Course Introduction
Human Cultures
Textbook Exam Questions
Human Cultures explores the diversity and complexity of human societies around the world, examining how cultural practices, beliefs, values, and institutions shape individual and collective experiences. The course investigates major themes such as language, kinship, religion, art, and social organization, while also considering the impact of globalization, cultural change, and cross-cultural interactions. Through comparative analysis and case studies, students gain a deeper understanding of both the unique characteristics and shared patterns that define human communities across history and geography.
Recommended Textbook
Cultural Anthropology 3rd Edition by
Nancy Bonvillain
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Page 2
Chapter 1: What Is Anthropology
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Q1) The anthropologist Fuambai Ahmadu of Sierra Leone views female genital mutilation as __________.
A) a form of persecution
B) a symptom of patriarchy
C) an Islamic practice
D) an emotionally positive validation of womanhood
Answer: D
Q2) Anthropological interest in the power relationship among individuals in tribal societies overlaps with which other discipline?
A) history
B) political science
C) psychology
D) biology
Answer: B
Q3) Linguistic anthropology focuses on all of the following, EXCEPT __________.
A) the relationship between language and culture
B) how language is used within society
C) how language is identified in the archaeological record
D) the effects of globalization upon indigenous languages
Answer: C
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Chapter 2: The Nature of Culture
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Q1) In America, the growing financial equality of women with men led to __________.
A) an increase in divorces
B) an increase in average family size
C) an increase in home ownership
D) the two-car family
Answer: A
Q2) __________ refers to the tendency for people's beliefs and practices to form a relatively coherent and consistent system.
A) Cultural logic
B) Cultural integration
C) Cultural core
D) Cultural norms
Answer: B
Q3) __________ is the process of learning one's culture through informal observation and formal instruction.
A) Enculturation
B) Acculturation
C) Behaviorism
D) Observation
Answer: A
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Chapter 3: Studying Culture
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Q1) __________ views cultural differences to be best understood as complex webs of meaning rather than forms.
A) Functionalism
B) Materialism
C) Structuralism
D) Interpretive anthropology
Answer: D
Q2) During which of the following stages of fieldwork will an anthropologist attempt to learn the rules for entering and residing in their chosen country of study?
A) choosing a problem
B) conducting preliminary research
C) gathering qualitative data
D) interpreting data
Answer: B
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Page 5
Chapter 4: Language and Culture
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Sample Questions
Q1) Words borrowed from one language to another.
A) cognates
B) language families
C) loanwords
D) lingua francas
Q2) Using the terms symbolism, displacement, and productivity, discuss what makes human language different from other, animal, communication systems.
Q3) How do pidgins differ from creoles?
A) Pidgins and creoles are the same.
B) Pidgins are not full languages.
C) Pidgins combine sounds, grammatical forms, and vocabulary from different languages.
D) Pidgins arise during periods of close contact between individuals that speak different languages.
Q4) About __________ different languages are spoken in the United States.
A) 790
B) 100
C) 380
D) 1000
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Chapter 5: Learning Ones Culture
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Q1) Which of the following is a way in which adults treat children differently according to gender?
A) Boys are allowed to play indoors more often than girls.
B) Girls receive more attention to their needs than do boys.
C) Girls spend more time playing at home than do boys.
D) Girls spend more time playing with their peers than do boys.
Q2) __________ are attitudes that people hold about themselves.
A) Self-concepts
B) Cultural notions
C) Personality traits
D) Interdependent views
Q3) __________ is the primary means by which humans adapt and survive.
A) Technology
B) Culture
C) Learning
D) Language
Q4) Explain the pre-Spanish conquest Aztec system of education.
Q5) Explain gender as an identity acquired through enculturation and socialization. What are some of the cross-cultural traits associated with male and female genders? What socialization practices might account for them?
Page 7
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Chapter 6: Making a Living
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Q1) __________ is a subsistence strategy that focuses on raising and caring for herds of domesticated animals.
A) Pastoralism
B) Horticulture
C) Agriculture
D) Foraging
Q2) __________ is intensive farming which invests great amounts of time, labor, and technology.
A) Pastoralism
B) Horticulture
C) Agriculture
D) Foraging
Q3) Slash and burn cultivation, otherwise known as __________, is a farming technique for preparing new fields by cutting down trees and bushes then burning them in order to clear the land and enrich the soil with nutrients.
