Social and Cultural Anthropology Exam
Solutions
Course Introduction
Social and Cultural Anthropology explores the diverse ways in which people live and make sense of their worlds, examining social structures, belief systems, cultural practices, and human interactions across global societies. The course introduces foundational theories and methods used by anthropologists to investigate topics such as kinship, religion, language, economic systems, identity, power relations, and globalization. Students learn to critically analyze the cultural assumptions that shape everyday life and to appreciate the complexity of human behaviors and norms in both familiar and unfamiliar contexts. Through ethnographic case studies and comparative analysis, the course fosters a global perspective and encourages respectful engagement with cultural difference.
Recommended Textbook
Window on Humanity A Concise Introduction to General Anthropology 6th Edition by Conrad
Available Study Resources on Quizplus
19 Chapters
1072 Verified Questions
1072 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/study-set/3091
Page 2
Kottak
Chapter 1: What Is Anthropology
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
50 Verified Questions
50 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/61274
Sample Questions
Q1) The statement, __________, is a distinction between culture and society.
A)"culture is the result of higher education, whereas society is shared by all people"
B)"people share society with other animals, but culture is distinctly human"
C)"culture is genetically programmed, whereas society is transmitted through social learning"
D)"people attain culture through international travel but society is the social environment of their native land"
E)"society rests more upon certain features of human biology than culture does"
Answer: B
Q2) The pressurized cabin of an airplane flying at high altitude provides an example of a(n)
A)genetic adaptation.
B)long-term physiological adaptation.
C)short-term physiological adaptation.
D)cultural adaptation.
E)archaeological adaptation.
Answer: D
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above. Page 3
Chapter 2: Culture
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
62 Verified Questions
62 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/61273
Sample Questions
Q1) Humans do not share such features as __________ with other primates.
A)opposable thumbs
B)enlarged brain-to-body ratio
C)depth perception
D)parental investment in offspring
E)habitual bipedalism
Answer: E
Q2) Cultural rights different from human rights in that
A)human rights are real, while cultural rights are just perceived.
B)cultural rights are morally based, while human rights are methodologically based.
C)cultural rights are vested in groups, not in individuals.
D)cultural rights are more clear-cut than human rights.
E)the term cultural rights is a politically correct synonym for human rights.
Answer: C
Q3) Only people living in the industrialized, capitalist countries of Western Europe and the United States are ethnocentric.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above.
Page 4
Chapter 3: Doing Anthropology
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
60 Verified Questions
60 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/61272
Sample Questions
Q1) The principle of superposition dictates that
A)in a systematic survey, the location of a site is most likely near a river.
B)in an undisturbed sequence of strata, the youngest layer is on the bottom.
C)in an undisturbed sequence of strata, the oldest layer is on the bottom.
D)a fossil that is superimposed over a rock that is being dated by an absolute method is the same age as the rock.
E)certain radioactive isotopes decay at predictable rates that allow archaeological sites to be dated based on the amount of the isotope present.
Answer: C
Q2) __________ is not an example of the multidisciplinary approaches used in physical anthropology and archaeology.
A)Remote sensing
B)Metaphysics
C)Bioarchaeology
D)Paleontology
E)Palynology
Answer: B
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above. Page 5
Chapter 4: Evolution, Genetics, and Human Variation
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
62 Verified Questions
62 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/61271
Sample Questions
Q1) Syphilis apparently originated in the Americas as a Disease that spread through
A)skin-to-skin contact.
B)sexual transmission.
C)airborne transmission (coughing and sneezing).
D)blood-to-blood contact.
E)contact with farm animals.
Q2) The theory of creationism argues that natural selection of the fittest individuals created all species that are present today.
A)True
B)False
Q3) __________ are gradual genetic shifts are found among human population.
A)Mutations
B)Alleles
C)Clines
D)Genotypes
E)Balanced polymorphisms
Q4) Directional selection reduces genetic variation by removing maladaptive traits from a gene pool.
A)True
B)False
Page 6
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above.
