Introduction to Anthropology
Textbook Exam Questions
Course Introduction
Introduction to Anthropology provides students with a comprehensive overview of the field of anthropology, exploring the diverse aspects of human cultures, societies, and biological evolution. The course covers the four main subfields: cultural anthropology, physical (biological) anthropology, archaeology, and linguistic anthropology. Students will examine human origins, cultural development, social organization, language, and belief systems across different societies and eras. Through case studies, ethnographic examples, and cross-cultural comparisons, the course encourages critical thinking about human diversity, adaptation, and the ways in which anthropology contributes to our understanding of contemporary global issues.
Recommended Textbook
The Anthropology of Religion Magic and Witchcraft 3rd Edition by Rebecca L. Stein
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11 Chapters
651 Verified Questions
651 Flashcards
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Chapter 1: The Anthropological Study of Religion
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80 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) A belief in spirit beings is termed:
A)animatism
B)animism
C)agnosticism
D)anthropocentrism
Answer: B
Q2) Karen McCarthy Brown's study of vodou in New York City is an example of an ethnography.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
Q3) An example of an ethnography is:
A)Goodall's study of chimpanzee behavior
B)Herskovits's study of economic anthropology
C)Johanson's study of the fossil hominids from Hadar
D)Malinowski's study of the Trobriand Islanders
Answer: D
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Page 3
Chapter 2: Mythology
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Sample Questions
Q1) In Islam,God spoke to Mohammad in Arabic,and Arabic is used in ritual today.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
Q2) A proposed relationship between early childhood experiences and adult projection systems like myths is characteristic of which analytic approach?
A)functional analysis
B)structural analysis
C)psychoanalytic analysis
D)evolutionary analysis
Answer: C
Q3) Franz Boas and Bronislaw Malinowski are representative of proponents of the:
A)structural analysis of myth
B)psychological analysis of myth
C)functional analysis of myth
D)evolutionary analysis of myth
Answer: C
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Chapter 3: Religious Symbols
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Sample Questions
Q1) The ancient Maya used several calendar cycles simultaneously.There were two main cycles,one of 365 days and one of 185 days.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
Q2) According to the Murngin of Australian,after death a person's spirit will:
A)travel to the land of the dead across the sea
B)return to the ancestral clan water hole
C)remain for a time in the land of the living as a ghost
D)disappear forever
Answer: B
Q3) Which of the following statements is true?
A)The symbolic nature of color is universal;white is worn by brides in all societies.
B)All societies recognize the same basic color categories.
C)Different colors are associated with different emotional states.
D)All of the above statements are true.
Answer: D
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Chapter 4: Ritual
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Sample Questions
Q1) Among the !Kung San of southern Africa the marriage ceremony involves the mock forcible carrying off of the bride from her parent's hut to a specially built marriage hut and the anointing of the bride with special oils and aromatic powders.This ritual can be classified as a:
A)therapeutic ritual
B)rite of intensification
C)rite of passage
D)technological ritual
Q2) The purpose of Aztec human sacrifice was based on the worldview that:
A)only human flesh could adequately feed the royal family
B)to avoid the end of the life of the Sun,it had to fed blood
C)sacrificed humans buried in the fields would ensure a good harvest
D)all of the above
Q3) What are some of the causes of supernatural illness? How would each be treated?
Q4) In the Zulu male puberty ceremony the boy is taken to the river and bathed.His old cloths are destroyed and he puts on new clothes and is presented to the community.This phase of a rite of passage is known as separation.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 5: Altered States of Consciousness and Religious Specialists
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Sample Questions
Q1) Characteristics of an altered state of consciousness include:
A)attachment of new meaning to experiences
B)perceptual distortions and hallucinations
C)sudden and unexpected displays of emotional extremes
D)all of the above
Q2) Characteristics of an altered state of consciousness include:
A)acceleration or slowing of time
B)sudden and unexpected displays of intense emotion
C)various parts of body may appear or feel shrunken,enlarged,dis?torted,heavy,or weightless
D)all of the above
Q3) The goal of many religious altered states of consciousness is to achieve a unitary state.
A)True
B)False
Q4) An altered state of consciousness can be brought about through:
A)fasting
B)meditation
C)sleep deprivation
D)all of the above
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Chapter 6: Religious Specialists
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Q1) While a priest is usually visualized as an ideal role model,shamans are very often people who live on the edges of society and are feared by members of the society.Why?
