Cultural Anthropology

Multiple Choice Questions (Enter your answers on the enclosed answer sheet)

1. A study of the garbage people throw away may reveal more about their lifestyles than surveys and interviews because:

a. garbage is easier to analyze than survey data b. people will often lie about their bad habits c. fieldwork in garbage dumps is less expensive d. surveys and interviews are done by sociologists

2. __________ linguistics, which focuses on the comparison and classification of different languages to reveal historical links, can often be used to confirm inferences derived from archaeological or paleoanthropological research on ancient population movements.

a. Historical b. Socio- c. Structural d. Evolutionary

3. An anthropologist interested in structural linguistics might consider doing research on:

a. the relationship between Chinese and Japanese b. whether bilingual children think differently from children who know only one language c. why some people speak with a southern accent only when they are with family members d. what languages are spoken in highland Peru

4. Most of the research of anthropologist Bambi Schieffelin falls under the category of:

a. sociolinguistics b. ethnomusicology c. forensic anthropology d. prehistoric archaeology

5. A unique research strategy of anthropologists which involves learning the language and culture of a group by participating in the group’s daily activities is called:

a. assimilation b. holistic interaction c. ethnography d. participant observation

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Final Examination

GED210 Introduction to Cultural Anthropology

6. Anthropology is said to be “holistic” because it:

a. is concerned with primitive societies b. makes use of both written and spoken sources c. combines studies of biological and cultural phenomena d. studies the mystical aspects of human experience

7. When a scientist begins with a general theory from which testable hypotheses are developed, he or she is said to be using the __________ method.

a. deductive b. paradigm c. inductive d. hypothesis

8. Interconnected hypotheses that offer general explanations for natural or social phenomena are called:

a. paradigms b. theories c. deductive methods d. inductive facts

9. The ____________ model of hominid evolution suggests that the gradual evolution of homo erectus into modern human (homo sapiens) populations took place in different regions of the old world, not in one area of the world.

a. multiregional b. replacement c. “Garden of Eden” d. “Eve hypothesis”

10. The term “Paleolithic” also means:

a. “old Stone Age” b. “ancient knowledge” c. “before Adam” d. “cave people”

11. The most important technological development in stone tool production for the upper Paleolithic period was the ability to make:

a. sharpened cores b. long, narrow blades c. scraping tools d. hand axes

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Final Examination

GED210 Introduction to Cultural Anthropology

12. Archaeologists believe that the first humans came to the new world from __________.

a. Asia b. Australia c. Europe d. Africa

13. The upper Paleolithic period, which dates from about 40,000 to 10,000 years ago, was characterized by:

a. big game hunting b. blade tools of many traditions c. the invention of composite tools d. All of the above.

14. Upper Paleolithic hunters increased the power and accuracy of their projectiles by using:

a. slingshots b. spear throwers c. bows and arrows d. stone projectile points

15. The term “composite tool” refers to an artifact made by:

a. firing clay into a hard material b. using bone or antler to remove thin flakes c. putting two or more materials together d. several different people

16. At the 15,000-year-old site at Mezirich in the Ukraine, archaeologists have excavated the remains of five shelters made from:

a. rough stone slabs b. blocks of marble c. tree trunks d. mammoth bones

17. An example of a “more” would be:

a. eating with a knife, fork, and spoon b. not appearing nude in public c. inviting the neighbors over for a barbecue d. forgetting to thank the hostess for inviting you

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Final Examination

GED210 Introduction to Cultural Anthropology

18. When people express disapproval that a healthy, intelligent, unmarried person with no children is living with their parents at age 30, their attitude reflects a common ___________ of society in the United States.

a. more b. ethos c. folkway d. ideology

19. To combat the problem of ethnocentrism, twentieth-century anthropologists developed the concept of cultural __________.

a. relativism b. primacy c. symbolism d. hegemony

20. The Amish emphasize their ethnic differences through __________.

a. language and dress b. strange haircuts c. cars and trains d. using the newest technology

21. Which of the following is true of symbols?

a. They are rooted deeply in genetic structure. b. They are different for everyone. c. They cannot be easily identified. d. They are arbitrary but meaningful units we use to represent reality.

22. Ways of enforcing mores involve the use of:

a. gossip and public ridicule b. arrest and imprisonment c. economic discrimination d. All of the above.

23. Anthropologists have discovered that children raised together in Israeli Kibbutzim:

a. will usually have successful marriages to one another as adults b. make lousy marriage partners for one another c. have a natural tendency towards homosexuality d. tend to have little appreciation for nuclear families

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Final Examination

GED210 Introduction to Cultural Anthropology

24. Cross-cultural studies of human sexual desire have revealed that:

a. in all cultures, adults seek to engage in regular sexual activity b. sexual desire and sexual activity are strongly conditioned by cultural practices c. there are universal taboos against premarital sex d. human sexual desire is greatest among people who live in the tropics

25. Value judgments concerning homosexuality are based on:

a. genetics b. behavior c. anatomy d. culture

26. The term “berdache” is used to refer to men in Native American societies who:

a. assert their personal power through public displays of heterosexual prowess b. choose to abstain from sex so they can focus on spiritual growth c. wear female clothing and offer sexual services to male warriors d. participate in homosexual activity only when they are preparing for war

27. The Hijras of India are anatomically male at the time of their birth. However, after having their genitals surgically removed, they dress like females and engage in certain male-only activities like smoking water pipes. In Indian society, they are considered to be:

a. social deviants b. men c. women d. a third gender

28. Claude Lévi-Strauss, in a book entitled The Savage Mind (1966), proposed that:

a. people in small-scale societies have different thought patterns than urban dwellers b. it is impossible to compare logical systems of primitive and civilized societies c. there is a universal, logical structure to all human cognition, regardless of culture d. the thought systems of traditional, indigenous people are superior to our own

