Anthropology Reading Quizzes

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The number of early human-like ancestors continues to grow as new discoveries are made, supporting the view that we are all hominins.

True

Understanding how behavior patterns in monkeys and apes compare with humans can be approached using

a comparison of different species

A language of mixed origin that developed from a complex blending of two parent languages is called

a creole language

Sexual dimorphism is

a difference between the sexes of a species in body size or shape

The Greek philosopher Aristotle proposed that all life was arranged in

a great chain of being

Biocultural evolutionary theory has led to questions about the merits of reductionist thinking, and how it tends to oversimplify. One of the more productive results of this critique has been the application in anthropology of

a holistic approach to evolution

A pidgin language is

a mixed language with a simplified grammar that people rarely learn as a mother tongue

Not all sites and materials are suitable for Carbon-14 dating. At which of the following sites would Carbon-14 dating be most appropriate?

a site in the Mississippi Delta, dated around 10,000 years old, with the presence of many contemporary trees (I think)

A mutation is

a slight, unpredictable variation in genetic code that occurs during reproduction

Researchers could conclude that a human ancestor had a higher percentage of meat in the diet based on the changes found in

a smaller gut size that requires high energy foods

Social Complexity is

a society that has many different parts organized into a single social system

According to anthropologist Sherry Ortner's analysis, the American flag is an example of

a summarizing symbol

The approach that uses head shape and skin color to categorize humans into races is called

a trait-based approach

A defining feature that defines humans is

a unique set of biological characteristics entirely different from all other primates

The idea that Ongee ancestors make tidal waves and earthquakes would be understood by an interpretive anthropologist as

a way of explaining how the world works

An evolutionary perspective on variations in physical traits reflects

adaptive changes

The term anthropoid refers to

all monkeys, apes and humans

Linguistic anthropologist Dennis Tedlock developed a new approach to the ethnography of speaking called ethnopoetics. What viewpoint does ethnopoetics assume?

all speech acts are performances

The major component of being human-bipedalism can, from an anatomical perspective, be either

allowing or enforcing

The skill of hunter-gatherers comes from

an extraordinary knowledge of their environment

The application of pastoral practices leads to both an increase in population and

an increase in social complexity

A key requirement for the formation of a complex society is

an increased intensity of food production

The development of what might be called true agriculture-the use of fertilizers or elaborations of technology-was most likely due to

an increased probability of shortages

Which of the following is not one of the ways that objects change over time?

an object always becomes less valuable and less significant as it ages and deteriorates over long periods of time

One of the limitations of the archaeological analysis of complexity is that

an object by itself cannot determine dynamics of wealth, power, or status

Both H. habilis and H. rudolfensis display a diverse combination of

ancestral and derived characteristics

Variations in body shape and size are quantified using

anthropometry

Anthropologists look at objects

as capable of conveying meaning

The evolution of the tail among New World monkeys reflects an adaptation to their environment and would be of interest to a

behavioral ecologist

The symbolic system of inheritance works through the establishment of

culture and language

if you were conducting a symbolic analysis of TV programs and wanting to identify a key scenario such as the Horatio Alger myth, which of the following would you focus on?

plots that are repeated in many of the programs that American viewers interpret as commonplace social experiences

Esther Boserup observed that farming was hard work and instead suggested that the motivation for agricultural practices came from

population growth

The discovery that layers of sediment deposited in a lake were due to erosion from higher altitudes, indicated to archaeologists that in the Tarascan empire

population growth led to severe degradation of the soil

The idea that embraces dynamic cultural processes and the idea that the observer of cultural processes can never see culture completely objectively represent

post-structuralism

which of the following is not an example of the ways humans vary biologically?

race

Among the Bonobo chimpanzees, social conflict is often resolved through sexual activity. This is a form of

reconciliation

If you were an archaeologist working on a site that you thought was previously inhabited but had been razed by farmers, only leaving flat farmland, which archaeologist method would be most suited for your work?

