Anthropological Theory
Pre-Test Questions
Course Introduction
Anthropological Theory explores the foundational and contemporary frameworks that shape anthropological inquiry and analysis. This course examines the development of key theoretical perspectives, including structuralism, functionalism, cultural materialism, interpretive anthropology, postmodernism, and feminist theory, tracing their historical roots and evolution. Students engage with primary texts and influential scholars to critically assess how different paradigms address issues such as culture, society, power, identity, and globalization. Through comparative analysis and case studies, the course fosters a deep understanding of how theory guides ethnographic research, interpretation, and the application of anthropological knowledge to real-world issues.
Recommended Textbook
Cultural Anthropology A Global Perspective 8th Edition by Raymond Scupin
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Chapter 1: Introduction to Anthropology
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Q1) From reading the short biographies about C. Loring Brace, Patti Jo Watson, Bambi Schieffelen, and Bruce Krnauft, what have you learned about how anthro?pologists become specialists in certain topics?
Answer: From reading the short biographies of C. Loring Brace, Patti Jo Watson, Bambi Schieffelen, and Bruce Krnauft, it is evident that anthropologists become specialists in certain topics through a combination of education, research, and fieldwork. Each of these anthropologists pursued advanced degrees in anthropology or related fields, and then focused their research and fieldwork on specific topics of interest. For example, C. Loring Brace specialized in human evolution and bioarchaeology, while Patti Jo Watson focused on the archaeology of the Middle East. Bambi Schieffelen became a specialist in linguistic anthropology, and Bruce Krnauft concentrated on economic anthropology. It is clear that becoming a specialist in a particular topic requires dedication to studying and conducting research in that area, as well as a commitment to gaining expertise through hands-on experience in the field. Additionally, these anthropologists likely sought out mentors and colleagues who were also experts in their chosen topics, further deepening their knowledge and specialization. Overall, the path to becoming a specialist in anthropology involves a combination of academic training, fieldwork, and ongoing research and collaboration within the anthropological community.
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Chapter 2: Human Evolution
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Sample Questions
Q1) According to the fossil evidence, the first hominids to migrate out of Africa were the Neandertals.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
Q2) Charles Darwin can be considered an "armchair biologist" because his theories are based on the fieldwork of other researchers.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
Q3) Burins are special projectile points for hunting large game like mammoths.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
Q4) Upper Paleolithic artisans made stone tools in distinctive styles that vary from region to region.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
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Chapter 3: Culture
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Sample Questions
Q1) Folkways and mores are two different types of norms.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
Q2) Which of the following is true of symbols?
A) They are rooted deeply in genetic structure.
B) They are different for everyone.
C) They cannot be easily identified.
D) They are arbitrary but meaningful units we use to represent reality.
Answer: D
Q3) The concept of "culture" is central to many anthropological discussions and issues.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
Q4) The unique capacity for culture in the human species depends on learning since we do not inherit our culture through our genes.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
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Chapter 4: The Process of Enculturation: Psychological and Cognitive Anthropology
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Q1) Based on your own experience of different ethnic groups, do you agree with the theory that there are specific personality types that are common in certain cul?tures? Discuss the reasons why you agree or disagree.
Q2) How are children in Japan raised differently from those in the United States? What effect, if any, does this have on the personality of individuals raised in Japan?
Q3) Most anthropologists have come to agree that human behavior __________.
A) is mostly determined by genetic inheritance
B) is usually automatic and instinctual
C) results from learning only
D) results from a combination of biology and culture
Q4) The central object of Mead's study, Coming of Age in Samoa (1928), was to determine whether or not:
A) kinship patterns in Samoa could be attributed to diffusion from China
B) the events of World War II had an effect on traditional family structure in Samoa
C) the transition from adolescence into adulthood was stressful in all societies
D) maturation rates of Samoan teenagers were directly related to race and heredity
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Chapter 5: Language
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Q1) Go to a zoo and observe a primate for at least one hour. What types of sounds and noises does the primate make? Do they appear to be signs (call system) or symbols? Does the primate appear to use non-verbal communication of any kind? Compare and contrast your observations with research done by others, and your own perception of how you communicate with other humans.
Q2) How many morphemes are there in the English word "antidisestablishmentarianism"?
A) 1
B) 6
C) 28
D) 0
Q3) Using glottochronology, historical linguists can work with archaeologists in order to reconstruct protolanguages and prehistoric migrations.
A)True
B)False
Q4) How do animal communication systems differ from human language and communication systems?
