Anthropology Chapter 13

Which of the following statements about divorce is not true?

*A) Divorce is more common in patrilineal societies than in matrilineal societies. B) During the past several decades, the divorce rate in the United States has risen dramatically. C) Ease of divorce varies across cultures. D) Marriages that are political alliances between groups are harder to break up than are marriages that are more individual affairs. E) Substantial bridewealth discourages divorce.

Which of the following statements about dowry is not true?

*A) Dowry exists in more cultures than bridewealth does. B) Dowry is a marital exchange in which the wife's group provides substantial gifts to the husband's family. C) Dowry tends to correlate with low female status. D) A woman's dowry is supposed to compensate the groom's kin for the added burden of being responsible for the bride. E) Dowry is best known from India but is also practiced in Europe.

Which of the following statements about berdaches is not true?

A) Berdaches were biological males who have assumed many of the mannerisms, behavior patterns, and tasks of women. B) Berdaches sometimes married men. C) Berdaches filled the traditional wifely role when they married. *D) Berdaches are used in the textbook as an example of the shortcomings of same-sex marriage. E) Several Native American groups had berdaches.

Which of the following statements about bridewealth is not true?

A) Bridewealth exists in more cultures than dowry does. *B) As the value of bridewealth increases, marriages become less stable. C) The bridewealth compensates the bride's kin for the loss of her companionship and labor. D) Bridewealth is a customary gift given by the husband and his kin to the wife and her kin. E) Bridewealth is sometimes called progeny price.

Which of the following statements about polygyny is not true?

A) Even in societies where polygyny is practiced, most men are monogamous. *B) The context and function of polygyny are the same in all societies. C) The custom of men marrying later than women promotes polygyny. D) The number of wives can be an indicator of a man's household productivity and social position. E) Some men are polygynous because they have inherited a widow from a brother.

Which of the following statements about incest is not true?

A) Incest refers to sexual contact with a relative, but cultures define their kin, and thus incest, differently. *B) Primate studies have shown that incest is the norm among nonhuman primates. C) A cross-cultural study of 87 societies revealed that incest did occur in several of them. Yet, it was not clear that the study controlled for the social construction of incest. D) For Western societies with nuclear family organization, father-daughter incest is most common with stepfathers (but is it really incest if they aren't biological relatives?). E) A different study found that incest also happens with biological fathers, especially those who were absent or did little caretaking of their daughters in childhood.

According to Edmund Leach, marriage can accomplish all of the following except

A) give either or both spouses a monopoly in the sexuality of the other. *B) establish an arbitrary and meaningless bond between spouses and their families. C) establish a socially significant relationship between spouses and their families. D) establish the legal father of a woman's children and the legal mother of a man's. E) give either or both spouses rights over the other's property.

Which of the following changes has occurred in the United States during the past several decades?

Domestic arrangements other than the nuclear family now outnumber the "traditional" American household more than four to one.

Which of the following statements concerning the Bosnian zadruga is not true?

It is an example of a descent group.

Which of the following statements about polyandry is true?

Polyandry reduces the amount of land fragmentation between generations by limiting the number of wives and heirs.

What is the term for the permanent social unit whose members claim a common ancestry?

descent group

What is the term for the nuclear family that is formed when one marries and has children?

family of procreation

With which form of descent do people join their mother's group automatically at birth?

matrilineal

With which form of post-marital residence rule do couples move to the wife's community?

matrilocal

What is endogamy?

rules that dictate marriage within a group to which a person belongs