remote sensing

Chimpanzees can suffer from polio. If you wanted to develop a chimpanzee polio vaccine, you would likely discover that

research and testing on apes are tightly regulated by many governments because of their close similarity to humans

If you were interested in a past population's diet, what method of analysis would you be most likely to use on the artifacts available to you?

residue analysis

Anthropologists overcome ethnocentrism by

seeing matters from the point of view of another culture

Anthropologists, according to Stocking, look at objects in how many dimensions?

seven

Conflict resolution among Bonobo apes is often accomplished using

sex

A stoplight is a visual example of which of the following?

sign

The ability of African cichlids, a popular pet fish, to develop highly similar body shapes despite coming from two different and geographically distant environments is an example of

developmental bias

Jenny is an African American. She has been saving up for months for some designer shoes, but when she goes to purchase them, the cashiers at the department store call the police because they think she has stolen the credit card she is paying with. This is an act of

discrimination

Negative or unfair treatment because of his or her group membership or identity is

discrimination

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

dispersal

Archaeologists today generally agree that most social systems

do not collapse but instead transform into other systems, retaining vestiges of their past

The "missing link"

does not actually exist

One striking difference between the social behavior found in common chimpanzees, Pan troglodytes, and in bonobo chimpanzees, Pan paniscus, is that of

dominance relationships

Of the many reasons suggested for the abandonment of the Mayan city of Copán, one reason we can safely say was not part of the process was

drought

the way people incorporate material and social aspects of their world is referred to as

embodiment

The process of learning culture from a very young age is called

enculturation

The concept of costs and benefits is useful to understand

energy expenditure in an organism

The idea that organisms have an ideal form, and living versions are minor deviations from the ideal type is called

essentialism

If you were interested not only in how people are supposed to speak, but how people actually speak, what anthropological approach would you be most likely to adopt?

ethnography of speaking

What anthropological approach to language distinguishes the ways people actually speak from the ideal ways that people are supposed to speak?

ethnography of speaking

What is the study of how people classify things in the world called?

ethnoscience

If you wanted to understand the norms of a society, you would most likely focus on

everyday interactions

All humans are born with some culture.

false

Because of the widespread use of mass media today, sociolinguists have found increasing homogeneity in the use of language in the United States.

false

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

false

Countries find it relatively easy to decide what language its citizens will speak.

false

Gene flow is the movement of genetic material across different ecosystems.

false

The construction of an office building in New York in the 1990s that uncovered an early African American burial ground illustrates the complexities of

-the politics of archaeology -how artifacts are interpreted and history is told -the management of cultural sites

In her work on gender and language in the workplace, what did Robin Lakoff pay close attention to when analyzing speech?

-volume -intonation -tone

Edward Sapir urged cultural anthropologists to pay close attention to language during field research because

-we understand the material world through the language we speak -the "real world" is to a large extent unconsciously built from the language habits of a particular social group -language is a guide to "social reality"

It is easy to identify direct causal links between genes and behavior.

false

Material culture consists only of the objects made in preindustrial societies.

false

Most anthropologists believe in a single unified theory of culture.

false

Most primates rely extensively on their sense of smell.

false

Rich documentation describing the minute details of daily life exist for all of the city-states in the Middle East region, including Mesopotamia and Egypt.

false

Socially complex societies can range in population size from hundreds to hundreds of thousands.

false

The Human Genome Project has shown that, as is true among other large-bodied mammals, most human genetic variation exists between populations

false

The Neolithic Revolution happened only in the region we call the Middle East.

false

The appearance of culture was the event that signaled the arrival of modern humans

false

The first real protection for the preservation of archaeological sites in the United States was put in place in 1966.

false

The rise in obesity can only be explained by "thrifty genes" and genetic predispositions.

false

The shift to horticulture or simple farming typically increased the number of cultigens consumed by members of a community.

