a. A biological designation. b. A sociological achievement. c. A cultural designation. d. A cultural universal. e. Patterned and integrated throughout cultures.
ANSWER: c
Chinese factories hire dagongmei because: Select one: a. They are likely to be better trained than other workers. b. Since they are orphans, they are easily exploited. c. They are a cheap source of labor. d. The government provides extra cash incentives for companies that hire them. e. They need to provide entertainment for their male workers.
ANSWER: c
European governments were often reluctant to colonize because: Select one: a. They feared rebellion by the natives. b. They believed in the "Rights of Man" and were morally opposed to controlling other peoples. c. It meant building infrastructure and that was expensive. d. They could rarely find people who wished to serve as officials in the colonies. e. They feared that it would lead to interracial marriage and they were opposed to this.
ANSWER: c
In a society that is characterized by age grades: Select one: a. Rituals are rarely necessary. b. Chiefs control all of the critical material resources. c. People follow a well-ordered progression through a series of age-related life stages. d. People are very unlikely to make significant investments in warfare. e. People who lack the necessary skills to progress to the next grade are cast out of society.
ANSWER: c
Incest taboos universally apply to: Select one: a. Members of the same village. b. Cross cousins but not parallel cousins. c. Mothers and sons. d. First cousins.
ANSWER: c
Informed consent involves all of the following, EXCEPT: Select one: a. Anthropologists must be involved in a dynamic discussion with participants in order to explain the significance of informed consent. b. Individuals should understand the risks and benefits inherent in the research. c. Participants must sign a witnessed contract with the anthropologist indicating that they approve of the research study. d. Participants must understand how the research data is likely to affect them. e. Individuals must be free to decide if they want to participate.
ANSWER: c
Many Hopi origin beliefs concern: Select one: a. A creator god who fashioned people in his own likeness. b. A ship that came from the East. c. The digging stick and the techniques for farming blue corn. d. A god who took yellow and white corn meal, and fashioned four men and four women from it. e. An epic battle between the forces of day and night.
ANSWER: c
Multinationals play an important role in pollution because: Select one: a. Factories of multinationals tend to pollute more per unit of goods they produce than factories of locally owned companies. b. They are particularly able to create and market products that can control pollution. c. They are wealthy and powerful enough to circumvent national laws designed to control pollution. d. They are more susceptible to public pressure than other corporations. e. They are frequently at the forefront of efforts to clean up the environment.
ANSWER: c
Norms and values are both: Select one: a. Timeless and unchanging because they are encoded in law and government. b. Timeless and unchanging because they are encoded in religion and mythology. c. Constantly changing and open to re-negotiation. d. The result of substantial agreement between members of the dominant culture and members of sub-cultures. e. Controlled entirely by the dominant culture.
ANSWER: c
Social birth refers to: Select one: a. The ceremonial transition from childhood to adolescence. b. The biological act of giving birth through social ritual. c. The point at which a person is considered a human being and a member of human society. d. The spiritual awakening of an individual through the completion of his or her designated rite of passage. e. The event where women collectively give birth in a social setting.
ANSWER: c
The Tirailleurs Senegalais were: Select one: a. African children who were forced into domestic service in French households. b. The name for the French troops that were stationed in Africa. c. A regiment of African troops drafted or enlisted into service in the French army. d. Workers in gold mines in West Africa caught in a battle between the French and British. e. A police force used to patrol Dakar, the capital of Senegal.
ANSWER: c
The extended family seems to have clear advantages: Select one: a. Where marriage is a matter of free choice rather than arrangement. b. In hunting and gathering societies living on the margins of existence. c. In stable cultivating societies where ownership of land is important. d. In industrial societies with large urban populations. e. In socialist rather than capitalist societies.
ANSWER: c
The function of an Institutional Review Board (IRB) is to: a. Certify and approve departments of anthropology. b. Suggest disciplinary actions against researchers who violate ethical standards. c. Approve, monitor, and review all university research involving human subjects. d. Review articles submitted to academic journals prior to publication. e. Fund anthropological research.
ANSWER: c
What is the name of the organization that maintains a statement of ethical guidelines for anthropologists? Select one: a. Association for American Anthropologists. b. American Anthropological Institute. c. American Anthropological Association. d. Anthropological Ethics Institute. e. American Association of Anthropologists.
ANSWER: c
Where resources are scarce and large areas are needed to support the population, territorial boundaries are: Select one: a. Strictly defended and the cause of high amounts of conflict. b. Loosely marked, but strictly defended by military coalitions. c. Usually not defended. d. Marked and privately owned by influential members of the community. e. Strictly marked, but loosely defended during certain seasons.
