Human Societies Study Guide
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Course Introduction
This course explores the diverse structures, functions, and dynamics of human societies from an interdisciplinary perspective. Students will examine how social institutions including family, religion, education, and government influence individual behavior and collective life. Topics include cultural norms and values, socialization, inequality, social change, and globalization. Through case studies and theoretical frameworks, the course encourages critical analysis of how societies construct identity, address challenges, and interact within an increasingly interconnected world.
Recommended Textbook
Cultural Anthropology 14th Edition by Carol
R. Ember
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Chapter 1: What Is Anthropology
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Q1) What two distinct sets of questions are sought by biological anthropologists?
A) the emergence and evolution of human beings; how and why contemporary humans vary biologically
B) reconstructing cultural changes in the past through artifacts; the history and diversity of languages
C) applying knowledge of culture to correct social problems; understanding how and why people today vary in their customs and behaviors
D) using cultural knowledge to dominate and exploit other societies; studying the earliest examples of tool use by our human ancestors
Answer: A
Q2) An ethnohistorian would __________.
A) study the way in which cultures have changed over time
B) work in the field for long periods of time
C) study only past cultures, much as archaeologists do
D) prepare lengthy reports on extinct cultures
Answer: A
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Chapter 2: Culture and Culture Change
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Q1) The adoption and later elimination of the sepaade tradition among the Rendille is an example of __________.
A) intentional cultural change
B) acculturation
C) diffusion
D) a maladaptive custom
Answer: A
Q2) What does the concept of cultural integration mean?
A) Various subgroups in the society work together.
B) Cultural elements are constant.
C) Cultural traits that are maladaptive can be made to work with adaptive traits.
D) Cultural elements are a fairly eclectic assortment.
Answer: A
Q3) The most powerful transmitter of culture is probably __________.
A) language
B) the elders of a society
C) the school system
D) parents
Answer: A
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Page 4
Chapter 3: Culture and the Individual
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Q1) How does difference in schooling style affect the study of cross-cultural cognitive development? Give at least three examples of ways in which the style of schooling (not the subject) affect a child's temperament, cognitive ability, or psychological development.
Answer: The ideal answer should include: 1. Show understanding that education can take many forms
2. Examples of different tasks or types of thinking used in different educational situations
Q2) Parental encouragement of violence is associated cross-culturally with a society's involvement in __________.
A) war
B) market economy
C) organized religion
D) agriculture
Answer: A
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Chapter 4: Understanding and Explaining Culture
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Q1) The method of __________ shows that a theory seems to be wrong.
A) falsification
B) proving
C) guessing
D) testing
Q2) When do you use a statistical test of significance?
A) when you need to measure the differences among variables
B) so you can definitively prove a theory
C) when you are unsure what level of importance should be attached to a theoretical construct
D) so you can determine whether your conclusion was right or wrong
Q3) Richard Scaglion's study into the ceremonial yams used by the Abelam of New Guinea was influenced by similar studies in other populations. Which of these procedures was Scaglion using?
A) comparative study
B) single-case analysis
C) metaphorical analysis
D) double-case study
Q4) Discuss the pros and cons of anthropologists using pseudonyms and fake community names in their publications.
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Chapter 5: Communication and Language
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Q1) Children learn spoken language at __________.
A) about the same age in all cultures
B) a relatively later age in simpler societies
C) a wide range of ages, but with no correlation with societal complexity
D) a relatively later age in more complex societies
Q2) The earliest writing systems are about __________ years old.
A) 6,000
B) 2,000
C) 3,000
D) 10,000
Q3) Pauses, shrugs, vocal communication, and facial expressions all contribute to __________.
A) paralanguage
B) metalanguage
C) symbolic language
D) body language
Q4) How does language reflect social status? Give three specific examples in which members of different social positions use different forms of language.
Q5) Compare and contrast human and nonhuman communication.
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Chapter 6: Getting Food
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Q1) Compared to food-collectors, horticulturalists generally __________.
A) get more food from a given area
B) are more nomadic
C) are more sparsely populated
D) have fewer differences in prestige between people
Q2) Why are the majority of intensive agricultural societies located outside of the tropics?
A) It is difficult to control insects and weeds in the tropics, making agriculture less productive.
B) Most societies in the tropics are too small to require intensive agriculture.
C) Tropical forests are so bountiful that people can easily survive on a foraging lifestyle.
D) Tropical environments are particularly well suited to pastoralism.