false

forensic scientists can identify the race of an individual's skull with 100% accuracy

false

unequal health outcomes between blacks and whites are not the result of how blacks have been racialized

false

All the characteristics listed below are common behavior patterns found in all primates except

father-son bond

One of the ways that peoples of Highland New Guinea stored their crops was by

feeding them to their herds of pigs

Robert Braidwood's "hilly flanks" hypothesis suggests that

few early cultigens were native to the Fertile Crescent lowlands

People who practice which way of life work the least?

foragers

The process through which bone and teeth slowly turn into stoned is called

fossilization

The theory of culture that proposes that cultural practices, beliefs, and institutions fulfill the psychological and physical needs of society is called

functionalism

Suppose you wanted to study the reasoning behind why men use a particular hair product to attract sexual partners. As a biological anthropologist, you might be very likely to examine this through the lens of

grooming

The word primate comes from the Latin for "of the first rank" and was the word Linnaeus used in his taxonomic system because

he took for granted the idea that humans were closer to divine powers

If you applied a behavioral ecology perspective to understanding a college student's dietary patterns, you would likely be most interested in

how much physical effort a student puts in to get food and how many calories they actually consume

If an archaeologist were to collaborate with a geologist and a geomorphologist, which project would they be most interested in working on together?

how prehistoric shifts in landscape affected human settlement patterns in Ireland

If Jakob Grimm, who developed what has come to be known as Grimm's law, were analyzing the historical relationships among the so-called dialects of Chinese (such as Cantonese and Mandarin), what data would he be looking for in his linguistic fieldwork?

how the speakers of each dialect pronounce different words with similar meanings in the several dialects

One of the key popular misunderstandings about the causes of obesity is

humans have a normal diet

One of the defining hypotheses about hunter-gatherer societies that changed after the "Man the Hunter" conference is that

hunting was not the defining feature of hunter-gatherer societies

Local colonized societies in the Americas helped in the development of

hybrid language forms

Early civilizations that depended on water resources gave rise to

hydraulic despotism

Your schooling has led you to believe that all assigned homework must be turned in on time. This is an example of

implicit enculturation

The key scenario differs from other kinds of symbols because it

implies how people should act

The gradual emergence of human cultural capacity over several million years began to

influence evolutionary processes among hominids

No one can completely "own the past," and this means, in part, that the past

is a cultural construction

One of the more important ways that anthropology contributes to the development of evolutionary theory is that

it challenges the biological reductionism of much evolutionary theory

Why do so many Americans prefer cereal for breakfast?

it has become the norm through social institutions, beliefs, power relations, and daily life

Anthropology's understanding of skin pigmentation emphasizes that

it is an adaptive response to ultraviolet light

How would a critical relativist explain Native American criticisms of cultural appropriation?

it is important to understand Native American claims from their point of view though it doesn't necessarily mean we should accept them as the only way to view the issue

The primary contrast that shaped thinking about complex societies was between the

material and the organizational aspects of society

Much of what we know about Neanderthals comes from

mitochondrial DNA studies

The Multiple dispersals model argues that

modern humans left African in multiple waves

Plasticity can be understood as not being Lamarckian because

modification happens before genetic changes appear that keep the change in place across generations

What is the study of grammatical categories, such as tense and word order, called?

morphology

The way in which anthropologists and archaeologists now view the material objects of a culture holds that all objects are

multidimensional

The first place where anthropologists studied objects and art were

museums

If you observed gradual changes in environmental temperature and, at the same time, observed that there were changes in the phenotype of a butterfly species over fifteen generations, which theory might best help explain what is going on?

natural selection

In what ways were principles of natural selection involved in the increasing size of food grains like corn, wheat, and barley?

natural selection was not involved because the processes involved humans selecting the best seeds

One of the side effects of increased food production is the generation of a surplus, something that helped give rise to

new social roles for food producers, typically specialist roles

if you applied the extended evolutionary theory synthesis to study the evolution of hominids, you would be most interested in

not sure of answer for this: options- a. a bottleneck in an australopithecine species b. gene flow between Neanderthals and anatomically modern humans c. the effects of predation on paranthropines d. how archaic humans modified their environments through fire and tools