ANSWER: c
Which of the following best describes capitalism? Select one: a. A critical means governments use to control the economy. b. A system designed to provide equal life-chances for all. c. An economic system that has become predominant in the last 300 years. d. A system designed to minimize differences in wealth among people. e. An idea present in all societies.
ANSWER: c
Which of the following correctly characterizes the Hopi growing of blue corn? Select one: a. Hopi look down upon those who grow blue corn, because it represents both poverty and old-fashioned values. b. Only women can grow blue corn, because only women possess generative earth powers. c. When they farm blue corn, they live their religious understanding of the world. d. They have mixed feelings when they grow blue corn because, though it is necessary to make traditional foods, it is associated with impurity and evil. e. Hopi spend little time growing corn but much time growing beans, because corn has little religious significance.
ANSWER: c
Which of the following correctly defines assimilation in the United States? Select one: a. It is change in identity that a country makes when it opens its doors to immigrants. b. It is a process in which immigrants are selected based on allowable quotas in the United States. c. It is a process in which immigrants were expected to leave behind their cultural distinctions in favor of an American identity. d. It is a process in which two new cultures come together to form a very different types of third culture, including elements of both the immigrant's home culture and also the cultures of American citizens. e. It occurs when one culture takes precedence over another and suppresses it. We saw this in the early part of U.S. immigration history.
ANSWER: c
Your textbook argues that multiculturalism: a. Should be embraced by all Americans. b. Should be resisted by all who fear the passing of the American Way of Life. c. Is inevitable in an increasingly globalized world. d. Exposes a fundamental truth about the nature of human societies and cultures. e. Is dangerous to every culture but is also ultimately unstoppable.
ANSWER: c
An important change in the Indian caste system provoked by globalization is: Select one: a. The social acceptance of Dalits. b. A widening cultural gap between the upper and lower castes. c. The westernization of lower caste lifestyles. d. The emergence of non-caste related occupations. e. The conversion of higher castes to Christianity.
ANSWER: d
Anthropologist Sara Castle has argued that Fulani parents seem indifferent to their children because: Select one: a. They cannot conceptualize their family size. b. Fulani society looks down on children and sees pregnancy as embarrassing. c. They do not believe that individuals have souls until they reach puberty. d. They believe that showing concern for children will attract evil sorcerers or spirits. e. In such a patriarchal society, anything having to do with women is devalued and all children are seen as associated with women rather than men.
ANSWER: d
Corvee labor was a widespread practice in colonies until: Select one: a. The Cold War. b. The American Revolution. c. World War I. d. World War II. e. The Great War.
ANSWER: d
How would you describe Lewis Henry Morgan's and Edward Tylor's "evolutionary anthropology"? Select one: a. It was the study of how humans changed from simple to complex communication and transportation systems. b. It was the study of how societies harnessed more energy for production over time. c. It was the study of how the human body changed physically from earlier to later forms, sometimes even changing species. d. It was the study of the history of human society from simple technology and social institutions to complex ones. e. It was the study of how native people classify their natural world.
ANSWER: d
In woman/woman marriages: Select one: a. Wives with female husbands are always regarded as inferior and stigmatized. b. The wife and her female husband always have sexual relations. c. The woman husband is someone who for a variety of reasons no man wanted for a wife. d. The female husband may take on aspects of the male gender role such as participating in male initiation rituals. e. The woman husband always takes on masculine characteristics.
ANSWER: d
Margaret Mead's study of the Arapesh, Mundugamor, and Tchambuli showed that: Select one: a. Where women's qualities are valued, men's qualities are likely to be devalued. b. Where women work, they are more likely to be aggressive. c. Women in all cultures have the same personality traits. d. The relationship between gender and personality varies with cultural expectations. e. Only in the United States are women primarily concerned with child care.
ANSWER: d
One critical economic difference between a firm and a household is: Select one: a. Firms look for profit in their cash transactions, households rarely do. b. Firms have no obligations to the communities in which they are found; households have many. c. Firms usually behave in a manner that is economically rational, households rarely do. d. Firms may grow with relative ease, but the structure of households limits their growth. e. Firms may expand their size through hiring new members but the membership of a household is fixed.
ANSWER: d
Over the last century, among the Kipsigis of East Africa, bridewealth payments have: Select one: a. Remained the same in spite of changed economic conditions. b. Been prohibited by law. c. Disappeared under the pressure of colonialism and modernity. d. Decreased, as other economic opportunities compete for a man's investments. e. Increased, to cover the rising cost of living.
ANSWER: d
The Sudanese kinship system uses: Select one: a. The same terms for brothers and sisters and cousins. b. The same term for cousins on the mother's side and cousins on the father's side. c. The same term for father's brother and mother's brother. d. A different term for almost every category of relative. e. The same term for father and father's brother.