Q3) What insights can we gain about humanity's past by studying the lives of contemporary foragers? What are the limitations associated with using modern foragers to help understand ancient humans?
Q4) Distinguish between the three major types of food production: horticulture, intensive agriculture, and pastoralism. Provide examples of modern cultures practicing each type of subsistence.
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Page 8
Chapter 7: Economic Systems
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Q1) What factor can predict whether a particular food item will be shared with others?
A) unpredictability
B) calorie content
C) abundance
D) taste
Q2) The term "transnationals" refers to migrants who __________.
A) move back and forth between their homelands and their adopted countries
B) move from one country to another, living in three or more nations throughout their lives
C) permanently move from their homelands to a new country
D) move temporarily to another country for work, sending money back home
Q3) What happens to customs of sharing when money is introduced into a society?
A) people tend to be less inclined to share after money is introduced
B) money makes it easier for people to share with others
C) traditional patterns of sharing remain the same after money is introduced
D) people stop traditional patterns of sharing entirely
Q4) How does the addition of a cash crop to an economic and subsistence strategy affect the society in question?
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Chapter 8: Social Stratification: Class, Ethnicity, and Racism
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Q1) While it is possible for egalitarian societies to have some wealth differences, the key factor that would transform that group into a rank society is __________.
A) a mechanism for retaining more wealth for some families over time
B) a way of recording the history of each family's wealth
C) to associate wealth with an individual's abilities or skills
D) a shared value of the importance of gaining wealth
Q2) In egalitarian societies, people may differ in prestige, but these differences are not related to __________.
A) social group
B) age
C) personal abilities
D) sex
Q3) Modern industrial societies are noted for having disparate access to economic resources and prestige. What type of stratification exists in these societies?
A) class
B) caste
C) egalitarian
D) rank
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Chapter 9: Sex and Gender
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Q1) In a study of the Kayapo, which women were found to have less influence in community decision-making?
A) those with heavy child-care burdens
B) women of low-ranking clans
C) barren and post-menopausal women
D) mothers of shaman
Q2) How do we define status when discussing relative status of men and women? Discuss the use of this term, and the difficulties in comparing status cross-culturally.
Q3) How is gender assigned in the United States?
A) by external biological attributes
B) based on parental preference
C) by newborn behavioral traits
D) based on hormone levels
Q4) Because the Navajo recognize four distinct genders, they consider homosexual sex to be __________.
A) between two people of the same gender
B) between two people of the same sex
C) generally acceptable
D) unheard of
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Chapter 10: Marriage and the Family
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Q1) Which of the following statements is true of the relationship between family and household?
A) In simpler societies, the family and household are indistinguishable, but in more complex societies they may diverge.
B) In complex societies, the family and household are indistinguishable, but in simpler societies they may diverge.
C) In simpler societies, the family is always bigger than the household, but in more complex societies they are of comparable size.
D) In complex societies, the family is always bigger than the household, but in simpler societies they are of comparable size.
Q2) Many Westerners view the practices of dowry, bride wealth, and bride service to be about "buying" a wife. Explain why this is an inaccurate description of economic marriage transactions. What is the purpose of such economic exchanges between families?
Q3) Bride price occurs all over the world but is particularly common in __________.
A) Africa
B) East Asia
C) Europe D_ South America
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Chapter 11: Marital Residence and Kinship
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Q1) Which of the following characterizes the Kapauku Papuans?
A) patriclans
B) matrilineal descent
C) neolocal residence
D) moieties
Q2) Although avunculocal residence is rare, nearly all avunculocal societies are __________.
A) matrilineal
B) ambilineal
C) bilineal
D) patrilineal
Q3) Unilineal descent groups are nearly universal. What important social functions do they serve cross-culturally?
Q4) Marital residence largely predicts the __________.
A) types of kin groups found in a society
B) average fertility rate
C) dependence on market transactions
D) style of marital exchange practiced
Q5) Compare and contrast matrilocal and patrilocal residence, giving specific examples where appropriate.
13
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Chapter 12: Associations and Interest Groups
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Q1) Which of the following is a common feature of a voluntary military association?
A) experience in war
B) high military rank
C) membership in an upper caste
D) study of the history of warfare
Q2) Why are NGOs sometimes more powerful than government organizations?
A) They can raise money privately.
B) They are usually bigger.
C) NGOs have more fluid leadership.
D) Only NGOs can enforce laws.
Q3) Why do West African occupational clubs also fall under the category of ethnic associations?
