CHAPTER 1 1) This chapter begins with a commonly heard opinion: "People are pretty much the same all over the world." Why is this assumption often wrong? How might your consideration of this understanding affect how you would design an anthropological study?
2)
What is culture? How do anthropologists define and study culture?
3) What does holism refer to? Why is the concept central to anthropology? How does this concept relate to the "four-field" approach within the discipline? Have you encountered this concept in any of your other classes?
4) This chapter provides an example of human adaptation to high altitude to illustrate the various forms of cultural and biological adaptation. Can you think of another example that illustrates the broad capacity of humans to adapt both biologically and culturally?
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5) What doesbiocultural perspective refer to? If you are planning to major in the biological sciences or planning a career as a medical doctor or clinical researcher, how might a minor in anthropology complement your education? If you are thinking of majoring in the humanities, how might a minor in anthropology complement your education?
6) This chapter considers differences and similarities between anthropology and other academic fields such as sociology. What about history?
7)
Anthropology is the study of A) humans around the world and through time. B) the psychological stages of human development. C) myths in industrial societies. D) the evolution of religion. E) long-term psychological adaptation.
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8) Anthropology as a holistic science refers to the study of the whole of the human condition: the past, the present, and the future of_________blank. A) math, physics, and astronomy B) biology, society, language, and culture C) faith and religion across the world D) geography and cartography E) ancient civilizations and archaeological remains
9) As humans organize their lives and adapt to different environments, our abilities to learn, think symbolically, use language, and employ tools and other products A) rest on certain features of human biology that make culture, which is not itself biological, possible. B) have made some human groups more cultured than others. C) are shared with other animals capable of organized group life—such as baboons, wolves, and even ants. D) prove that only fully developed adults have the capacity for culture; children lack the capacity for culture until they mature. E) rest on certain features of human biology that make culture itself a biological phenomenon.
10)
Which of the following statements about culture isfalse? A) Culture guides the beliefs and behavior of the people exposed to it. B) Culture is passed on from generation to generation. C) Cultural forces consistently mold and shape human biology and behavior. D) Culture is a key aspect of human adaptability and success. E) Culture is passed on genetically to future generations.
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11)
What is the process by which children learn a particular cultural tradition? A) biological adaptation B) ethnology C) ethnography D) acculturation E) enculturation
12) This chapter's description of how humans cope with low oxygen pressure in high altitudes illustrates A) how in matters of life or death, biology is ultimately more important than culture. B) the need for anthropologists to pay more attention to human adaptation in extreme environments. C) human capacities for cultural and biological adaptation, the latter involving both genetic and physiological adaptations. D) how human plasticity has decreased ever since we embraced a sedentary lifestyle some 10,000 years ago. E) how biological adaptations are effective only when they are genetic.
13) The presence of more efficient respiratory systems to extract oxygen from the air among human populations living at high elevations is an example of which form of adaptation? A) genetic adaptation B) symbolic adaptation C) cultural adaptation D) short-term physiological adaptation E) long-term physiological adaptation
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14) Over time, humans have become increasingly dependent on which of the following in order to cope with the range of environments they have occupied in time and space? A) social institutions, such as the state, that coordinate collective action B) social and cultural means of adaptation C) biological means of adaptation, mostly thanks to advanced medical research D) technological means of adaptation, such as the creation of virtual worlds that allow us to escape from day-to-day reality E) a holistic and comparative approach to problem-solving
15) Today's global economy and communications link all contemporary people, directly or indirectly, in the modern world system. People must now cope with forces generated by progressively larger systems—the region, the nation, and the world. For anthropologists studying contemporary forms of adaptation, why might this be a challenge? A) Anthropological research tools do not work in this new modern world system, making their contributions less valuable. B) A more dynamic world system, with greater and faster movements of people across space, speeds up the process of evolution, making the study of genetic adaptations more difficult. C) Since cultures are tied to place, people moving around and connecting across space means the end of culture, and thus the end of anthropology. D) According to Marcus and Fischer (1986), "The cultures of world peoples need to be constantly rediscovered as these people reinvent them in changing historical circumstances." E) Truly isolated indigenous communities, anthropology's traditional and ongoing study focus, are becoming harder to find.
16) The academic discipline of anthropology includes four main subfields. They are sociocultural anthropology, anthropological archaeology, biological anthropology, and_________blank.
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A) psychosociological archaeology B) linguistic anthropology C) scientific–humanistic studies D) genetical anthropology E) biological archaeology
17)
What are the four subdisciplines of anthropology?