A) crop rotation
B) field rotation
C) swidden cultivation
D) fertilizer based horticulture
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Page 8
Chapter 7: Economic Systems
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Q1) As service industries and information technologies increase, heavy industry declines, prompting some analysts to refer to Western nations as __________.
A) postindustrial
B) preindustrial
C) industrial
D) nonindustrial
Q2) What is another form of redistribution?
A) trade
B) markets
C) negative reciprocity
D) barter
Q3) Which is NOT a significant element in the economic system of the Nyanga of Central Africa?
A) hunting
B) gathering
C) basket weaving
D) farming
Q4) Compare and contrast subsistence strategies among foraging, pastoral, horticulture, and agricultural societies.
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Chapter 8: Kinship and Descent
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Q1) In the South Pacific, members of societies with ambilineal descent groups
A) had to choose only one group to be associated with during his or her lifetime
B) received advantages of only one descent group, but still owed responsibilities to both descent groups
C) could shift membership in their mother's or father's descent group depending on short-term advantage
D) had flexibility in who they chose to align, but were forced to choose an affiliation for their offspring
Q2) __________ is a kinship principle in which descent and inheritance follow gender-linked lines so that men consider themselves descended from their fathers and women consider themselves descended from their mothers.
A) Ambilineal descent
B) Bilateral descent
C) Parallel descent
D) Double descent
Q3) How did (and does) the kinship system of the Mohawks work to balance economic and political rights between man and women?
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Chapter 9: Marriage and the Family
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Q1) Nepalese marriage negotiations __________.
A) may take many rounds, usually ten, to be finalized
B) involve gifts from the bride's family to the groom's family
C) are a short, simple process
D) involve the bride and groom presenting gifts to their future mothers-in-law
Q2) A/An __________ is a family formed with three or more generations, for example, parents, children, and grandparents.
A) generational family
B) homestead
C) extended family
D) nuclear family
Q3) What purpose do woman-woman marriages serve in Nuer society?
A) They recognize homosexual couples.
B) They make it possible for women to form economic units without men.
C) They allow a woman to act as a husband so that a lineage without an heir can produce one.
D) They allow for the creation of female lineages.
Q4) According to U.S. Census information covering the years 1980 to 2009, what are the trends for changes in families in the United States?
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Chapter 10: Gender
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Q1) Which of the following statements most accurately describes the current anthropological understanding of gender relations?
A) All known societies are strongly patriarchal.
B) Some societies are matriarchal.
C) Although in some societies gender equality generally prevails, most societies are male dominated.
D) Although males dominate to a degree in some societies, most societies are basically egalitarian.
Q2) In assessments of labor contributions, __________ are often ignored.
A) women's incomes
B) women's contribution of domestic labor
C) women's personal savings
D) combined family incomes
Q3) Contrast the gender roles that are found in traditional pastoral societies, such as the Maasai or Turkana, with those of horticultural societies, such as the Igbo. How are these different levels of gender stratification related to subsistence strategies?
Q4) What kinds of effects did colonialism have on gender relations in indigenous societies in Africa and the Americas?
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12
Chapter 11: Equality and Inequality
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Q1) Race is like caste in that it exhibits all of the following EXCEPT __________.
A) it is a permanent status
B) it is social rather than biological
C) members are said to have different ancestral origins
D) it has a biological basis
Q2) In the United States, races, like castes in India, tend to be __________.
A) exogamous
B) endogamous
C) non-hierarchical
D) based on separate ancestries
Q3) Which of the following statements is false regarding Samoan society?
A) Samoan society is based on egalitarian ethics.
B) Only women may become the heads of extended families.
C) The Samoans are an example of a ranked society.
D) Samoan society is organized in part around kinship groups.
Q4) Contrast functionalist and Marxist explanations for social inequality. What are the strengths and weaknesses of each explanation?
Q5) Define slavery. How does the social concept of slavery fit into the systems of class and caste?
Q6) Explain the concept of a ranked society using the Samoans as your example.
Page 13
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Chapter 12: Political Systems
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Q1) Which of the following statements about band societies is false?
A) They are currently located in isolated and marginal areas of the world.
B) Their populations range from twenty-five members to several hundred members.
C) Their leaders are selected on the basis of personal wealth and property ownership.
D) While leaders have some influence, they lack the authority to enforce their will.
Q2) Many of the traits of band societies are the result of __________.
