Anthropology CH 2
Which of the following lists best summarized the primate characteristics that laid the foundation for human culture?
grasping ability with the hand and a large brain size.
Agriculture developed first in the Americas in the valley of Mexico around 3500 years ago, it developed in the Middle East several thousand years before that, and it developed in India and China separately. What mechanism of cultural change does agriculture represent?
independent invention
The process by which humans innovate, creatively finding solutions to problems, is a mechanism of cultural change known as
independent invention.
A cultural trait that helps individuals cope with environmental stresses but that could threaten a group's continued existence in the long run would be defined as
maladaptive
Civic culture includes which of the following (Check all that apply.)
participation in formal elections, citizen adherence to the legal system
Generally accepted social behaviors, dress codes, speech, and other forms of expression that citizens use in shared spaces such as parks and restaurants make up ______ culture.
public
What is the term used by anthropologists to describe the existence of diverse cultural traditions within a nation?
subcultures
Which of the following is an example of what is known as a subculture?
the Amish, who have clothing and religious restrictions that set them apart.
Which of the following lists best describes the human abilities that had to develop before culture could exist?
the ability to use symbols, language, and tools
Which of the following are ways culture is transmitted and learned? (Check all that apply)
It is taught directly, It is transmitted through observation, It is absorbed unconsciously.
Which of the following statements best describes the anthropological approach to culture?
All people have culture, which includes everything that is part of everyday life, from fast food to symphony music.
Which of the following statements describes a case revealing the integrated nature of culture?
As more American women attended college and obtained jobs in the workplace, beliefs about marriage and divorce changed.
Which of the following examples best illustrated the relationship between human biological needs and culture?
Biology requires that human eat a certain amount each day, but culture teaches us what we want to eat, when we want it, and how.
Which of the following are examples of cultural particularities?
Chicago-style hot dogs
Which anthropologist defined culture as ideas based on symbols that are programs, plans, or recipes governing behavior?
Clifford Geertz
Although an individual resident of a southern city in the United States may not like to eat grits and cornbread, these foods are considered a part of southern culture. What does this reveal about culture?
Culture is a shared attribute
Which of the following statements best describes culture?
Culture teaches us how to satisfy our biological needs
Which of the following statements about culture are true? (Check all that apply)
Cultures are dynamic and constantly changing, Common symbols can have different meanings to different individuals and groups in the same culture.
What does it mean when one says that culture is Integrated?
Cultures are interrelated systems of thought, beliefs, and behavior.
True or False: A human child is born with culture
False
Which of the following statements about nonhuman primates are true? (Check all that apply.)
Female chimps and gorillas tend to migrate to find mates, Primates other than Homo tend to disperse at adolescence.
Which of the following statements best describes cultural rights?
Groups of indigenous people have the right to maintain their own traditions and languages.
Animals such as wolves learn behavior patterns, such as hunting techniques. What makes human cultural learning different from that?
Human culture is based on ideas shared through symbols.
Which of the following statements best describes how human sexual behavior differs from that of primates?
Humans mate year round, and their pier bonds are more enduring that those of other primates.
According to Sir Edward Tylor's definition of culture from 1871, what is the critical defining feature of culture?
It includes patterns of behavior acquired by people as members of society.
Which of the following is true of culture, according to anthropologists?
It is all-encompassing
Which of the following are social universals? (Check all that apply)
Life in some kind of family, Life in groups.
Which of the following traits are more developed among humans than other primates? (Check all that Apply)
Sharing, Cooperation
Whose definition of culture includes the phrase, "that complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, arts, morals, law, custom, and any other capabilities acquired by man"?
Sir Edward Tylor
No one has explained to you that you must stand facing the door while riding in an elevator, yet you know what to do. What does this reveal about the process of enculturation
Some cultural learning takes place through observation.
Which of the following do anthropologists consider when studying human diversity in time and space? (Check all that apply)
The particular, the generalized, the universal
Which of the following cultural abilities have been found among chimpanzees and apes?
They build nests, aim and throw sticks, and hunt.
Which of the following statements about generalities are true? (Check all that apply)
They may be widespread, They occur in certain times and places but not in all cultures.
The goal of anthropologists is to understand different cultural practices through the eyes of the people in that culture, an approach known as
cultural relativism
The development of a nutritious crop that requires little water to grow and that feeds millions for little cost is a(n) _______ cultural trait, but if the crop causes permanent damage to the environment in the long run it is a(n) _______ cultural trait.
adaptive; maladaptive
What is a symbol?
anything verbal or nonverbal that stands for something else.
Which of the following is an example of a symbol?
golden arches to identify a hamburger chain
There is a set of dominant beliefs in the United States, such as a belief in the rights of the individual and belief in the value of hard work. Such sets of values are called _____ values.
core
In Victorian England, if a woman revealed her neck, her wrists, or her ankles, she was seen as immoral. In the Amazon rain forest, among indigenous people, hardly any clothing is worn. When an anthropologist does not pass judgment on either of these modes of dress, he or she is manifesting the principle of?
cultural relativism
Some people bury the dead by cremating the bodies and placing the ashes in a sacred river. Others believe that the body must remain intact and be buried in a coffin. An anthropological perspective on these customs requires that nether practice be seen as inferior or disgusting, a perspective known as
cultural relativism
Hip-hop music has spread through popular culture and the media from urban America to China and Japan. Which mechanism of cultural change does this phenomenon represent?
diffusion
In the United States today we wear pajamas (which originated in ancient Persia), use mirrors (which originated in ancient Egypt), and eat with forks (which originated in ancient Rome). What mechanism of cultural change does this represent?
diffusion
When two cultures trade, intermarry, or wage war on one another, diffusion is _______, but when one culture subjugates another and imposes its customs on the dominated group, difussion is _______,
direct; forced
A child begins to learn the rules of conversation such as how to take turns speaking, how far apart to stand, and when to make eye contact through a process known as
enculturation
Which of the following is the term anthropologists use to describe the process in which a child learns culture?
enculturation
"I don't understand why those people eat with chopsticks. A fork is a better utensil." This statement is an example of
ethnocentrism
What is the term that anthropologists developed to describe the tendency to see one's own cultural customs as superior?
ethnocentrism
During one period of history in the British Isles, school children who spoke their native Irish language were severely punished, and only English was allowed to be spoken at school. Which mechanism of cultural change does this represent?
forced diffusion
What is the term used to describe the increasing international interconnections in the word today brought about by modern electronic communication systems, travel, international trade, and migration?
globalization
Anthropologists stress that although individuals are unique in their abilities and talents, all human groups have equal capacities for culture. This principle is called
the psychic unity of man.
To suggest that some human populations simply do not have the ability to form a culture violates a fundamental 19th-century doctrine accepted by anthropologists that is known as
the psychic unity of man.
Globalization is defined as
the worldwide spread of production, communication, and technology.
Which of the following types of traits are likely to move from particularity to generality?
traits that are useful, traits that have the capacity to please large audiences
Which of the following are biologically based universals? (Check all that apply)
year-round sexuality, a long period of infant dependency, a complex brain