ANSWER: d
The area of the world most associated with the two-spirit is: Select one: a. New Guinea. b. Southern Spain. c. West Africa. d. Native societies of North America. e. Ireland.
ANSWER: d
The difference between a productive resource and a capital resource is: Select one: a. Capital resources can exist only in modern industrialized nations. Productive resources exist everywhere. b. The ownership of capital resources makes one wealthy, but the ownership of productive resources does not. c. Capital resources can exist only in modern industrialized nations. Productive resources exist only in traditional societies. d. Capital resources are used to generate profit for their owners, while productive resources do not necessarily have this function. e. Capital resources can be sold or inherited, productive resources cannot.
ANSWER: d
The number of Americans who say they attend church regularly has: Select one: a. Declined, compared to the number of Europeans who say they attend church regularly. b. Remained about the same since 1940. c. Fallen steadily since 1940. d. Increased substantially since 1940. e. Has increased since 1940 among the old but declined during the same period among the young.
ANSWER: d
The overwhelming majority of Americans define themselves as: Select one: a. The working class. b. Poor. c. Classless. d. Middle class. e. Elite.
ANSWER: d
Use of the word "myth" is problematic in anthropology because: Select one: a. The central characters of "myths" are generally hero figures, but understanding these isn't very important in anthropology. b. "Myths" generally refer to origin stories but religious stories cover many subjects. c. Many things we call myths are true. d. We tend to use it to describe others' beliefs that we consider false but rarely apply it to our own beliefs. e. Since "myth" is generally used to talk about ancient culture, it is more appropriate to history or archaeology.
ANSWER: d
Why did anthropology pay little attention to women prior to the 1970s? All of the following are correct, EXCEPT: Select one: a. Anthropologists assumed that men's activities were political and more important than women's activities, which were domestic. b. Many anthropologists assumed that men represented women as well and there was no need to study these as separate genders. c. The majority of practicing anthropologists was male and had little access to working with women in other societies. d. Anthropologists were all male and there were no women available to study other women. e. Men's roles were much more public and were more easily studied.
ANSWER: d
A primary function of rites of intensification is to: Select one: a. Restrain the ghosts of dead people from taking revenge on the living. b. Regulate male-female conflict within a society. c. Help an individual through a personal crisis. d. Help a young man in his search for a guardian spirit. e. Reinforce the values and norms of the community and strengthen group identity.
ANSWER: e
All of the following are ethical concerns raised by anthropologists who work in military projects such as Human Terrain Systems (HTS), EXCEPT: a. Inability to obtain informed consent. b. Inability to keep the confidentiality of informants. c. Secretive nature of so much of the research data. d. Safety of informants. e. Inability to pay the informants adequately.
ANSWER: e
All of the following are expressed in the American kinship terminology except: Select one: a. Affinal kinship. b. Generation. c. Gender. d. Collaterality. e. Bifurcation.
ANSWER: e
Anthropological interview techniques: Select one: a. Are always the same from field project to field project. b. Always involve the same processes and same steps of procedure. c. Are no longer used in contemporary fieldwork. d. Have been adapted from philosophy. e. Are highly varied and are situation-specific.
ANSWER: e
Anthropologist J. Christopher Kovats-Bernat argues that when an anthropologist pursues studies of "ethnography of violence," the anthropologist and informant must have what type of relationship between them? Select one: a. Autonomy. b. Self-preservation. c. Respect. d. Mutual advantage. e. Mutual responsibility.
ANSWER: e
Consanguine refers to kin that is: Select one: a. Related by marriage. b. Related by remarriage. c. Related by matrilineal lines only. d. Related by matrilineal lines only. e. Related by blood.
ANSWER: e
Leveling mechanisms are ways of evening out the distribution of wealth in society. Which of the following is not an example of a leveling mechanism? Select one: a. The inheritance pattern by which all of a man's children share equally in his property. b. Witchcraft accusations against especially prosperous persons. c. The welfare and social security systems of modern industrialized nations. d. The Mexican cargo system whereby wealthy adults take turns in sponsoring religious feasts. e. A public stock offering by a private firm in a capitalist society.
ANSWER: e
Marcel Mauss, and many other anthropologists, theorized that an important function of gift giving is to: Select one: a. Build up the economic resources of some families at the expense of other families. b. Build up the power of the state. c. Expand the technological base of a society. d. Provide an outlet for the innate human desire to give and receive gifts. e. Hold societies together.