Q5) There are over 4,000 languages in the world today.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 6: Anthropological Explanations
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Q1) The existence of a "joking relationship" (one in which interaction is typified by friendly teasing) between a man and his brothers-in-law would be explained by anthropologist
Radcliffe-Brown as:
A) a structured relationship whose function is to reduce potential hostility
B) evidence for cultural influences on individual personality
C) an example of the importance of cultural relativism in kinship roles
D) the basis for materialistic behavior
Q2) The methodology Morgan used to investigate foreign cultures included:
A) the distribution of questionnaires by travelers and missionaries
B) participant observation of societies on South Pacific islands
C) training students as ethnographers
D) excavating ancient archaeological sites
Q3) Nineteenth century theories of "unilineal evolution" proposed that:
A) modern humans were descended from ape-like creatures
B) human existence is characterized by continuous progress towards civilization
C) Egypt was the source of all civilizations
D) the Bible was the best reference on the human past
Q4) Explain how postmodernism has affected anthropological explanation. What is the postmodern critique of ethnography?
Q5) How would a cultural materialist explain why Muslims don't eat pork?
Page 8
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Chapter 7: Analyzing Sociocultural Systems
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Q1) What are some of the research goals of demographic anthropologists as they relate to hunter-gatherer studies? Why is a demographic perspective important in anthropological research?
Q2) Clifford Geertz provides the following as a definition of religion: "A religion is a system of symbols which acts to establish powerful, pervasive, and long-lasting moods and motivations in men by formulating conceptions of a general order of existence and clothing these conceptions with such an aura of factuality that the moods and motivations seem uniquely realistic." Examine this quote closely while thinking about your religion or belief system. What do you think of Geertz's definition? Does it apply to your particular religion or belief system and perceptions? If not, why not?
Q3) Ethnographic research can be very demanding, and often ethnologists experience psychological stress that results from adjusting to the realities of a society radically different from their own. This reaction is called:
A) cultural relativism
B) cultural psychosis
C) culture shock
D) psycho-cultural trauma
E) xenophobia
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Chapter 8: Band Societies
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Q1) A cross cousin is the offspring of one's father's sister or one's mother's brother.
A)True
B)False
Q2) The nice thing about studying hunter-gatherer societies is the fact that they have never been in contact with or influenced by other cultures; thus, they are pristine cultural systems that anthropologists find intriguing.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Dreamtime for the Australian Aborigines is a fundamental, complex concept that includes the past, present, and future where spirits come to the earth and act as intermediaries between the world and the everyday lives of the people.
A)True
B)False
Q4) By studying contemporary foragers (hunter-gatherers) anthropologists can gain a better understanding of life during the Paleolithic period.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 9: Tribes
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Q1) Most tribal societies that practiced monetary exchange used what is called limited-purpose money; that is, it can be used to purchase any item or service desired.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Which of the following descent groups is likely to result in the most flexible and loosely structured corporate social unit?
A) a patrilineal descent group
B) a matrilineal descent group
C) a clan
D) a kindred
Q3) Iroquois tribal society was organized around matrilineal descent groups, whose members lived together in a longhouse, had collective rights over land and tools, and were influential in decision-making processes.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Explain the concepts of segmentary lineage system and complementary opposition. Do you see any adaptive significance in this form of political organization?
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Chapter 10: Chiefdoms
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Q1) The predominant form of economic exchange found in chiefdoms is redistribution.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Food storage can directly affect political economy because:
A) Accumulation of surplus within households results in differences in social status.
B) Storage reduces the need to be economically productive.
C) It is essential for the survival of foraging societies dependent upon unreliable resources.
D) Food was a principal commodity in long-distance exchange.
Q3) Native American societies of the Northwest Coast such as the Bella Coola, Haida, and Tlingit are usually categorized as chiefdoms. However, they are atypical of chiefdom societies because:
A) They cultivated taro, yams, and sweet potatoes.
B) They were governed by tribal councils.
C) They were hunters and gatherers and did not practice agriculture.
D) They had no urban centers.
Q4) All individuals in chiefdom societies have equal rank and status.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 11: Agricultural States
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Q1) Characteristics of a civilization include all of the following except:
A) dense populations located in urban centers
B) extensive food surpluses
C) a highly specialized division of labor
D) a state that employs numerous government officials
E) an egalitarian form of government
Q2) A civilization is a complex society that includes such things as an urban center, extensive food surpluses, a specialized division of labor, a method of record keeping, and monumental architecture.
A)True
B)False
Q3) The first codified laws, the Laws of Hammurabi, originated in the Near Eastern civilization of Babylon.
