Anthropology Midterm

The famous group of hominins known as the Neanderthals is included in which of the following groups? a. Archaic Homo sapiens b. Anatomically modern homo sapiens c. Australopithecus d. Homo erectus

a. Archaic Homo sapiens

Which hominin was the first stone tool maker (according to the lecture)? a. Homo habillis b. Homo erectus c. Australopithecus afarensis d. Neanderthals

a. Homo habillis

Becoming Human: The ___________ is a deep furrow in a primate's brain. It divides parts of the brain related to vision from the rest of the neocortex, which is where more complex thought happens. a. Lunate Sulcas b. Broca's Area c. Medulla Oblongata d. Cerebellum

a. Lunate Sulcas

In anthropology, holism refers to: a. Seeking to understand how all aspects of our species are related b. Promoting the use of traditional medicine in contemporary society c. Using religion to guide research d. The idea that we can never know anything fully, and all research is filled with "holes"

a. Seeking to understand how all aspects of our species are related

When children in the United States reach a certain age, they often move out of their parents' home and into their own living space, something anthropologists refer to as a. Dispersal b. Affinal separation c. Consanguineal isolation d. Age of consent

a. dispersal

The process of learning culture from a very young age is called a. Enculturation b. Ethnocentrism c. Symbolism d. Acculturation

a. enculturation

A form of non-portable material culture that a human has made and modified is called a/an _______. a. Feature b. Geode c. Flake d. Fossil

a. feature

According to the lecture, which school of anthropological thought stresses the interrelationship among the natural conditions in the environment and society? a. Neoevolutionism b. Structuralism c. Functionalism d. Interpretive anthropology

a. neoevolutionism

According to "Our Babies Ourselves", which of the following is NOT one of the "3 R's" of child rearing in Dutch society? a. Respect b. Rest c. Regularity Cleanliness

a. respect

The ability to document changes in pottery styles in non-living societies happens through a. Seriation b. Faunal correlation c. Stratigraphy d. Holographic analysis

a. seriation

According to "Our Babies Ourselves", in the United States, individualism is valued highly, so generally parents do not hold their babies as much as other cultures. a. True b. False

a. true

Archaeologists are making a mistake when they clean samples of potsherds for analysis a. True b. False

a. true

Clyde Kluckhohn argued that both biological and cultural aspects of humanity must be seen as a continuum of small changes. a. True b. False

a. true

Gene flow is the movement of genetic material across different populations. a. True b. False

a. true

Males and females in a given primate population may be co-dominant. a. True b. False

a. true

Mutation is the only source of new genetic material. a. True b. False

a. true

Becoming Human: According to a technique called the "molecular clock," humans and chimpanzees last shared a common ancestor about ______ years ago a. 200,000 b. 5 to 7 million c. 22 million d. 65 million

b. 5 to 7 million

Alfred Russell Wallace is known for: a. Proposing explanations for evolution that differed from Darwin's b. Hitting upon the idea of natural selection at about the same time as Darwin c. Deriving the basic laws of genetics d. His advocacy of divine creation

b. Hitting upon the idea of natural selection at about the same time as Darwin

The name most closely associated with the system traditionally used to classify living things is: a. Lyell b. Linnaeus c. Lamarck d. Leakey

b. Linnaeus

According to the lecture, in order for an explanation to be defined as scientific, it must be: a. Proven b. Testable c. Developed in an academic institution such as a university At least 50 years old

b. Testable

A qualitative approach to studying social life in your university would emphasize all of the following except a. Prolonged and intensive participation and observation in the community b. The construction of statistical models to explain activities in the community c. The use of field notes, recordings, images, and documents to understand life in the community d. Your own subjective impressions

b. The construction of statistical models to explain activities in the community

A primary characteristic that allows paleoanthropologists to place a particular finding into the genus Homo is a. Molar size b. Cranial capacity c. Forehead flatness d. Bipedalism

