Anthropology Midterm
Adaptation refers to the processes by which organisms cope with environmental forces and stresses, such as those posed by climate and topography. A) true B) false
A
Although humans do employ tools much more than any other animal does, tool use also turns up among several nonhuman species, including birds, beavers, sea otters, and apes. A) true B) false
A
Anthropologists' early interest in Native North Americans A) is an important historical reason for the development of four-field anthropology in the U.S. B) proved early on that culture is a function of race. C) was replaced in the 1930s by the two-field approach. D) is unique to European anthropology. E) was more important than interest in the relation between biology and culture in the development of U.S. four-field anthropology.
A
Anthropology is a science, yet it has been suggested that anthropology is among the most humanistic of all academic fields. This is because A) of its fundamental respect for human diversity. B) its main object of study is humans. C) its findings are best expressed with the tools of the humanities. D) it puts so much emphasis on the study of culture that cannot be studied scientifically. E) the field, particularly in the United States, traces its origins to philosophy and literature.
A
Cultural anthropologists carry out their fieldwork in A) all kinds of societies. B) the third world. C) factories. D) the tropics. E) former colonies.
A
Cultural particularities are unique to certain cultures, while cultural generalities are common to several (but not all) cultures. A) true B) false
A
Cultural relativists believe that a culture should be judged only according to the standards and traditions of that culture and not according to the standards of other cultural traditions. A) true B) false
A
Diffusion plays an important role in spreading cultural traits around the world. A) true B) false
A
Human rights are seen as inalienable. This means that A) nations cannot abridge or terminate them. B) anthropologists have no moral grounds to question them. C) they are vested in groups and not individuals. D) they are universally accepted by all individuals. E) no one can abuse them.
A
Humans can adapt to their surroundings through both biological and cultural means. A) true B) false
A
In many countries, use of the English language reflects a colonial history and is thus a consequence of forced diffusion. A) true B) false
A
Independent invention occurs when two or more cultures independently come up with similar solutions to a common problem. A) true B) false
A
A holistic and comparative perspective A) makes general anthropology superior to sociocultural anthropology. B) most characterizes anthropology when compared to other disciplines that study humans. C) is the hallmark of all social sciences, not just anthropology. D) makes anthropology an interesting field of study, but too broad of one to apply to real problems people face today. E) refers only to the cultural aspects of human diversity that anthropologists study.
B
Acculturation is the process by which people lose the culture they learned as children. A) true B) false
B
Anthropologists study only non-Western cultures. A) True B) False
B
Archaeologists study only prehistoric communities. A) true B) false
B
Cultures are integrated, patterned systems in which a change in one part often leads to changes in other parts. A) false B) true
B
Ethnography is the A) preliminary data that sociologists use to develop survey research. B) fieldwork component of cultural anthropology. C) study of biological adaptability. D) cross-cultural comparative component of cultural anthropology. E) generalizing aspect of cultural anthropology.
B
In anthropology, cultural relativism is not a moral position but a methodological one. It states that A) to understand another culture, we must use tactics to try to jar people so that their true views are revealed. B) to understand another culture fully, we must try to understand how the people in that culture see things. C) to bring about desired cultural change, anthropologists should act as emissaries of the most evolved cultural values. D) some cultures are relatively better than others. E) because cultural values vary between cultures, they cannot be analyzed and compared.
B
Primatology is a specialty within A) anthropological archaeology. B) biological anthropology. C) applied anthropology. D) linguistic anthropology. E) cultural anthropology.
B
The presence of more efficient respiratory systems to extract oxygen from the air among human populations living at high elevations is an example of which form of adaptation? A) short-term physiological adaptation B) long-term physiological adaptation C) cultural adaptation D)symbolic adaptation E) genetic adaptation
B
What are the four subdisciplines of anthropology? A) primatology, ethnology, cultural anthropology, and paleoscatology B) biological (or physical) anthropology, linguistic anthropology, cultural anthropology, and archaeology C) medical anthropology, ethnography, ethnology, and cultural anthropology D) genetic anthropology, physical anthropology, psychological anthropology, and anthropology and linguistics E) archaeology, biological anthropology, applied linguistics, and applied anthropology
B
Which of the following is a cultural generality? A) exogamy B) the nuclear family C) the use of symbols D) the incest taboo E) the use of fire
B
Applied anthropology A) focuses on preparing emerging academic scholars to improve their grant application skills. B) is an European phenomenon. C) encompasses any use of the knowledge and/or techniques of its four subfields to identify, assess, and solve practical problems. D) has yet to be recognized by the American Anthropological Association. E) originated at the same time that anthropology's four-field approach became established among early-twentieth-century U.S. academics.