29. Noam Chomsky suggests humans are born with a brain prewired to enable us to acquire languages easily. This “prewiring” is referred to as __________.

a. syntax b. universal grammar c. infinite model d. functional template

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Final Examination

GED210 Introduction to Cultural Anthropology

30. If someone came up to you and said, “oh, you see everything through rose-colored glasses,” this might suggest to you that the person speaking agrees with the premises of:

a. Noam Chomsky’s transformational-generative grammar model b. Derek Bickerton’s creole-pidgin theory c. the Sapir-whorf hypothesis d. the linguistic field theory

31. Even though all humans have approximately the same set of special senses for perceiving reality (eyes, ears, noses), not all of the sensations in the environment reach our consciousness in the same way since each language filters out different parts of reality. Each language provides the speaker with a built-in filter that heightens, dims, or eliminates certain perceptions, thus determining how we perceive reality. This thesis is called the:

a. Chomsky theory b. Sapir-whorf hypothesis c. filter theory d. Sieve theory

32. Attempts to change linguistic habits such as the adoption of more neutral terms like firefighter, police officer, and first-year student for gender-biased ones like fireman, policeman, and freshman are based on:

a. the idea that language influences social perceptions and gender relations b. the fact that the deep structure of language, as proposed by Noam Chomsky, is like a fluid sea that can be molded easily to fit social reality c. False premises about the surface structure of language and the role of gender in society d. the theory of glottochronology of gender as proposed by Morris Swadesh

33. Glottochronology is:

a. an ancient Germanic language b. a technique used to discover the original language of the Neanderthals c. the study of the way the vocal tract is formed to help understand early language learning in children d. a technique for dating the separation of languages

34. “Did I hear you say that there are four pounds of sulfur in the box?” versus “Did I hear ya say that there are foah pounds of sulfuh in the box?” Is an example of:

a. correct and incorrect English b. dialect differences in English c. how surface structure and deep structure interact d. the difference between syntax and semantics

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Final Examination

GED210 Introduction to Cultural Anthropology

35. The opposite of cultural relativism is:

a. biological relativism b. ethnocentrism c. societal demagoguery d. biological realism

36. The view that society consists of institutions that serve vital purposes for its people is known as:

a. Functionalism b. Structuralism c. Servitude d. Utilitarianism

37. The term “functionalism” in anthropology refers to the notion that:

a. Ethnographers are competent observers of human culture. b. Some societies are “functional” while others are “dysfunctional.” c. Cultural practices function to fulfill specific needs in a given society. d. Culture is transmitted through functions like rituals and ceremonies.

38. The existence of a “joking relationship” (one in which interaction is typified by friendly teasing) between a man and his brothers-in-law would be explained by anthropologist Radcliffe-Brown as:

a. a structured relationship whose function is to reduce potential hostility b. evidence for cultural influences on individual personality c. an example of the importance of cultural relativism in kinship roles d. the basis for materialistic behavior

39. According to Malinowski, magic __________.

a. has a basis in the existence of supernatural powers in all cultures b. functions to relieve the anxieties of individuals c. only works when it has the full participation of a given society d. has no useful purpose for thinking people

40. According to white’s theory of the evolution of sociocultural systems, the most highly evolved culture would be one:

a. using nuclear energy to generate electricity b. dependent upon animals to pull plows c. with industries powered by coal and steam d. based on the use of human labor alone

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Final Examination

GED210 Introduction to Cultural Anthropology

41. Political systems with centralized bureaucratic institutions that establish power and authority over large populations in a specific territory are known as:

a. bands b. tribes c. chiefdoms d. states

42. Clearly defined norms of a society that provides punishment when violated through the application of formal sanctions by a ruling authority are called:

a. internalized norms b. ethos c. laws d. taboos

43. Ethnologist Leopold Pospisil has suggested that there are four criteria that must be present in order for a norm to be considered a law. Which of the following is not one of these criteria?

a. authority b. intention of universal application c. obligation d. internalization

44. Cross-cultural studies:

a. allow anthropologists to make distinctions between behaviors that are culture specific and those that are universal b. make it possible for anthropologists to determine if a social trait is biologically inherited or culturally derived c. are not used anymore by anthropologists; this older methodology has been shown to produce false results due to time and geographic lag d. cannot be conducted today because there has been too much migration from one culture to another due to modern transportation

45. Full-time religious specialists who serve in an official capacity as the custodians of sacred knowledge are:

a. Shamans b. Myth-holders c. Priests and priestesses d. Ritual retainers

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Final Examination

GED210 Introduction to Cultural Anthropology

46. Repetitive religious behaviors that communicate sacred symbols to members of society are:

a. rituals b. myths c. shamans d. norms

47. The Kung San term hxaro refers to:

a. a system for circulating material possessions among individuals b. a complex ritual performed by young boys before their first hunt c. trade with their agricultural neighbors d. a type of root obtained in the spring with pointed digging sticks

48. A common form of generalized reciprocity in our society is:

a. common acceptance of the value of the dollar b. communal use of public restrooms c. a salary increase accompanying a job promotion d. getting and giving birthday presents

49. What form of reciprocity would you expect to be the least common among Kung San, Mbuti, and Inuit groups?

a. balanced reciprocity b. generalized reciprocity c. negative reciprocity d. unbalanced reciprocity

50. Negative reciprocity most likely occurs between:

a. friends in modern, westernized societies b. people of the opposite sex c. people who differ in age and status d. strangers and enemies

51. The phrase “original affluent society” refers to:

a. the earliest foragers who lived in rich environments b. the notion that hunter-gatherers spend little time working c. the ancient Egyptian civilization d. the concept of the “noble savage”