A) archaeology, biological anthropology, applied linguistics, and applied anthropology B) biological anthropology, linguistic anthropology, cultural anthropology, and archaeology C) medical anthropology, ethnography, ethnology, and cultural anthropology D) primatology, ethnology, cultural anthropology, and paleoscatology E) genetic anthropology, physical anthropology, psychological anthropology, and anthropology and linguistics
18)
Anthropologists' early interest in Native North Americans
A) was replaced in the 1930s by the two-field approach. B) was more important than interest in the relation between biology and culture in the development of U.S. four-field anthropology. C) is unique to European anthropology. D) is an important historical reason for the development of four-field anthropology in the U.S. E) proved early on that culture is a function of race.
19)
How are the four subfields of U.S. anthropology unified?
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A) Each subfield studies the human capacity for language. B) The subfields really are not unified; their grouping into one discipline is a historical accident. C) Each subfield studies human biological variability. D) Each subfield studies human genetic variation through time and space. E) Each subfield studies human variation through time and space.
20)
What is one of the most fundamental key assumptions that anthropologists share?
A) We can draw conclusions about human nature by studying a single society. B) Anthropologists cannot agree on what anthropology is, much less share key assumptions. C) A degree in philosophy is the best way to produce good ethnography. D) A comparative, cross-cultural approach is essential to study the human condition. E) There are no universals, so cross-cultural research is bound to fail.
21)
Cultural anthropologists carry out their fieldwork in A) the ruins of ancient civilizations. B) typically in the third world nations. C) mostly in formerly colonized countries. D) all kinds of societies. E) factories.
22)
Ethnography is the
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A) generalizing aspect of cultural anthropology. B) fieldwork component of cultural anthropology. C) study of biological adaptability. D) cross-cultural comparative component of cultural anthropology. E) preliminary data that sociologists use to develop survey research.
23) Based on his observation that contact between neighboring tribes had existed since humanity’s beginnings and covered enormous areas, Franz Boas argued that A) general anthropologists were wrong to focus too much attention on biology. B) even the earliest foragers engaged in warfare. C) language must have originated among the Neandertals. D) cultures should not be treated as isolated phenomena. E) biology, not culture, was responsible for the vast majority of human diversity.
24) What component of cultural anthropology is comparative and focused on building upon our understanding of how cultural systems work? A) data collection B) fieldwork C) data entry D) ethnology E) archaeology
25) Archaeologists studying sunken ships off the coast of Florida or analyzing the content of modern garbage are examples of how
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A) Hollywood has popularized archaeology in recent movies, making it a popular college major. B) archaeologists study the culture of historical and even living peoples. C) archaeology is going through an identity crisis, with its practitioners questioning the discipline's focus on studying prehistory. D) archaeology is free from having to worry about the impact of its work on people. E) training in the use of research skills for extreme environments—such as landfills and the deep sea—are worth the time, resources, and risk for the sake of the anthropological knowledge gained.
26)
Which of the following best describes biological anthropology? A) the study of biology through soil and decomposing matter B) the study of human biological diversity C) the study of language and linguistic diversity D) the study of biological and cultural approaches to a given problem E) the study of public health
27)
The study of monkeys, apes, and other nonhuman simians is termed_________blank. A) paleontology B) primatology C) ornithology D) osteology E) semiology
28) Which of the following subfields of anthropology studies language in its social and cultural context, throughout the world and over time?
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A) demographical anthropology B) archaeological anthropology C) palaeoecological anthropology D) linguistic anthropology E) symbiological anthropology
29) Which of the following dimensions of anthropology employs anthropological data, perspectives, theory, and methods to identify, assess, and solve contemporary social problems? A) public ethnography B) applied anthropology C) academic anthropology D) social archaeology E) medical anthropology
30)
Applied anthropology
A) originated at the same time that anthropology's four-field approach became established among early-20th-century U.S. academics. B) focuses on preparing emerging academic scholars to improve their grant application skills. C) is concerned with the relationships between anthropological knowledge and the uses of that knowledge in the world beyond anthropology. D) has yet to be recognized by the American Anthropological Association. E) is a European phenomenon.
31) During a massive construction project, a city came across a treasure trove of archeological sites under its streets. It decided to call in an expert to help decide what needed to be saved and how to preserve information about what was not saved. This expert's role is best described to be in the field of
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A) they determine the emotional well-being of all their practitioners. B) they often lead to extreme psychological disruption and even mental illness. C) they serve emotional needs as well as cognitive (i.e., explanatory) ones. D) they are psychologically and cognitively relevant, but these realms are well contained and have no effect beyond the mental well-being of the practitioner. E) religion helps reduce differences by promoting brotherly love.