The reality of race exists through marginalization, exploitation and stigma, as well as

not sure of answer: -the well-documented science behind racial classification -the extent of privilege the some groups have -innate differences between races -individual willpower

The significance of Ashley Montagu's writings about race was his observation that

not sure of exact answer: -(NOT) only "uncivilized" people believe in myths -(NOT) Franz Boas and his students were correct in their initial thinking about race -(MAYBE) race is a myth that shapes understanding how the world works -(MAYBE) biology and race are inherently linked

Archaeologists know that in the Tarascan empire there was a consolidation of state power because

objects found with the dead were being produced in areas controlled by the empire

Some anthropologists believe we should move beyond cultural relativism and adopt critical relativism, which is the idea that

one should only take a stance on a practice or belief after trying to understand it in its cultural context

Those who are eligible to make a claim under NAGPRA include

only federally recognized Native American groups or tribes

Molecular and morphological knowledge of living humans and apes supports the idea that humans are more closely related to chimpanzees and gorillas than we are to

orangutans

Jared Diamond argues that the cause of societal collapse is due to

overshooting of the natural resource base

When anthropologists study the way people use language in real settings rather than as a set of grammatical rules, what are they are focusing on?

parole

Norms are stable because

people learn them when they are young

One consequence of sedentism is

permanent social inequality (I think)

what term refers to the structure of speech sounds?

phonology

Scott Van Keuren analyzed brushwork sequences in decorative styles of the pottery of the Southwestern United States. His research found that changes in style could be explained as evidence that

societies with different original styles had moved to the same area leading to styles derived from several original styles

When considering the question "do apes have culture?" anthropologists typically emphasize that culture is more than the transmission of social behaviors across generations and cannot be understood by

studying behavior alone

The alphabet and numbers are examples of

symbols

Several hundred years after the Maya abandoned their ancient cities, Spanish observers reported a social hierarchy and inherited nobility that seemed related to what existed in the large, ancient, urban centers. This fact suggests that

the Maya simply transformed

NAGPRA is

the North American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act

The genetic dimension of obesity is related to

the ability to accumulate and store energy in our bodies

One advantage that allowed early humans to be effective persistent hunters is

the ability to sweat

The recent discovery of the Tarascan empire provides evidence of social complexity through

the analysis of trash deposits associated with different residence types

Philology is

the approach that compares ancient texts and documents to analyze long-term linguistic change

cultural determinism

the belief that the culture in which we are raised determines who we are at emotional and behavioral levels. This supports the theory that environmental influences dominate who we are instead of biologically inherited traits.

Anthropologists often study primates to broaden understanding of

the evolution of social behavior in humans

Jared Diamond argues that cities and states don't last because

the fundamental cause of collapse is environmental

The word "primate" was originally used to denote

the higher order of humans in the chain of being

The emergence of evolutionary thinking happened in part when certain key figures recognized

the importance of the great chain of being

If Benjamin Whorf were trying to find further proof that grammar shapes the way people perceive the world, which of the following would not be a focus of his research?

the in-depth analysis of the grammars of European languages

Bicultural evolution is the term used to describe how modern humans arrived on the scene, and it encompasses

the interaction of biology and culture over time

Variations in skin pigmentation can be traced to

the latitude where one's ancestors spent the most time

Mutation, natural selection, gene flow, and genetic drift are the four key parts of

the modern synthesis

Traditions are

the most enduring and ritualized aspects of a culture

Gene flow is

the movement of genetic material (DNA) within and between populations

Australopithecines most likely represent

the origins of human lineage

A crucial limitation of cost-benefit analysis in primates is

the oversimplification of population dynamics and complexity

One result of larger, denser population centers is

the rapid spread of a disease

The power dimension of an object reveals the underlying nature of

the relationship between the source of the object and its holder

skin "color" is

the result of melanin as a protective tint from the sun

Repatriation is

the return of human remains and artifacts to their descendants

In anthropology, a population or group of populations within a species that has measurable, defining biological characteristics is known as

the scientific concept of race

Foraging is

the search for edible things

We can apply the ideas of Robert Carneiro's argument about the role of war in a complex society to the Tarascan data by looking at

the shift in mortuary objects as a reflection of the consolidation of power

Domestication is

the taming of animals for human use, such as work or as food

What method establishes the date or period of an organic artifact or feature from the relative proportions of radioactive carbon to nonradioactive isotopes?