Chapter 5: The Primates
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
54 Verified Questions
54 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/61270
Sample Questions
Q1) The great apes include
A)baboons, gibbons, and chimpanzees.
B)gorillas, gibbons, and chimpanzees.
C)gorillas, chimpanzees, and orangutans.
D)macaques, baboons, and gibbons.
E)orangutans, siamangs, and gorillas.
Q2) Define and give examples of homology and analogy.Identify whether homology or analogy is important for taxonomy and why.
Q3) The Pierolapithecus catalaunicus is
A)the first bipedal hominin.
B)the first primate of the Paleocene.
C)a possible Oligocene common ancestor of New and Old World monkeys.
D)a possible Miocene common ancestor of humans, chimpanzees, gorillas, and orangutans.
E)the first arboreal primate.
Q4) Gorillas typically live in social groups, each headed by a silverback male.
A)True
B)False
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above.
Page 7
Chapter 6: Early Hominins
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
55 Verified Questions
55 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/61269
Sample Questions
Q1) The ancestors of Homo split off and become reproductively isolated from the later australopithecines
A)between 5 and 4 m.y.a.
B)between 7 and 6 m.y.a.
C)between 3 and 2 m.y.a.
D)between 1 m.y.a.and 500,000 years ago.
E)None of the above is correct.
Q2) A fact about australopithecines is that they
A)have been found only in East Africa.
B)were the first hominins to migrate out of Africa.
C)developed and used Acheulian stone tools.
D)included both gracile and robust species.
E)are well known for their cave paintings.
Q3) __________ was a major hominin group that lived from about 4 million to 1 million years ago.
A)Homo sapiens
B)Homo erectus
C)Ramapithecus
D)Australopithecus
E)Dryopithecus
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above. Page 8
Chapter 7: The Genus Homo
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
65 Verified Questions
65 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/61268
Sample Questions
Q1) Unlike the Mousterian, which included a great variety of stone tool types, Upper Paleolithic tool traditions included only a few kinds of implements.
A)True
B)False
Q2) The DNA of the Denisovans suggests that they interbred with ancestral Melanesians.
A)True
B)False
Q3) ___________ is not a general trend in hominin evolution.
A)Greater reliance on cultural means of adaptation
B)An increase in the quantity, variety, and quality of tools
C)An increase in cranial capacity
D)A decrease in the overall geographic range of hominins
E)Population growth
Q4) Beringia is the land bridge that once connected Siberia and North America.
A)True
B)False
Q5) Identify and discuss the significance (in terms of environmental, economic, and social changes) of the broad-spectrum revolution in southwestern Europe.
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above. Page 9
Chapter 8: The First Farmers
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
52 Verified Questions
52 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/61267
Sample Questions
Q1) ___________ was the first hominin to arrive in the New World.
A)H.erectus
B)A.boisei
C)Homo sapiens
D)H.sapiens neanderthalensis
E)H.habilis
Q2) Native Americans living in what is now the eastern United States established sedentary villages and a full-fledged Neolithic economy based on squash, sunflower, sumpweed, and goosefoot.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Compared to the Middle East, food production emerge in the New World approximately
A)30,000 to 40,000 years later
B)3,000 to 4,000 years later
C)30,000 to 40,000 years earlier
D)3,000 to 4,000 years earlier
E)the same time
Q4) Define broad-spectrum foraging, and discuss its importance to the emergence of food production.
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above. Page 10
Chapter 9: The First Cities and States
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
55 Verified Questions
55 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/61266
Sample Questions
Q1) Metallurgy plays a key role in Carneiro's model of state formation.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Identify ways that environmental degradation can contribute to the collapse of states.
Q3) Jericho is located in central Turkey.
A)True
B)False
Q4) The statement, __________, is not true.
A)"Çatal Hüyük was first planned and built by the Jomon"
B)"the dwellings at Çatal Hüyük were entered through the roof"
C)"Çatal Hüyük was probably the largest Neolithic settlement in the Middle East"
D)"the dead were buried beneath house floors"
E)"Çatal Hüyük may have had as many as 10,000 inhabitants"
Q5) ____________ allows a state to expand its territory much larger than a chiefdom.