C
How are the four subfields of U.S. anthropology unified? A) The subfields really are not unified; their grouping into one discipline is a historical accident. B) Each subfield studies human biological variability. C) Each subfield studies human variation through time and space. D) Each subfield studies human genetic variation through time and space. E) Each subfield studies the human capacity for language.
C
Linguistic anthropology A) includes cultural anthropology and paleoecology. B) has securely dated the origin of hominid language. C) includes sociolinguistics, descriptive linguistics, and the study of the biological basis for speech. D) is a research strategy of biological anthropologists studying the emergence of language among nonhuman primates. E) relies heavily on the methods of phrenology.
C
What is the process by which children learn a particular cultural tradition? A)ethnology B) biological adaptation C) enculturation D) ethnography E) acculturation
C
What is the term for the kind of cultural change that results when two or more cultures have consistent firsthand contact? A) enculturation B) independent invention C) acculturation D) colonization E) imperialism
C
Which of the following best describes biological anthropology? A) the study of biological and cultural approaches to a given problem B) the study of language and linguistic diversity C) the study of human biological diversity D) the study of biology through material remains E) the study of public health
C
Anthropologist Clifford Geertz defined culture as ideas based on cultural learning and symbols. For anthropologist Leslie White, culture originated when our ancestors acquired the ability to use symbols. What is a symbol? A) any element within a culture that distinguishes it from other cultures, precisely because it is difficult to translate B) something verbal or nonverbal with a nonarbitrary association with what it symbolizes C) a linguistic sign within a particular language that comes to stand for something else in another language D) something verbal or nonverbal within a particular language or culture that comes to stand for something else, with no necessary or natural connection to the thing for which it stands E) distinctive or unique cultural trait, pattern, or integration that can be translated into other cultures
D
People must eat, but culture teaches us what, when, and how to do so. This is an example of how A) "human nature" is a cultural construction, an idea we have in our minds that has nothing to do with true nature. B) individuals are powerless to alter the strong relationship between nature and culture. C) biology dominates culture. D) culture takes the natural biological urges we share with other animals and teaches us how to express them in particular ways. E) we are all just uncultured animals.
D
Regarding human capacity for culture, anthropologists agree that A) because human populations differ in their emotional and intellectual capacities, the ability to learn culture differs among societies. B) although women and men both share the emotional and intellectual capacities for culture, at the population level there is less variability in these capacities among men than among women. C) although an individual's genetic endowment does not affect that person's ability to learn cultural traditions, it does affect his or her capacity to change culture creatively. D) although individuals differ in their emotional and intellectual capacities, all human populations have equivalent capacities for culture. E) both mental abilities and mental disabilities are evenly distributed among individuals of all cultures.
D
What are cultural particularities? A) traits isolated from other traits in the same culture B) cultural traits of individuals rather than of groups C) the most general aspect of culture patterns D) traits unique to a given culture, not shared with others E) different levels of culture
D
Which of the following is an example of independent invention, the process by which people in different societies have innovated and changed in similar but independent ways? A) acculturation B) language C) globalization D) agriculture E) culture
D
Archaeologists studying sunken ships off the coast of Florida or analyzing the content of modern garbage are examples of how A) archaeology is going through an identity crisis, with its practitioners questioning the discipline's focus on studying prehistory. B) Hollywood has popularized archaeology in recent movies, making it a popular college major. C) archaeology is free from having to worry about the impact of its work on people. D) training in the use of research skills for extreme environments—such as landfills and the deep sea—are worth the time, resources, and risk for the sake of the anthropological knowledge gained. E) archaeologists study the culture of historical and even living peoples.
E
Culture can be adaptive or maladaptive. It is maladaptive when A) it threatens the core values of a culture that guarantee its integration. B) it exhibits cultural traits that are not shared with the majority of the group. C) cultural traits, patterns, and inventions disrupt the world economy, causing international discontent. D) cultural traits diminish the survival of particular individuals but not others. E) cultural traits, patterns, and inventions threaten the group's continued survival and reproduction and thus its very existence.
E
Over time, humans have become increasingly dependent on which of the following in order to cope with the range of environments they have occupied in time and space? A) a holistic and comparative approach to problem solving B) biological means of adaptation, mostly thanks to advanced medical research C) technological means of adaptation, such as the creation of virtual worlds that allow us to escape from day-to-day reality D) social institutions, such as the state, that coordinate collective action E) cultural means of adaptation
E
Something, verbal or nonverbal, that stands for something else is known as a A) taboo. B)transmitter. C)talisman. D)substitute. E) symbol.
E
The tendency to view one's own culture as superior and to use one's own standards and values in judging others is called A) moral relativism. B) illiteracy. C) patriotism. D) cultural relativism. E) ethnocentrism.
E
What is anthropology? A) the study of long-term physiological adaptation B) the art of ethnography C) the study of the stages of social evolution D) the humanistic investigation of myths in nonindustrial societies E) the study of humans around the world and through time
E