ANSWER: e
One of the major changes that the 20th century brought to the Inuit was: Select one: a. Almost complete extinction in the inland hunting grounds, forcing Inuit to live on the seacoast. b. Schooling opportunities that led most Inuit to migrate to more temperate climates. c. Persecution by the government, leading to a reduction in Inuit numbers by more than 75 percent. d. Almost complete extinction in native fisheries, forcing Inuit to move away from the coastline. e. Opportunities to enter the commercial fur trade and government employment.
ANSWER: e
The Burakumin in Japan are regarded by Japanese society as a(n): Select one: a. Caste. b. Ethnic group. c. Class. d. Clan. e. Race.
ANSWER: e
The relationship between language and culture is illustrated by the fact that: Select one: a. All languages have the same number of words. b. Some words are the same in all cultures. c. The most complex societies have the most complex languages. d. All languages contain words for all aspects of the physical environment. e. The vocabulary of a language emphasizes those features of the environment that are culturally most significant.
ANSWER: e
There are many people in the United States who resist capitalism. Some common ways they do so are: Select one: a. Telecommuting. b. Joining unions. c. Starting their own small companies. d. Becoming college professors. e. Garage sales, hunting, and gardening.
ANSWER: e
What is the primary goal of emic research? Select one: a. Help insiders make more effective changes to their culture over time. b. Help governments better manage minority populations. c. Help outsiders determine which cultures are more effective in particular environments. d. Help insiders gain a better understanding of their own culture. e. Help outsiders understand what it means to be a member of another culture.
ANSWER: e
When we compare dominant and sub-cultures within a society, it is clear that: Select one: a. While members of the dominant culture usually control the government, members of sub-cultures usually control the media. b. Most members of sub-cultures are between the ages of 15 and 25. c. Dominant cultures are inferior to sub-cultures. d. Members of sub-cultures come closer to achieving their ideal pattern than do members of the dominant culture. e. Dominant cultures are more powerful than sub-cultures.
ANSWER: e
Which of the following is the most accurate description of Margaret Mead's impact on the gender issues in cultural anthropology? Select one: a. Her work showed that gender was primarily a biological phenomenon. b. She had little impact; her books weren't highly regarded. c. The fact that most of her work was about women showed that they were an important part of culture. d. Though ignored in the U.S., Mead's work was hailed in Europe. Thus, gender studies were far more advanced in Europe than in the U.S. e. Her work questioned the biologically determined nature of gender.
ANSWER: e
With the introduction of wage labor into Nukumanu, in the 19th century, women's status has: Select one: a. Increased in cultural and ritual importance. b. Remained the same as prior to Western contact. c. Gone up economically, but down socially. d. Increased as a result of their participation in the church. e. Declined economically and socially.
ANSWER: e
The most basic tie in society is between husband and wife. Select one: True False
FALSE
The public/private dichotomy is particularly important in foraging societies. Select one: True False
FALSE
The term transmigrant has been coined to refer to immigrants who cut ties with their home countries. Select one: True False
FALSE
There is no scientific evidence that one individual can kill another through the use of sorcery. Select one: True False
FALSE
Yarahmadzai herders virtually never work for cash. Select one: True False
FALSE
The yield per person per unit of land is known as the population density. Select one: True False
FALSE (productivity subsistence)
All economic behavior can be explained by financial profit and gain. Select one: True False
FALSE
Alternative, or multiple sexes and genders have been found only in Native North America. Select one: True False
FALSE
Anthropologists always side with the culture seeking repatriation of historical objects. Select one: True False
FALSE
Changes in China since the death of Mao have resulted in increasing prosperity and increasing equality. Select one: True False
FALSE
Diffusion is generally a peaceful process that benefits all of the cultures involved. Select one: True False
FALSE
Foraging societies are likely to have rigid boundaries and defend them against encroachers. Select one: True False
FALSE
If a person speaks a more "proper" form of English (such as SSAE instead of AAVE), then their thought process will become more complex and rational. Select one: True False
FALSE
In a capitalist society, wealth is always a source of prestige. Select one: True False
FALSE
In recent years, women in Iran have moved away from wearing the burka in public. Select one: True False
FALSE
In the late 19th century, Haddon led a team of scientists to do research on the Torres Straits. This lay the basis for anthropology in the United States. True False
FALSE
Most adults in any society can be considered liminal. Select one: True False
FALSE
Most nations in the Americas did not gain their independence until after World War II. Select one: True False
FALSE
Racial boundaries are very clear-cut in Brazil. Select one: True False
FALSE
Rebellion aims at overthrowing the present political structure and replacing it with a new one. Select one: True False
FALSE
Some sexual interactions, such as kissing, are practiced universally, while others are not. Select one: True False
FALSE
The interdependence of social stratification and the rise of the state are well illustrated by the operation of the Kpelle moot. Select one: True False
FALSE