Anthropology quizzes
The presence of a raised area in the middle of the cranium found in H. erectus is known as a
saggital keel
The Law of Superposition says that:
sedimentary layers are deposited in a time sequence with the oldest on the bottom and the youngest on the top
In anthropology, holism refers to
seeking to understand how all aspects of our species are related
Reading your textbook is an example of:
symbolic learning
Gregor Mendel's findings about inheritance among pea plants stemmed from what key ability that he possessed?
the ability to observe closely
An evolutionary perspective would be most likely to explain colonialism as
the natural abilities of more civilized people to control less civilized people
In Mendelian genetics, a dominant allele is:
the one that is expressed phenotypically over other alleles
How, in general, does Marvin Harris (a materialist) explain the biblical dietary laws?
they resulted from some practical, usually economic considerations
The main idea behind the holistic perspective is to study culture
through systematic connections of different parts
One of the important ways that genetic material is moved between different populations, such as through gene flow, is
through the choice of a sexual partner
The comparative method
uses data from many different societies
In evolutionary terms humans are distinct from other primates with respect to their ability to use language because
we can speak using a larynx
In "Radio Lab: Why Isn't the Sky Blue", how did Guy Deutsher's daughter Alma initially describe the sky?
white
In which of the following locations would you likely find an anthropologist doing fieldwork?
- a factory - a mental institution - a New York City neighborhood - the Amazon rain forest
One of the methods that archaeologists can use to determine potentially useful areas to excavate involves the use of
- aerial surveys - surface surveys - regional surveys - GIS systems
Which of the following is a contributing factor to the development of creoles, pidgins, and other hybrid forms of language?
- colonialism - globalization - commerce - migration
When cultural anthropologists go into the field
- they go with a set of questions they want to ask and have answered - they often change the focus of their question to fit what they are seeing - they often go with the flow of everyday life, even if it seems off-topic at the time
Becoming Human: According to a technique called the "molecular clock," humans and chimpanzees last shared a common ancestor about ________ years ago
5 to 7 million
Who are the Narcerima?
Americans
The progression of ancestral forms leading to modern-day humans, the earliest being first, is which of the following sequences?
Australopithecines - Homo habilis - Homo erectus - Homo sapiens
According to "Our Babies Ourselves", which of the following is NOT typical of child-rearing practices in the United States.
Bed-sharing with child
Which of the following traits is unique to hominins and NOT found in other primates?
Bipedalism
Which of the following would be considered a functionalist?
Bronislaw Malinowski
By cross-breeding pea plants, he was able to illustrate the basic laws of inheritance:
By cross-breeding pea plants, he was able to illustrate the basic laws of inheritance:
The Origin of the Species was written by:
Charles Darwin
Studying another culture from its own point of view without imposing our own cultural values is known as:
Cultural Relativism
According to the "Survival of the Fittest" video , what trait of the Rock Pocket Mouse was best adapted to survival on the lava flow?
Dark fur
Anthropologists have always approached a problem by specializing in one of the four subfields.
False
In order to study culture one must travel to distant, far-off places.
False
In science, a theory is an educated guess and is not well-accepted among the scientific community.
False
It is easy to identify direct causal links between genes and behavior.
False
Languages always change very slowly, taking generations or even centuries.
False
Shaking hands when you meet someone is an example of a
Folkway
"Evolution as Fact and Theory" uses all of the following are arguments to support evolution as fact EXCEPT:
Genetic evidence proving modern humans descended from chimpanzees
Anthropologists think that the first hominin capable of speaking in sounds, not signals, was:
Homo erectus
Besides fossilized skeletal remains, what other evidence indicates bipedalism in Australopithecus afarensis?
Laetoli Footprints
The name most closely associated with the system traditionally used to classify living things is:
Linnaeus
The ability to touch the thumb with the tips of the other fingers on the same hand is called:
Opposability
Which of the following is NOT one of the four major sub-fields of anthropology?
Paleontology
Reconnaissance work in archaeology is also known as:
Phase I
The theorist most connected with post-structuralism is
Renato Rosaldo
A distinguishing feature of most australopithecines is their high degree of sexual dimorphism.
True
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.
True
Archaeologists are making a mistake when they clean samples of potsherds for analysis.
True
Clyde Kluckhohn argued that both biological and cultural aspects of humanity must be seen as a continuum of small changes.
True
Mutation is the only source of new genetic material.
True
Neanderthals and modern humans share the same genus and species classification (Homo sapien).
True
The Greek philosopher Aristotle proposed that all life was arranged in
a great chain of being
Chronometric dating techniques used by archaeologists help establish
a more specific age for a fossil or something organic
One important adaptation found in New World monkeys is the presence of
a prehensile tail
According to anthropologist Sherry Ortner's analysis, the American flag is an example of
a summarizing symbol
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
analogous behaviors
Cultural anthropologists do research by
building trusting relationships with people over a long period of time
The communication systems of nonhuman species consist of a finite (limited) number of signals for finite specific meanings. Such systems are said to be:
closed
Words that came from the same ancestral language and originated from the same word are called
cognate words
Assuming your culture's way of doing things is the best described as
ethnocentrism
All the characteristics listed below are common behavior patterns found in all primates except
father-son bond
What process involves shifting from an agricultural economy to a factory-based one?
industrialization
The subfield of anthropology that studies language use is called
linguistic anthropology
For much of its early history, physical anthropology was associated with what methodology?
measurement and classification of skulls according to racial characteristics
Anthropologist Sherry Ortner distinguished three kinds of culturally powerful symbols that include all of the following except
narrative symbols
Norms are stable because
people learn them when they are young
If you discovered an ancient hominin with megadontia and a dental grinding structure similar to Paranthropus you might suggest that the diet of this hominin was
predominantly plant based
Ethnocentrism
presents a major problem for anthropologists means you think your culture is superior to others is a common feature of culture
A dominance hierarchy exists when members of the same group have
ranking relative to others that establishes access to resources
Discovery of an archaic human in the Denisova cave, which consisted of a finger bone and two teeth, has allowed paleoanthropologists to
reconstruct their genome
"Why Isn't the Sky Blue": According to the studies of Lazarus Geiger, what color term (after black and white) appears first and most often in ancient literature?
red