Carbon-14 dating

The emergence of increased cultural capacity in H. erectus can be seen in their changed diet, tools, and

the use of fire and cooking

One theory about the relationship between global warming and the shift from foraging to food production holds that

the warming that took place after the last ice age made the environment more habitable

One of the things that the analysis of skirt length conducted by Richardson and Kroeber reveals is

the way objects change meaning over time

The social processes that make race part of the natural order of things by producing theories, schemes, and typologies about human differences is

the way race is naturalized

If you wanted to study pair-bonding among bonobos as a window into understanding the evolution of human pair-bonding, you might encounter some difficulty because

the wide range of marriage and kinship patterns among humans undermines any easy comparisons between the species

what is the strongest evidence that Neanderthals had rich symbolic lives?

their use of non-functional material goods such as jewelry

how do contemporary variations in body size and mass compare with the variability among early hominids?

there is less variation now in both sexual dimorphism and size and mass

Which scholar believes that language is the symbolic guide to culture?

Edward Sapir

One possible reason that the Tarahumara Indians in Mexico are able to run vast distances without injury is that

they do not use shoes that interrupt the action of the foot arch

Activities that are biologically based, such as eating and sleeping, are universally the same for all humans.

False

The taxonomic ordering of Homo erectus has been completely resolved through careful fossil analysis.

False

The American anthropologist responsible for the concept of historical particularism was named

Franz Boas

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

this way of teaching organizes people to promote shared cultural goals

Why is AIDS having a more dramatic effect on populations in sub-Saharan African than in North America and Europe?

In sub-Saharan Africa, people have limited access to medicine that makes AIDS a manageable condition

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

Phylogeny helps us

trace the evolutionary history of a species

the most enduring and ritualized aspects of a culture

traditions

According to Edward Sapir, language is the symbolic guide to culture.

true

Although language is one of the most rule-bound aspects of human culture, it is also one of the least conscious.

true

Ashley Montagu would disagree with any scientific concept of race

true

Cahokia's vast complex of mounds and ceremonial sites initially suggested that it was the center of a vast empire. What is surprising is that this socially complex state did not last very long before it was abandoned.

true

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

true

Cultural appropriation involves relationships of power.

true

Culture consists of the collective processes that make the artificial seem natural.

true

Genetically speaking, humans are a remarkably homogeneous species: there is far greater variation within human groups than there is between them.

true

Many evolutionary processes interact to affect the organism.

true

One of the most powerful tools used to analyze archaic humans has been through use of mitochondrial DNA

true

One surprising discovery about hunter-gatherer lives was that they worked only a few hours a week.

true

Only federally recognized Native American tribes can request repatriation through NAGPRA.

true

Race can become biology, by shaping people's biological outcomes due to disparities in access to certain kinds of healthcare and diets, exposure to certain kinds of diseases, and other factors that can make people either sick or healthy.

true

Ruralization is the process that leads to a contested space in the country located between different city-states.

true

The complex social system on the north coast of Papua New Guinea precludes monopolistic behaviors because the network is so diffuse.

true

Which of the following is NOT a feature of the generalized foraging model?

unquestioned obedience to the leadership of the band's headman by members of the band

Were you to visit the New Guinea Highlands, you might be offered a meal consisting of cooked pork and sweet potatoes, which demonstrates

use of low-intensity agricultural practices that nevertheless can provide significant food resources

Darwin and Wallace recognized is that change over time is linked to

variation

The core idea of Darwin's and Wallace's ideas-descent with modifications via natural selection-is intimately tied to what larger force?

variation

What do archaeologists do when conducting ground surveys?

walk over a specific area and collect any artifacts found on the ground

From the anthropological perspective, culture, paired with language, makes our species distinct because

we are able to communicate knowledge that is inaccessible to other organisms and disseminate that knowledge

In evolutionary terms, humans are distinct from other primates with respect to their ability to use language because

we can speak using a larynx

The recent reinterpretation of ancient empires has led archaeologists to conclude that many such empires were actually little more than

well-organized estates that served the needs of a temple

what basic assumption do anthropologists question in the debate over Senator Elizabeth Warren's claims to Native American ancestry?