18) Bronislaw Malinowski found that the Trobriand Islanders used magic when sailing, a hazardous activity. He proposed that A) magic was a surprisingly effective stand-in for proper fishing skills and experience, because it made people confident in their capabilities. B) people turn to magic to instill psychological stress on their competitors, especially when the fish supply is very low. C) magic emboldened people to take more risks. D) because people can't control matters such as wind, weather, and the fish supply, they turn to magic. E) magic actually reduced the fishing success of the Trobriand Islanders, but at least they did not feel directly responsible, since then they could blame it on bad luck.
19)
Which of the following is true about rites of passage?
A) Participants in rites of passage are only tricked into believing that there was a big change in their lives. B) Despite their prevalence during the time that Victor Turner did his research, rites of passage have disappeared with the advent of modern life. C) Rites of passage only worsen the anxieties caused by other aspects of religion. D) Beliefs and rituals can, ironically, both diminish and create anxiety and a sense of insecurity and danger. E) Rites of passage would be effective in diminishing anxiety and fear if they did not involve the liminal phase.
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20)
Which of the following isnot among contemporary rites of passage? A) fasting B) bat mitzvah C) marriage D) initiation E) baptism
21) According to Victor Turner, all rites of passage have three phases: separation, liminality, and incorporation. Of these three, the liminal phase—which is the most interesting—is typically characterized by A) symbolic reversals of ordinary behavior. B) intensification of the social hierarchy. C) a forming of an implicit ranking system. D) no change in the social norms. E) the use of secular language.
22) Both induction into the U.S. Marine Corps and the vision quest of certain North American Indian societies are examples of A) a generalized exchange. B) genetic programming. C) binary opposition. D) rites of passage. E) a structural analysis of religion.
23)
What is the term for the marginal or in-between phase of a rite of passage?
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A) mana B) taboo C) voodoo D) animism E) liminality
24)
What is communitas? A) the Latin word for mana B) a collective liminality C) anxiety D) a social inequality that is accepted even by those who are less privileged E) the supernatural
25) Rituals serve the social function of creating temporary or permanent solidarity among people—forming a social community. We see this also in practices known as A) mana. B) liminality. C) totemism. D) fundamentalism. E) animism.
26)
Which of the following isnot a religious descriptor term?
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A) caste B) unaffiliated C) agnostic D) syncretic E) None of the answers is correct.
27) As today's forces of globalization displace people, which church has spread most quickly, offers a tightly knit egalitarian community, and adapts easily to local culture? A) Catholic B) mainline Protestant C) Jewish D) Pentecostal E) Islam
28) Which of the following describes a church's ability to become locally relevant as it spreads throughout the world? A) globalization B) antimodernism C) hybridization D) fundamentalism E) homogenization
29) Which of the following tend to be directed at socially marginal individuals as a method of social control?
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A) witchcraft accusations B) rites of passage C) Olympian religions D) cargo cults E) blood feuds
30) Which of the following isnot a problem when defining the difference between secular and sacred? A) Behavior considered appropriate for religious occasions varies from culture to culture. B) Some secular settings, objects, and events acquire intense, powerful meaning. C) The distinction between the supernatural and natural is not consistently made in society. D) If religion is defined with reference to the sacred and/or supernatural, it raises the question of how to classify ritual-like behaviors in secular contexts. E) Secular rituals are performed in strictly religious settings.
31) Which of the following kinds of religion involves part-time religious specialists in foraging societies? A) communal religion B) shamanistic religion C) Olympian religion D) individualistic cults E) idiosyncratic belief systems
32)
Which of the following kinds of religion involves full-time religious specialists?
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A) communal religion B) shamanistic religion C) individualistic cult D) Olympian religion E) idiosyncratic belief system
33) Protestant values such as asceticism and entrepreneurship as a result of the belief that success on Earth could lead to salvation, and a fervent individualism due to the belief that only individuals could be saved, both lead in the right conditions to the rise of capitalism. Who made this argument? A) Robert Bellah B) Sir Edward Burnett Tylor C) Max Weber in his influential book The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism D) Claude Lévi-Strauss in his famous book The Savage Mind E) Anthony F. C. Wallace in his attempt to show religion's relevance in understanding historical change
34) Which of the following groups see a sharp divide between themselves and other religions, as well as between a "sacred" view of life and the "secular" world? A) Haredi Jews B) Communitas C) Hindus D) Pentecostals E) mainline Protestants
35)
Cargo cults, syncretic religions that mix Melanesian and Christian beliefs, are
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