Anthropology midterm

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

Americans

The progression of ancestral forms leading to modern-day humans, the earliest being first, is which of the following sequences? a) Australopithecines - Homo erectus - Homo habilis - Homo sapiens b) Homo erectus - Australopithecines - Homo habilis - Homo sapiens c) Australopithecines - Homo habilis - Homo erectus - Homo sapiens d) Australopithecines - Homo sapiens - Homo habilis - Homo erectus

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. a)Bottle-feeding over breast-feeding b) Bed-sharing with child c)Longer periods of crying to teach a child self-reliance d)Adult supervision of small children

Bed-sharing with child

Which of the following traits is unique to hominins and NOT found in other primates? a) Binocular vision b)Bipedalism c)Grasping hands d)Fingernails

Bipedalism

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

Dark fur

"Why Isn't the Sky Blue": Which society was the earliest to have a term for the color blue in the written literature? a)Greeks b)Egyptians c) Chinese d) Persians

Egyptians

According to "Evolution as Fact and Theory", being an evolutionary scientist means you do not believe in a higher power. T or F

False

Contemporary cultural anthropologists often rank societies along an evolutionary scale from "primitive" to "advanced." T or F

False

In order to study culture one must travel to distant, far-off places. T ot F

False

In order to truly practice cultural relativism, one could never make a judgement on what is right and wrong. T or F

False

NAGPRA as a solution to grave goods and cultural object ownership applies in all countries that are UNESCO members. T or F

False

The aesthetic dimension of an object is universally shared. T or F

False

By cross-breeding pea plants, he was able to illustrate the basic laws of inheritance: a) Archbishop James Ussher b)Gregor Mendel c) Alfred Russell Wallace d) Charles Darwin

Gregor Mendel

What was the fate of Kennewick Man? a)He is currently in the Smithsonian in Washington D.C. b) He has been buried by members of the Columbia Basin Tribes c)He was stolen in 2004 and no one knows where he is d)Nothing has been determined; the court case is still pending

He has been buried by members of the Columbia Basin Tribes

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).

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

The idea of biological evolution was first proposed by a)Darwin in the mid 1800s b)Darwin in the late 1700s c)Lamarck in the late 1700s d)LeClerc in the mid-1700s

Lamarck in the late 1700s

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

Linnaeus

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

Lunate Sulcas

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

Paleontology

The primary result of natural selection is: a)A species with larger body mass b)To remove the strongest organisms from an ecosystem c)To maintain a species' adaptation to its niche d)To create fewer variations in a species

To maintain a species' adaptation to its niche

A critical reason for taking field notes is that there may be a long lag time between fieldwork and writing and publishing about it. T or F

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. T or F

True

Anthropologists like E. E. Evans-Pritchard and Renato Rosaldo do not see cultural anthropology as a science. T or F

True

Archaeologists are making a mistake when they clean samples of potsherds for analysis. T or F

True

Elaborating symbols and summarizing symbols work in opposite ways. T or F

True

Genetic drift can occur because of an intentional change in health policies in a particular country. T or F

True

The stereotype that Tahitian women were sexually promiscuous emerged almost overnight after the arrival of Captain Samuel Wallis in 1767, when Tahitians recognized that the British had steel that the crew would exchange for sexual favors. T or F

True

In "Radio Lab: Why Isn't the Sky Blue", how did Guy Deutsher's daughter Alma initially describe the sky? a)White b)Blue c)Bright d)Gray

White

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

a goal of synthesizing the entire context of human experience

Linguists refer to mixed languages with a simplified grammar that people rarely learn as a mother tongue as a) a pidgin language b) a creole language c) a national language d) slang

a pidgin language

Research committed to making social change and improving the lives of marginalized people is called a)rapid appraisal b) development anthropology c) action research d) participant observation

action research

A social consequence of introducing coffee into the highlands of Papua New Guinea was that a)young men gained social status b) coffee plantations took over all open land c)people had more access to commodities d)all of the above

all of the above

Ethnocentrism a) presents a major problem for anthropologists b)means you think your culture is superior to others c)is a common feature of culture d)all of the above

all of the above

Which of the following is a contributing factor to the development of creoles, pidgins, and other hybrid forms of language? a)colonialism b)globalization c)commerce d)migration e)all of the above

all of the above

Which of the following is a feature of language? a) it is used to communicate b) it is systematic c) it consists of sounds organized into words according to some sort of grammar d)all of the above

all of the above

Which of the following is the most significant aspect of the salvage paradigm? a)archaeologists study other people's trash by salvaging it b)anthropologists study the natural destruction of societies c)anthropologists need to collect information from societies before they die out d)anthropologists produce paradigms to salvage the dignity of oppressed people

anthropologists need to collect information from societies before they die out

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

any of the above

When did anthropology emerge as an academic discipline? a)1700s b)1800s c)1900s d)1500s

b)1800s

If you are evaluating a culture's beliefs and practices based on it's own set of standards instead of your own, you are practicing a)diversity b)cultural relativism c)ethnocentrism d)multiplicity

b)cultural relativism

The communication systems of nonhuman species consist of a finite (limited) number of signals for finite specific meanings. Such systems are said to be: a) open b) arbitrary c)symbolic d) closed

closed

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

cranial capacity

Which of the following is NOT a concept key to the human culture as discussed in the lecture? a)culture is shared b)culture is isolated c)culture is shared d)culture is transformative