Native American ancestry can b e ascertained through genetic testing

Some of the early resistance to NAGPRA came from anthropologists and archaeologists because they felt that

Native American prehistory was part of human heritage

For anthropologists, the value of an object is an important way to understand

who has wealth and social status

Does race have biological consequences?

yes, because of racism

Which is a primary method for archaeologists?

-regional, aerial, and satellite surveys -visual documentation -ground surveys

Koko and Washo were two primates who had learned

American Sign Language

Who was responsible for the theory of social evolution?

E. B. Tylor

Which group traded iron tools for sex?

Tahitians

An assemblage is

a collection of objects found together

The rich, fine-grained soils deposited by rivers and streams is known as

alluvial soil

What material do archaeologists prefer to use for Carbon-14 dating?

charcoal

Which of the following would an archaeologist do before digging test pits?

conduct a ground survey

Anthropologists who study human biocultural evolution believe that evolution

continues in all organisms until they are extinct

The process of managing and preserving prehistoric and historic heritage, usually through the collection of material objects, is referred to as

cultural resource management

The recent upsurge in migration due to refugees seeking safety from war zones provides biological anthropologists an easy opportunity to observe and document

gene flow

For anthropologists the most important aspect of any object is

how it exists within a set of human social relationships

Hominine is

human species

Charles Darwin avoided use of the term "evolution" because

it might suggest progress or improvement

What is the significance of tubers as a very early cultigen in the New Guinea Highlands?

it shows us that early cultigens can be something other than grains

Examples of social institutions are

kinship, marriage, and farming

A defining characteristic that paleoanthropologist use to place a specimen into the genus Homo is

large cranial capacity

The dynamics of a complex society ensure that

lifestyles of the elites benefit from the labor of non-elites

An important distinction between hunter-gatherers today and those of the past is

linkage to sedentary agricultural societies through trade and other social ties

Early anthropologists considered the environments of hunter-gatherer societies to be harsh, and their methods of subsistence and technology to be simple, crude, and primitive, reinforcing

long-held cultural stereotypes

Two key characteristics of a primate are

manual dexterity and visual acuity

Why is pottery analysis so important to archaeological practice?

not sure of answer!! it's not "pottery was only owned by elites, so it is an important marker of social stratification"

When anthropologists look at an object according to the inequality reflected in its production, in which dimension are they looking at it?

power

Trade models of state formation focus on the people doing the trading work - traders - as well as the people

providing military protection

If you were a paleoanthropologist looking for an ancient primate fossil, what would you do to increase the likelihood of your success?

review satellite imagery surveys

Olduwan tools are

rocks modified to produce sharp flakes and edged choppers

Paleoanthropologists believe that the predominant diet of our earliest omnivorous ancestors consisted mostly of

roots, tubers, and fruits

which o the following groups of people were instrumental in the development of categorizing humans into distinct races?

scientists

Much of our knowledge of the ancient Mayan empire comes from the careful study of

stelae

Genotype is

the genetic components of an organism

Biocultural evolution is

the interaction of cultural capacity and biology to meet selective demands

Ethnoprimatology focuses on

the interface between human and ape communities

Complex societies ensure that

the labor of non-elites benefits the elites

racism is

the repressive practices, structures, beliefs, and representations that uphold racial categories and social inequality

Culture is uniquely human.

true

Most people are unaware of the structure of a language until someone speaking it makes a mistake.