b. cranial capacity

Studying another culture from its own point of view without imposing our own cultural values is known as: a. moral relativism b. cultural relativism c. ethnocentrism d. culture-bound worldview

b. cultural relativism

Behavioral ecology uses a comparative approach to evaluate differences among primates. a. True b. False

b. false

Cultural anthropologists use just three methods a. True b. False

b. false

Cultural relativism is important because it helps anthropologists defend all the things that people in other cultures do. a. True b. False

b. false

In science, a theory is only a guess. a. True b. False

b. false

Old World monkeys are exclusively terrestrial dwellers. a. True b. False

b. false

The art found on the walls at Lascaux has been thoroughly deciphered as to its function and meaning. a. True b. False

b. false

The taxonomic ordering of Homo erectus has been completely resolved through careful fossil analysis. a. True b. False

b. false

What process involves shifting from an agricultural economy to a factory-based one? a. Entropy b. Industrialization c. Neoliberalization d. Globalization

b. industrialization

Why was the discovery of penicillin in 1928 useful in our understanding of evolution? a. it proved that disease could be stopped through evolutionary means b. it demonstrated that bacteria could quickly develop the ability to resist antibiotics c. penicillin itself has evolved significantly since its discovery d. staphylococcal bacteria could not be killed by penicillin

b. it demonstrated that bacteria could quickly develop the ability to resist antibiotics

Darwin's idea about the major process of evolution is called: a. Descent with modification b. Natural selection c. Inheritance of acquired characteristics d. Adaptation

b. natural selection

The Law of Superposition says that: a. sedimentary layers are deposited in a time sequence with the youngest on the bottom and the oldest on the top. b. sedimentary layers are deposited in a time sequence with the oldest on the bottom and the youngest on the top. c. sedimentary layers are deposited in a time sequence with all layers arranged next to each other making it impossible to determine what is older and younger d. sedimentary layers are not deposited in a time sequence

b. sedimentary layers are deposited in a time sequence with the oldest on the bottom and the youngest on the top.

If a functionalist were to explain why the teacher lectures from the front of the classroom to students organized in neatly arranged chairs, she or he would emphasize that a. This style of teaching is traditional and thus inherent to the culture b. This way of teaching organizes people to promote shared cultural goals c. This mode of teaching evolved over time d. The teacher is the symbolic head of the class

b. this way of teaching organizes people to promote shared cultural goals

A key principle of the holistic perspective developed by Franz Boas is a. Understanding the racial diversity of the human species b. Deconstructing cultures into the four subfields of anthropology c. A goal of synthesizing the entire context of human experience d. That people are fundamentally ethnocentric

c. A goal of synthesizing the entire context of human experience

Who are the Narcerima? a. A group of Mesoamericans conquered by the Aztecs. b. A previously isolated indigenous group from the Amazon c. Americans d. They are a fictitious group of people made up by Horace Milner to fool gullible people

c. Americans

Social behavior patterns observed in one species that look like behavior patterns in another, but which do not arise from a shared ancestry, are known as a. Non-ancestral behaviors b. Homologous behaviors c. Analogous behaviors d. Inherited behaviors

c. Analogous behaviors

Which skeletal feature is paleoanthropologists' best indicator of bipedalism in a fossil? a. Depth suborbital ridges b. Size of sagittal crest c. Location of the foramen magnum d. Size of prognathism

c. Location of the foramen magnum

Which of the following is NOT one of the four major sub-fields of anthropology? a. Physical/Biological Anthropology b. Linguistics c. Paleontology d. Archeology

c. Paleontology

Which of the following is NOT part of a human's taxonomic classification? a. Primate b. Mammal c. Platyrrhine d. Hominid

c. Platyrrhine

How, in general, does Marvin Harris (a materialist) explain the biblical dietary laws? a. They were means of establishing the identity if the ancient Hebrews b. They were all related to the Hebrew worldview and what was "normal" in their world c. They resulted from some practical, usually economic considerations d. They functioned to impose order in one part of the ancient Hebrews' world