culture is isolated

The American anthropologist responsible for the concept of historical particularism was named a)E.B Tylor b)Morgan c)Alfred Kroeber d)Franz Boas

d)Franz Boas

Being able to communicate about things not currently present in space and time is known as: a)displacement b) duality of patterning c) productivity d) arbitrariness

displacement

For pastoral groups such as the Dinka and the Nuer, the cow acts as which kind of symbol? a) social symbol b) summarizing symbol c) narrative symbol d) elaborating symbol

elaborating symbol

The refinement of Darwin's theory has shown that a) evolution is limited in both time and place according to creation theories b) creation science has actually been correct all along c) evolution cannot be measured, even across generations within a population d) evolution can only be measured or seen across generations within a population

evolution can only be measured or seen across generations within a population

All the characteristics listed below are common behavior patterns found in all primates except a)mother-infant bond b)affiliation and grooming c)father-son bond d)cooperation and conflict

father-son bond

Shaking hands when you meet someone is an example of a a)folkway b)more c)taboo d)material culture

folkway

For anthropologists the most important aspect of any object is a) its aesthetic quality b) the value of the object at an auction c) how it exists within a set of human social relationships d)how the use of its raw materials affects the environment

how it exists within a set of human social relationships

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 was a product of evolutionary mechanisms d) staphylococcal bacteria could not be killed by penicillin

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

The acquisition of material culture, primarily by museums but sometimes by collectors, often results in a)loss of the object's original context b) missing archaeological "signature" data c) loss of object value due to physical mishandling d)deterioration of the object due to poor handling procedures

loss of the object's original context

If you studied speech patterns such as those analyzed in Robin Lakoff's study of gendered speech, you might find that "talking like a lady" a)contributes to gender equality in the workplace b)marginalizes women's voices in work contexts c)demonstrates that women and men are equal d)builds certainty and trust

marginalizes women's voices in work contexts

One of the obvious challenges that a museum faces in the acquisition, presentation, and description of objects from other cultures revolves around differences in a) presentation b) preservation c) meaning d)aesthetic judgement

meaning

The structuralist approach to culture theorizes what? a)people make sense of the world through binary oppositions (e.g., raw/cooked) b)cultures evolve over time c)culture is systematic, operating in a balanced fashion to keep society functioning smoothly d)individual societies develop individual traits

people make sense of the world through binary oppositions (e.g., raw/cooked)

In archaeology, this is a division of prehistory based on gross changes in subsistence patterns, climatic changes, housing and burial styles, etc. a) phase b)period c)site d)age

period

Reconnaissance work in archaeology is also known as: a) phase I b)phase II c) phase III d) phase IV

phase I

Historic markers along American highways a)are well researched so they can present a truthful historical analysis for the public b)present a simplified view of history, and usually one that is favorable to the current residents c)are compromises intended not to offend anyone d)all of the above

present a simplified view of history, and usually one that is favorable to the current residents

Cultural anthropologists face an ethical responsibility in their work and so must disclose to informants a) funding sources for research b) reasons for doing the research c)their location in the field d)the names of all informants

reasons for doing the research

Discovery of an archaic human in the Denisova cave, which consisted of a finger bone and two teeth, has allowed paleoanthropologists to a)reconstruct their genome b)reconstruct their entire morphology c)classify them as a form of Neanderthal d)identify the "missing link"

reconstruct their genome

The establishment of the African Burial Ground National Monument in 2007 was the final step in the resolution of a dispute over African American skeletal remains and happened after the community leaders called for a) a formal apology from the city's mayor for the treatment of minorities b)a formal naming of a national monument somewhere in New York City c)the New York Cemetery Commission to intervene d)repatriation of the remains to their community

repatriation of the remains to their community

The presence of a raised area in the middle of the cranium found in H. erectus is known as a a)suborbital arch b)saggital keel c)foramen magnum d)post orbital constriction

saggital keel

Primates rely extensively on all the characteristics listed below except a)manual dexterity b)stereoscopic vision c)sense of smell d)larger brain

sense of smell

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 d)at least 50 years old

testable

The idea that things have social lives refers to which of the following? a)a belief in animism because objects are often linked to particular spirits b)most objects that anthropologists study are either relics or sacred objects c)the fact that objects are deeply intertwined with people's lives d)all of the above

the fact that objects are deeply intertwined with people's lives

Ethnoprimatology is an emerging field that studies a)the interface between human and ape communities b)differences in the evolutionary trajectories of humans and apes c)the histories of primate communities, including humans and apes d)the daily life of apes and monkeys

the interface between human and ape communities

In Mendelian genetics, a dominant allele is: a) a better fit b) more common c) the one that is expressed phenotypically over other alleles d)the one that codes for the normal expression of a trait

the one that is expressed phenotypically over other alleles

Jonathan Marks notes that while we do have a 98% similarity in DNA to chimpanzees, this is not what it seems because between different human populations a)similarity in both frequency and presence of alleles is closer to 100% b)large DNA sequences vary by more than 25% c)there is considerable variation in both frequency and presence of alleles d)phylogenetic similarities are less than 5%

there is considerable variation in both frequency and presence of alleles

The most enduring and ritualized aspects of culture are referred to as a)customs b)norms c)traditions d)symbols

traditions

A word that best describes participant observation is a)easy b)comfortable c)unstructured d)well-planned

unstructured

The comparative method a)studies the evolution of a language b)focuses on one society over a long period of time c)uses data from many different societies d)all of the above

uses data from many different societies