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 iron that the crew would exchange for sexual favors.

true

The way in which most people incorporate the social and material aspects of their lives into biological experiences and outcomes is known as embodiment.

true

Norms are

typical patterns of behavior viewed as rules of how things should be done

Sedentism is

year-round settlement in a particular place

A cross-cultural perspective on eating insect larvae would reveal

-the cultural constructions of insects as food -that eating insects can be adaptive -the artificiality of taste

Anthropologists Alfred Kroeber and Jane Richardson made a detailed study of skirt length over the 300 years prior to World War II. Which of the following characterizes their conclusions?

-skirt length changed in regular cycles -women consistently sought to be fashionable -many aspects of women's dress styles changed during every period

Which of the following is an example of cultural appropriation?

-New Age religion's imitation of Indian spirituality and rituals -the use of the Zia Pueblo sun symbol on the New Mexico state flag -white children "playing Indian"

Which of the following is a contributing factor to the development of creoles, pidgins, and other hybrid forms of language?

-commerce -colonialism -globalization

Socioecological pressures are forces that modify primate behaviors and can include all of the following except

-competition -nutrition -locomotion

what is an embodied consequence of being a racial minority?

-higher rated of hypertension -shorter life expectancy -low in fact birth weights

When anthropologists look at an object according to the dimension of history, they are referring to

-how interpretations of the object have changed over time -where and by whom it was made -how the object was produced

what is the cause of clinal variations

-intermingling between populations -historical movement -gene flow

Cultural determinism is unproductive for cultural analysis because

-it explains all human action as the product of culture alone -it denies the influence of factors like physical environment and biology on humans -it can justify atrocities

The Canadian government helps preserve the use of French by requiring all official documents to be written in both English and French. The provincial government of the Canadian province of Quebec has implemented further regulations that require that signs have French letters larger than English letters. Why is the size of letters important?

-it is impossible to control what language ordinary Canadians use, but they can evaluate and distinguish the size of letters on signs -the regulations themselves give French Canadians a feeling that they are as important as English speakers, even though they are in the minority -symbolically, the size of the letters suggests the importance of the language

When behavioral ecologists study socioecological pressures on primates, they are primarily interested in

-locomotion -nutrition -predation

Ethnocentrism

-means you think your culture is superior to others -presents a major problems for anthropologists -is a common feature of culture

Some of the evidence for very early hominid like ancestors dates to at least

22 mya

You are an archaeologist with a site in the African Rift Valley and you think that you have discovered evidence that dates from 150,000 years ago. What dating method would you use to further your investigations?

K-Ar dating of volcanic rock

Despite the evidence of escalating warfare, excessive population growth, drought, and the failings of the ruling elite, the overwhelming evidence about the Mayan empire suggests that

Mayans did not disappear, they simply changed their social system

The combination of bipedalism, increased cranial capacity, changed diet and tool use, and expanding social relations all suggest that among the first humans

biology and culture interacted to shape their evolution

Evolution of human sleep patterns was greatly affected by

bipedalism

Anthropometry measures

body parameters to assess physical variation

What material would be most suitable for Carbon-14 dating?

bone fragments

A taxonomic structure is one that

both names and classifies all organisms according to a system

Grooming relationships among primates serve to

build and maintain affiliations

Which of the following is NOT a reasonable account used to explain why humans started raising their own food by domesticating plants and animals?

by the end of the ice age, human brains were finally large enough and humans smart enough to learn that if they planted seeds they would grow

Animals communicate through

call systems

The division of humans into African, Asian, American, and European races is

categorization based on geographic origin

Evidence for the increased capacity in early humans is seen in

changed diets, tools, and increased cooperation

one major change in human existence that resulted from the use of fire is

changes in cooking techniques

Morphological and molecular evidence suggests that

chimpanzees, gorillas, and humans are similar

One of the reasons that today's agricultural dietary practices seemingly restrict the variety of food choices stems from the existence of

complex patterns of food taboos

race is a

concept that organizes people into groups on the basis of specific physical traits that are thought to reflect fundamental and innate differences


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