Q2) Characteristic of Siberian Shamanism is the use of:
A)hand held drums
B)hallucinogenic snuff
C)dancing
D)self-inflicted pain
Q3) Core shamanism is a concept that was developed by Carlos Castaneda.
A)True
B)False
Q4) The term shaman comes from the Tungus language of:
A)Siberia
B)the American Southwest
C)West Africa
D)Australia
Q5) Shamans are frequently individuals who are driven to become shamans because of illness including mental illness.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 7: Magic and Divination
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Q1) Explain the difference between prophets and mediums.
Q2) The Law of Contact (Contagion)states that:
A)magic depends on the apparent association between things B)things which are alike are the same C)things that were once in contact continue to be connected D)none of the above
Q3) Magic is most frequently found in situations that are:
A)unpredictable
B)reasonably reliable
C)associated with those at the fringes of society
D)associated with the politically powerful
Q4) The apparent connection between things that are no longer connected as a basis of magic defines homeopathic magic.
A)True
B)False
Q5) Possession and prophecy are examples of deliberate inspirational divination.
A)True
B)False
Q6) How are ordeals used in courts of law?
Q7) How does a Trobriand Islander obtain magic?
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Chapter 8: Souls, ghosts, and Death
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Q1) Which of the following is true about the concept of the soul in small-scale religions?
A)the soul may be destroyed on its way to the other world
B)the fate of the soul may be the result of the social statuses of the individual during life
C)the souls of people who die a special death,such as in war,may share a fate different from those who die a different death
D)all of the above
Q2) The origins of Halloween can be found in a(n):
A)ancient Celtic festival called Samhain
B)Satanic celebration of the horned deity
C)new tradition for burials that began during the Civil War
D)U.S.department store attempt to sell more items in the Fall
Q3) The term transmigration refers to:
A)the attainment of new souls through visions
B)the movement of souls from one person into another
C)the soul being reborn into the body of an animal
D)the soul moving from one afterlife to another
Q4) What are the several functions of death rituals or funerals?
Q5) How does a ghost differ from a soul?
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Chapter 9: Gods and Spirits
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Q1) Early Judaism:
A)shared many of the same religious beliefs as other religions of the time
B)may have implicitly accepted the existence of other gods
C)used many different names for God
D)all of the above
Q2) Kali is a(n):
A)agricultural and fertility deity
B)war goddess and destroyer of demons
C)destroyer of ignorance and bringer of knowledge
D)goddess of love and marriage
Q3) Which of the following statements about Islam is false?:
A)Islam accepts Jesus and Moses as prophets of God.
B)The prophet Mohammad was visited by an angel who gave him the command to recite.
C)Muslims have a duty to create a society that is just and equitable.
D)The God of Islam is more personal and approachable than the God of Judaism.
Q4) Many anthropologists have seen relationships between the social organization of the gods and human society.What are some of these ideas?
Q5) How does the analysis of Dani spirits illustrate the difference between etic and emic?
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Chapter 10: Witchcraft
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the following is an oracle used by the Azande to discover the identity of witches?
A)the rubbing board oracle
B)spirit possession by a medium
C)throwing of shells on a mat and reading the pattern formed
D)studying the internal organs of a sacrificed chicken
Q2) The spread of AIDS in small-scale societies is often attributed to witchcraft and sorcery because:
A)AIDS is a poorly understood disease of which there is no clear cause in the minds of the people
B)modern medicine is relatively ineffective in treating AIDS
C)AIDS appears to strike random,especially among the poor
D)all of the above
Q3) A series of witchcraft trials and executions took place in the late 17th century in the United States,in the town of:
A)Lancaster
B)Salem
C)Concord
D)Springfield
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Page 12
Chapter 11: Syncretism and Religious Movements
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Q1) What are some of the strategies used by high demand religions to maintain member's affiliation with the group?
Q2) The practice of justifying beliefs and actions by reference to religious texts held to be inerrant is:
A)totalism
B)scripturalism
C)traditioning
D)agnosticism
Q3) John Frum is:
A)revered as a god in Vanuatu
B)the anthropologist who first studied the Trobriand Islanders
C)the founder of a high demand UFO religion
D)the leader of the tribal association in the Amazon
Q4) In Haitian Vodou,the identification of the Yoruba deity Legba as St.Peter is an example of syncretism.
A)True
B)False
Q5) Illustrate the concept of syncretism using Vodou in Haiti.
Q6) Define and contrast the concepts of denomination,sect,and cult.
Page 13
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