c. They resulted from some practical, usually economic considerations

The most enduring and ritualized aspects of culture are referred to as a. Folkways b. Norms c. Traditions d. Symbols

c. Traditions

The comparative method a. Studies the evolution of a single language b. Focuses on one society over a long period of time c. Uses data from many different societies d. Is the only accepted method of research in modern anthropology

c. Uses data from many different societies

Primates rely extensively on all the characteristics listed below except a. Manual dexterity b. Stereoscopic vision c. Sense of smell d. larger brain relative to their size

c. sense of smell

One compelling argument that favors the adaptation of bipedalism and the ability to run long distances is that early hominins, unlike many of the animals they sought as prey, had a. The intelligence to run faster b. An enhanced sense of smell c. The ability to sweat d. Tools that allowed them to kill prey from a distance

c. the ability to sweat

A word that best describes participant observation is a. Easy b. Comfortable c. Unstructured d. Well-planned

c. unstructured

Chronometric dating techniques used by archaeologists help establish a. When something lived in relation to other fossils b. When something died in relation to other fossils c. The exact time of death of a human or creature d. A more specific age for a fossil or something organic

d. A more specific age for a fossil or something organic

How would you describe Edward Tylor's evolutionary theories? a. He studied how humans have no directional evolutionary goal. b. He studied how societies have harnessed more energy for production over time. c. He studied how the human body has changed physically from earlier to later forms, sometimes even changing species. d. He studied the history of human society from simple to complex technology and social institutions (from so-called savagery to civilization).

d. He studied the history of human society from simple to complex technology and social institutions (from so-called savagery to civilization).

The ability to touch the thumb with the tips of the other fingers on the same hand is called: a. Dexterity b. Prehensility c. Grasping d. Opposability

d. Opposability

Who, along with Niles Eldredge, developed the theory of punctuated equilibrium? a. Duane Gish b. Mary Leakey c. Charles Lyell d. Stephen Jay Gould

d. Stephen Jay Gould

Examples of social institutions are a. Kinship b. Marriage c. Subsistence patterns (such as farming) d. All of the above

d. all of the above

The subfield of anthropology that studies the material remains of past cultures is called a. Biological anthropology b. Linguistic anthropology c. Cultural anthropology d. Archaeology

d. archaeology

According to the "Survival of the Fittest" video, what trait of the Rock Pocket Mouse was best adapted to survival on the lava flow? a. Long tail b. Wide feet c. Nocturnal vision d. Dark fur

d. dark fur

Techniques that classify features of a phenomenon and count, measure, and construct statistical models are collecting and analyzing a. Qualitative data b. Historical data c. Ethnographic data d. Quantitative data

d. quantitative data

Among the Bonobo chimpanzees, social conflict is often resolved through sexual activity. This is a form of a. Affiliation b. Dominance c. Behavior modification d. Reconciliation

d. reconciliation

Which of the following is NOT evidence of early hominin bipedalism in the fossil record (as discussed in the presentation)? a. Wide pelvis b. Foramen magnum that sits at base of skull instead of towards the back c. Laetoli footprints d. Strong clavicle

d. strong clavicle

One of the important ways that genetic material is moved between different populations, such as through gene flow, is a. through the decision about when to have a child b. through the careful use of birth control products c. through the prevention of sexually transmitted infections d. through the choice of a sexual partner

d. through the choice of a sexual partner

One of the methods that archaeologists can use to determine potentially useful areas to excavate involves the use of a. Aerial surveys b. Surface surveys c. Regional surveys d. GIS systems e. All of the above

e. all of the above

In which of the following locations would you likely find an anthropologist doing fieldwork? a. A factory b. A mental institution c. A New York City neighborhood d. The Amazon rain forest e. Any of the above

e. any of the above