A)Bureaucracy
B)Armies
C)Strong leaders
D)Long-distance trade
E)Loose, informal leadership
Page 11
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above.
Chapter 10: Language and Communication
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
57 Verified Questions
57 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/61265
Sample Questions
Q1) Linguists believe that
A)only 120 languages are now spoken in the world.
B)the number of languages spoken in the world is increasing rapidly.
C)nothing can be done to preserve linguistic diversity.
D)all people should study English in order to facilitate cross-cultural communication.
E)the world's linguistic diversity has been cut in half over the past 500 years.
Q2) The study of sounds used in speech is
A)historical linguistics.
B)sociolinguistics.
C)phonology.
D)morphology.
E)ebonics.
Q3) Labov argued that all humans share a universal grammar.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Historical linguists study linguistic performance by categorizing speakers as inadequate, competent, or highly proficient.
A)True
B)False
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above. Page 12
Chapter 11: Making a Living
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
61 Verified Questions
61 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/61264
Sample Questions
Q1) Describe how people in all societies maximize, and identify what they maximize.Determine if maximization is a cultural universal, and explain your answer.
Q2) The __________ are not foragers.
A)Basseri (Iran)
B)Australian aborigines
C)Mbuti (Congo)
D)Eskimos (Alaska and Canada)
E)San (Kalahari Desert)
Q3) Horticulture refers to low-intensity farming, including the use of slash-and-burn techniques.
A)True
B)False
Q4) A common social unit among foragers is the
A)tribe
B)chiefdom
C)segmentary lineage
D)state
E)band
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above. Page 13
Chapter 12: Political Systems
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
59 Verified Questions
59 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/61263
Sample Questions
Q1) List the major implications of food production.Describe how reliance on food production affects the social, economic, and political organization of societies.
Q2) The elites of archaic states enjoyed restricted access to sumptuary goods.
A)True
B)False
Q3) For much of human history, people lived in societies characterized by a __________ sociopolitical organization.
A)band
B)tribe
C)chiefdom
D)state
E)complex chiefdom
Q4) An age set is
A)a village council.
B)a pantribal sodality that represents a certain level of social achievement.
C)all men and women related by patrilineal descent from a human apical ancestor.
D)all men and women related by matrilineal descent from a nonhuman apical ancestor.
E)a group including all men or women born during a certain span of time.
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above. Page 14
Chapter 13: Families, Kinship, and Marriage
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
56 Verified Questions
56 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/61262
Sample Questions
Q1) __________ is a nonhuman apical ancestor of a clan.
A)Tarawad
B)Sororate
C)Levirate
D)Totem
E)Pater
Q2) Lobolo is a substantial gift to be given before, at, or after a marriage
A)by the wife to her husband.
B)by the husband to his wife.
C)by the wife's kin to her husband.
D)by the wife's kin to her husband's kin.
E)by the husband and his kin to the wife and her kin.
Q3) Exogamy is adaptive because it
A)increases the number of individuals that one can rely on in times of need.
B)increases the likelihood that disadvantageous alleles will find phenotypic expression and eliminate them from the population.
C)impedes peaceful relations among social groups and therefore promotes population expansion.
D)was an important causal factor in the origin of the state.
E)reduces the gene pool of a community.
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above. Page 15
Chapter 14: Gender
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
57 Verified Questions
57 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/61261
Sample Questions
Q1) In many highland Papua New Guinea patrilineal-patrilocal societies
A)women are the primary producers of subsistence crops.
B)women govern the public distribution of prestige items.
C)women fear contacts, including sexual intercourse, with men.
D)polygyny decreases household productivity because a man must provide for more than one wife.
E)the public-domestic dichotomy is minor or nonexistent.
Q2) In patrilineal parilocal societies,
A)men control the prestige hierarchy.
B)men work harder at food production and manufacturing than do women.
