Chapter 6 - Subsistence Systems

Question 1

cultural adaptation

Answer 1

A complex of ideas, activities, and technologies that enable people to survive and even thrive.

Question 2

ecosystem

Answer 2

A system, or a functioning whole, composed of both the natural environment and all the organisms living within it.

Question 3

cultural evolution

Answer 3

Cultural change over time - not to be confused with progress.

Question 4

progress

Answer 4

In anthropology, a relative concept signifying that a society or country is moving forward to a better, more advanced stage in their cultural development toward perfection.

Question 5

convergent evolution

Answer 5

In cultural evolution, the development of similar cultural adaptations to similar environmental conditions by different peoples with different ancestral cultures.

Question 6

parallel evolution

Answer 6

In cultural evolution, the development of similar cultural adaptations to similar environmental conditions by peoples whose ancestral cultures were already somewhat alike.

Question 7

culture area

Answer 7

A geographic region in which a number of societies follow similar patterns of life.

Question 8

food foraging

Answer 8

A mode of subsistence involving some combination of hunting, fishing, and gathering of wild plant food.

Question 9

carrying capacity

Answer 9

The number of people that the available resources can support at a given level of food-getting techniques.

Question 10

Neolithic

Answer 10

The New Stone Age; a prehistoric period beginning about 10,000 years ago in which peoples possessed stone-based technologies and depended on domesticated plants and/or animals for subsistence.

Question 11

Neolithic revolution

Answer 11

The domestication of plants and animals by peoples with stone-based technologies, beginning about 10,000 years ago and leading to radical transformations in cultural systems; sometimes referred to as the Neolithic transition.

Question 12

horticulture

Answer 12

The cultivation of crops in food gardens, carried out with simple hand tools such as digging sticks and hoes.

Question 13

Slash-and-burn cultivation

Answer 13

An extensive form of horticulture in which the natural vegetation is cut, the slash is subsequently burned, and crops are then planted among the ashes; also known as swidden farming.

Question 14

agriculture

Answer 14

Intensive crop cultivation, employing plows, fertilizers and/or irrigation.

Question 15

pastoralism

Answer 15

The breeding and managing of migratory herds of domesticated grazing animals, such as goats, sheep, cattle, horses, llamas or camels.

Question 16

peasant

Answer 16

A small-scale producer of crops or livestock living on land self-owned or rented in exchange for labor, crops, or money and exploited by more powerful groups in a complex society.

Question 17

industrial society

Answer 17

A society in which human labor, hand tools, and animal power are largely replaced by machines, with an economy primarily based on big factories.

Question 18

industrial food production

Answer 18

Large-scale businesses involved in mass food production, processing, and marketing, which primarily rely on labor-saving machines.

Question 19

What crucial elements of human social organization most likely developed with food foraging?

Answer 19

1) Division of labor by gender
2) Food sharing
3) The importance of the camp.

Question 20

The ability of the Comanche and the Cheyenne to adapt to their new environment demonstrates______________.

Answer 20

Convergent evolution

Question 21

Dumpster dipping, fishing, and berry picking are modern examples of____________

Answer 21

Food foraging

Question 22

Food foraging regulates population size by how it affects individual___________ and_____________.

Answer 22

body fat; child rearing

Question 23

Slash-and-burn cultivation is practiced by ________ cultures.

Answer 23

horticultural

Question 24

Farmers and _______ have a symbiotic relationship with one another.

Answer 24

pastoralists

Question 25

Modern industrial technologies have had a dramatic impact on___________.

Answer 25

food production

Question 26

The_____________ are an example of biological adaptation.

Answer 26

Aymara

Question 27

Farming in Southwest Asia and Mesoamerica took place independently each cultivating a narrow range of crops. This is an example of ______________

Answer 27

parallel evolution

Question 28

The Tsembaga raise pigs for status and exchange, not for daily consumption. When illness, injury, warfare, or celebration arise, however, pigs are then eaten. This is an example of________________________

Answer 28

cultural adaptation

Question 29

The advent of landowners not living on or working the land, led to the creation of a ________ class.

Answer 29

peasant

Question 30

When did the transition from food foraging to food production begin?

Answer 30

10,000 years ago

Question 31

What are the hunting techniques among the Mbuti Pygmies in the Ituri tropical forest?

Answer 31

1) Only men participate in hunting game using the spear to hunt elephants.
2) Women never participate in the hunting of game, but often take care of the young while the men hunt to provide for the community.

Question 32

What is the chronological order of domestication of animals in Asia?

Answer 32

dog, rice, rye, wheat

Question 33

What distinguishes North American ranchers from pastoral societies?

Answer 33

1) They are not nomadic

2) They identify with a larger society

Question 34

What are some defining qualities of agribusiness?

Answer 34

1) Large-scale production of crops & animals for human consumption
2) Works in direct competition with family-owned farms
3) Has led to drops in rural populations worldwide
4) Main goal is to maximize profits

Question 35

The mobility of food foraging groups may depend on the availability of________.

Answer 35

water

Question 36

Environments do not determine culture, but they do present______________________.

Answer 36

certain limitations.

Question 37

The fragility of an ecosystem is highlighted by the collapse of the Rapanui culture as a result of__________.

Answer 37

the introduction of rats

Question 38

The emergence of towns and cities resulted in a(n)______ of agriculture.

Answer 38

intensification

Question 39

What method do the Bakhtiari use for seasonal movements between highlands in the summer and lowlands in the winter.

Answer 39

Transhumance

Question 40

What group is known for using pigs as a means of gaining political power and prestige?

Answer 40

Tsembaga

Question 41

Archaeologist Ann Kendall conducted studies on intensive farming in which mountain range?

Answer 41

the Andes

Question 42

How many people today still support themselves through food foraging?

Answer 42

250,000

Question 43

What gardening technique, used by the Mekranoti, is one of the most common in the world?

Answer 43

slash-and-burn

Question 44

Neolithic revolution refers to:

Answer 44

the profound culture change associated with the early domestication of plants and animals.

Question 45

“Chicken leg diplomacy” was practiced by President G.H.W. Bush when he sent chicken legs to Russia. He did this because:

Answer 45

he wanted to help the Russian transition to a capitalist democracy.

Question 46

Classifying groups according to their culture traits, anthropologists have mapped culture clusters known as:

Answer 46

culture area.