A) West African trade unions are organized along tribal as well as craft lines.
B) There is a strict caste system determining an individual's occupation.
C) These societies offer only a very limited number of possible occupations.
D) West Africans pass careers on from father to son for many generations.
Q4) Distinguish between age-set and age-grade associations, providing an example for each.
Q5) What are the purposes of unisex associations, and how are their purposes related to the ascribed characteristic of sex?
Page 14
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Chapter 13: Political Life: Social Order and Disorder
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Q1) The Mekranoti have a generally egalitarian society. Despite this, __________ are more likely to become leaders.
A) sons of leaders
B) wealthy men
C) daughters of leaders
D) women with many sons
Q2) Societies with higher levels of political integration are also likely to exhibit
A) class distinctions
B) high literacy rates
C) collective action
D) territorial disputes
Q3) The prominence of women in the politics of Vanatinai is most likely linked to __________.
A) the absence of war
B) importance of women's foraging
C) low fertility and child-care responsibilities
D) matrilocal residence
Q4) What factors are associated with a culture's degree of individual political participation?
Page 15
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Chapter 14: Religion and Magic
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Q1) If a society has only two types of religious practitioners, they are usually a shaman healer and a __________.
A) priest
B) medium
C) witch
D) sorcerer
Q2) Melford Spiro and Roy D'Andrade have suggested that the god-human relationship is a projection of the __________ relationship.
A) parent-child
B) husband-wife
C) human-nature
D) living-dead
Q3) In which type of society are the gods most likely to take an active interest in the moral behavior of humans?
A) a society with considerable wealth inequality
B) pastoral societies
C) a food-collecting society
D) an egalitarian society
Q4) Outline the ways in which people interact with the supernatural.
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Chapter 15: The Arts
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Q1) How have scholars affected change in Native American arts over time?
A) They have helped artisans learn about styles of the past that have disappeared.
B) They became patrons to individual artists to allow them to do their craft full-time.
C) They introduced new tools and materials for use in art projects.
D) They encouraged Native Americans to work together in cooperatives.
Q2) What does the empty space in an egalitarian society's design most likely represent?
A) the society's relative isolation
B) the vast, open underworld
C) the social opportunities awarded to individuals
D) the variation in social status within the group
Q3) Popular music is highly dependent on __________ for its spread and acceptance.
A) immigration
B) downloads
C) music videos
D) economics
Q4) What information about a society is reflected in its folklore? Give specific examples.
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Chapter 16: Practicing and Applying Anthropology
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Q1) Anthropologists who call themselves applied or practicing anthropologists are not usually employed in which setting?
A) universities
B) charitable foundations
C) public interest law firms
D) profit-seeking corporations
Q2) Anthropologists, environmentalists, and the Haitian people all agree that __________ is desperately needed in Haiti; determining how to enact this change is more difficult.
A) reforestation
B) contraception
C) universal education
D) malaria prophylaxis
Q3) How does a "top down" approach differ from policy changes based on community participation? How do environmental anthropologists approach change programs?
Q4) How does the field of museum anthropology exemplify applied anthropology's role in public education?
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Chapter 17: Health and Illness
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Q1) The bubonic plague killed between __________ percent of the European population.
A) 25 and 50
B) 5 and 10
C) 15 and 20
D) 70 and 80
Q2) Many cultures have the view that the body should be kept in __________.
A) a state of equilibrium
B) pure form
C) balance with nature
D) shape
Q3) Which illness is thought of as a "folk illness"?
A) susto
B) depression
C) anorexia nervosa
D) pibloktoq
Q4) Lack of adequate nutrition usually results in what conditions for children?
A) retarded weight and height
B) tooth deformity
C) cognitive difficulties
D) lower social and economic standing in their society
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Chapter 18: Global Problems
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Q1) What social factors increase the likelihood of family violence?
Q2) The homicide rate is usually related to what social factor?
A) income inequality
B) high divorce rate
C) low literacy rate
D) economic downturn
Q3) The contrast between homelessness in the United States and Australia makes it clear that the cause of homelessness is __________.
A) social policy
B) poverty
C) disability
D) mental illness
Q4) Why is global warming of interest to the topic of social problems?
A) It is influenced at least partially by human actions, and may cause storms and floods.
B) It is a controversial topic that causes social discord.
C) It is a natural process that may cause human suffering.
D) It is entirely caused by human actions and disproportionately affects poor nations.
Q5) What social factors are associated with famines?
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