C)men are in short supply due to the practice of male infanticide.
D)men and women enjoy approximately equal status.
E)men trade subsistence goods but not prestige items.
Q3) Explain how industrialism affected gender roles and stratification.Discuss the reasons that poverty is becoming feminized.
Q4) Gender stratification refers to an unequal distribution of socially valued resources, power, prestige, and personal freedom between men and women.
A)True
B)False
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above. Page 16
Chapter 15: Religion
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
54 Verified Questions
54 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/61260
Sample Questions
Q1) Religion is a cultural generality-that is, it is found in most, but not all, societies.
A)True
B)False
Q2) The use of voodoo dolls is an example of A)imitative magic.
B)contagious magic.
C)taboo.
D)animism.
E)superstition.
Q3) According to Malinowski, religion provides people with emotional comfort during times of stress or uncertainty.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Totems are animals, plants, or geographical features from which members of a totemic group claim to be descended.
A)True
B)False
Q5) Explain the universality of religion.
Q6) Discuss two cases in which religion played an important role in social change.
Page 17
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above.
Chapter 16: Ethnicity and Race
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
54 Verified Questions
54 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/61259
Sample Questions
Q1) Cultural colonialism is a process of external assimilation that occurs when a developing nation-state requests financial support from a First World nation-state.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Define the term social race, and explain how this concept differs from "race" as perceived by the average American.
Q3) Social races
A)have some biological basis, although they mostly can be explained through culture.
B)have declined in importance, and anthropologists no longer study the subject.
C)are a cultural construction and have no real world effects.
D)are biologically distinct from ethnic groups.
E)are groups assumed to have a biological basis but they are defined in a culturally arbitrary manner.
Q4) In many societies, minority groups have inferior power and less secure access to resources than do majority groups.
A)True
B)False
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above.
18
Chapter 17: Applying Anthropology
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
52 Verified Questions
52 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/61258
Sample Questions
Q1) Anthropologists researching the effects of development at the local level are able to identify inadequacies that may not be evident to economists working at national and global levels.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Describe what it means to say that an economic development project is culturally compatible.List the advantages of ensuring that projects are culturally compatible.
Q3) The spread of malaria is linked to population growth and deforestation.
A)True
B)False
Q4) A disease is defined as a(n)
A)health problem as it is experienced by the affected individual.
B)artificial product of biomedicine.
C)consequence of foraging.
D)unnatural state of health.
E)scientifically identified health threat.
Q5) Discuss the reasons why many anthropologists have turned from academic to applied work.
Q6) Define overinnovation, and explain why it can undermine development projects.
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above. Page 19
Chapter 18: The World System and Colonialism
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
57 Verified Questions
57 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/61257
Sample Questions
Q1) Industrialization and mass production have given rise to a culture of consumption.
A)True
B)False
Q2) When indigenous peoples are incorporated into modern nation-states, they usually become ethnic minorities.
A)True
B)False
Q3) The Industrial Revolution began in
A)England.
B)China.
C)the United States.
D)Germany.
E)France.
Q4) Define the Industrial Revolution, and describe how the lives of ordinary working people changed as a result of this revolution.
Q5) Describe the difference between colonialism and imperialism.Examine the effects that colonialism and imperialism have had on cultural and ethnic diversity.
Q6) List how Marx and Weber's views on stratification differ.
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above. Page 20
Chapter 19: Anthropologys Role in a Globalizing World
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
50 Verified Questions
50 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/61256
Sample Questions
Q1) Acculturation can occur with or without firsthand contact between groups.
A)True
B)False
Q2) __________ refers to changes that result when groups come into continuous firsthand contact.
A)Acculturation
B)Hegemony
C)Enculturation
D)Diaspora
E)Colonialism
Q3) National boundaries no long restrict forces influencing production and consumption.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Conservation projects have traditionally been sensitive to the ethnoecologies of indigenous people.
A)True
B)False
Q5) Define globalization two ways.Identify when each type began, and give examples of both definitions.
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above. Page 21