A)True
B)False
Q4) States differ structurally from bands, tribes, and chiefdoms by having a bureaucratic or governmental organization.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 12: Industrial States
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Q1) It has been suggested that a major factor in the emergence of industrial states in Europe was due to:
A) an increase in contact and trade among different societies
B) the establishment of state controlled religions
C) the invention of the printing press and steam engine
D) the collapse of the traditional family and its values
Q2) Chiefdoms and agricultural states are classified as because they provide little opportunity for social mobility. Industrial states, on the other hand, are considered because social status can be achieved through individual effort.
A) oppressive / free
B) hierarchical / egalitarian
C) closed societies / open societies
D) caste cultures / kindred cultures
E) sedentary societies / nomadic societies
Q3) A market economy is one in which the value of goods is determined by supply and demand.
A)True
B)False
Q4) What are some of the unique characteristics of Japanese industrial corporations?
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Chapter 13: Globalization, Culture, and Indigenous Societies
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Q1) Japan is considered to be a Third World country.
A)True
B)False
Q2) As recently as 1934, Native Americans were not considered U.S. citizens but wards of the state.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Describe the five stages by which a traditional society undergoes modernization to reach a level of high economic growth.
Q4) Revitalization movements can take the form of violent military resistance.
A)True
B)False
Q5) The displacement of Native Americans from their tribal lands in the U.S. in order to make the land available to white settlers was:
A) accompanied mostly by outlaws and hired guns
B) a formal policy of the United States government
C) a myth invented by radical Indian activists
D) undertaken mostly by foreign immigrants
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Chapter 14: Globalization in Latin America, africa, and the Caribbean
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Q1) Agricultural land is more likely to be individually owned by peasants in open peasant communities.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Slavery was practiced in African chiefdoms before the arrival of Europeans. A)True
B)False
Q3) Although both Mexico and Venezuela are oil-producing nations, the standard of living in each of these countries is still well below that of the U.S. or most European countries for most of the population. What do you see as the most important factors responsible for these differences?
Q4) All of the West African countries had gained their independence from European governments by 1970.
A)True B)False
Q5) Boer settlers had their most intense conflicts with indigenous Zulu. A)True
B)False
Page 16
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Chapter 15: Globalization in the Middle East and Asia
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Q1) The Philippines were directly colonized, first by , then by the United States.
A) Iran
B) Nigeria
C) India
D) Spain
Q2) Mao Zedong's "Great Leap Forward" was successful at improving both rural health care and literacy.
A)True
B)False
Q3) The principal religious text of Islam is called the:
A) Torah
B) Qur'an
C) Bible
D) Upanishad
Q4) Name two of the European countries that participated in the colonization of Asia. For each, name one former colony and describe the nature of its agricultural exports under European rule. What are the effects of colonization that can still be seen in these countries today?
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Chapter 16: Race and Ethnicity
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Q1) Since the 19th century, there has been a tendency in the U.S. to classify offspring of racially-mixed couples as belonging to the race of the parent with the lowest racial status. This is called the:
A) multiculturalist concept
B) circumstantialist model
C) primordialist model
D) hypodescent concept
Q2) Hispanic/Latino populations in the United States are NOT concentrated in the:
A) Southwest
B) Southeast
C) Midwest
D) Northeast
Q3) African Americans had the largest demographic increase compared to other ethnic groups, according to the 2000 census.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Intermarriage is one example of biological assimilation.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 17: Contemporary Global Trends
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Q1) What is the global economy? What types of changes have occurred in the world recently that are related to the globalization of the world economy?
Q2) A British clergyman and economist named -------predicted that populations would grow at a very rapid rate (exponential rate) and the production of food and other vital resources would increase at a much slower rate. As a result, human populations would be subjected to a variety of checks on population growth such as warfare, famine, and disease.
A) Charles Darwin
B) E.O. Wilson
C) Julian Simon
D) Thomas Malthus
E) Mikhail Gorbachev
Q3) The one-child policy in China has been:
A) effective at reducing the birthrate
B) useless at reversing trends of runaway population growth
C) most accepted in agricultural areas
D) accepted without protest by both urban and rural populations
Q4) What is the demographic transition theory? Do you think this model applies to all cultures in the world?
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Chapter 18: Applied Anthropology
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Q1) What is cultural resource management?
Q2) An example of an applied project in which the anthropologists played the role of analyst was the Vicos Project in the Andes.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Applied studies in medical anthropology can often help health providers design more effective means of delivering health care to a group of people.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Whereas most archaeologists have traditionally found employment in universities or museums, many are now working as applied archaeologists specializing in what is known as:
A) application archaeology
B) cultural resource management
C) excavation archaeology
D) exhumation regulation
Q5) Do you think it is possible to adopt a humanitarian standard that would be accepted by everyone in the world? What might this view entail?
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