A) the economic need to be nomadic
B) the use of reciprocal trade relationships
C) clans as the basis of kinship
D) democratic decision making
Q3) Which of the following is NOT an example of a tribal society?
A) Hmong
B) Mbuti
C) Passamaquoddy
D) Dani
Q4) What cultural correlates may be expected to be present in societies which are chiefdoms? Can you think of a group or subculture in our own society with these same attributes?
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Page 14
Chapter 13: Conflict and Conflict Resolution
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Q1) __________ tends to be highest in strongly patriarchal societies.
A) Divorce
B) Polygynous marriage
C) Household size
D) Domestic violence
Q2) What have the Dine reintroduced in response to the adversarial nature of the American court system?
A) rehabilitation centers for criminals
B) peacemaker courts conducted by mediators
C) more lenient sentences for plea bargains
D) community confessionals
Q3) Participation in tribal warfare tends to be based on __________.
A) whether a person is in their period of military service
B) voluntary association
C) conscription
D) patriotism
Q4) Describe how conflicts are resolved in Semai society in Malaysia.
Q5) How may witchcraft and other supernatural beliefs play a role in conflicts? In conflict avoidance and management?
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Chapter 14: Religion
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Q1) Although rituals have symbolic meanings, performing rituals is aimed at __________.
A) teaching moral values
B) obtaining practical results
C) training religious specialists
D) proving the existence of deities
Q2) An example of a secret society would be __________.
A) Catholic monasteries
B) Christian seminaries
C) Australian Aboriginal men who are allowed to handle special ritual objects
D) Islamic madrasas
Q3) Witchcraft is also called __________.
A) sorcery
B) terrifying
C) voo doo
D) magic
Q4) What are revitalization movements? Explain the distinctions between nativistic, messianic, and millenarian movements.
Q5) What is magic? Witchcraft? How do they serve to explain events and reinforce social norms?
Page 16
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Chapter 15: The Arts
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Q1) What is the term for art produced by a particular group of people that comes to express and symbolize their ethnic identity?
A) symbolic expression
B) identity art
C) representational art
D) ethnic art
Q2) Aesthetic conventions are __________.
A) biological
B) cultural
C) universal
D) apply only to paintings
Q3) Hand gestures by Indian and Balinese dancers identify all of the following EXCEPT
A) the dancer's social status
B) the dancer's marital status
C) characters or events in sacred narratives and folktales
D) a dancer's place of birth
Q4) What role do proverbs and riddles play in societies? Why are these considered art too?
Q5) What impacts has tourism had on Toraja society in Indonesia?
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Chapter 16: Colonialism and Cultural Transformations
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Q1) Which of the following was a negative result of the creation of cash economies in colonies?
A) The social cohesiveness of local communities was disturbed due to migration for work.
B) Indigenous peoples resorted to armed conflict in retaliation to a taxation system.
C) The roles of women in their communities shifted because there was no need for their services.
D) The desire for wealth led to warfare and conflict between indigenous tribes.
Q2) Thomas Jefferson's letter to Meriwether Lewis assumes __________.
A) Native American groups would be hostile to the Lewis and Clark expedition
B) Native American groups would help the Lewis and Clark expedition
C) the territory the Lewis and Clark expedition would be passing through belonged to the United States
D) the territory The Lewis and Clark expedition would be passing through was a foreign nation
Q3) How was education used by the British and then Australian governments to strengthen their control over Aboriginal peoples?
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Chapter 17: Living in a Global World
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Q1) Ecotourism often has what type of effect on indigenous groups?
A) a positive one because ecotourism limits development on indigenous lands
B) a positive one because indigenous people often benefit financially as the caretakers of areas where ecotourism thrives
C) a negative one because conservation laws and restrictions often force indigenous people off land
D) neither a positive nor a negative one because ecotourism rarely encroaches of indigenous lands
Q2) According to some estimates, there are between 80 to 90 indigenous tribes living in all of the following countries EXCEPT __________.
A) Colombia
B) Brazil
C) Peru
D) Ecuador
Q3) Explain the role of British colonial rule in creating the current mix of ethnic identities in Sudan.
Q4) What are the reasons for continuing increases of rural to urban migration?
Q5) What are the promises and dangers to indigenous peoples of ecotourism?
Q6) Why did the genocide in of 1994 occur in Rwanda?
Page 19
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