Midterm 1 - Q&A Flashcards
Anthropology is the study of A) fossils B) humanity C) dinosaurs D) archaeology
B) humanity
\_\_\_\_\_ are populations of people living in organized groups with social institutions and expectations of behaviour A) Communities B) Cultures C) Societies D) Nations
C) Societies
The learned values, beliefs, and rules of conduct shared, to some extent, by the members of a society that govern their behaviour with one another is called A) Nationality B) Ethics C) Culture D) Citizenship
C) Culture
The tools people make and use, the clothing and ornaments they wear, the buildings they live in and the household utensils they use are defined as A) Materialism B) Material culture C) Symbolic culture D) Culture
B) Material culture
Which of the following is NOT a part of anthropology? A) Archaeology B) Sociology C) Linguistics D) Physical anthropology E) None of the above
B) Sociology
Anthropological interest in the power relationship among individuals in tribal societies overlaps with which other discipline? A) History B) Political sciences C) Psychology D) biology
B) Political sciences
The \_\_\_\_\_ is a perspective in anthropology that views culture as an integrated whole, no part of which can be completely understood without considering the whole. A) Cultural perspective B) Comparative perspective C) Global perspective D) Holistic perspective
D) holistic perspective
Which subfield of anthropology would a paleoanthropologist work in? A) cultural anthropology B) biological anthropology C) archaeology D) linguistic anthropology
B) biological anthropology
The idea that indigenous societies are unchanged since early human history is \_\_\_\_\_. A) A research hypothesis B) Relativistic C) Ethnocentric D) Ethnographic
C) Ethnocentric
Canadian anthropology was profoundly influenced by the work of A) Margaret Mead B) Ruth Benedict C) Lewis Henry Morgan D) Franz Boas
D) Franz Boas
\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ is the method in cultural anthropology by which comparative data on cultures and societies is gathered. A) Bibliographical research B) Ethnographic research C) Ethnological research D) Historical research
B) Ethnographic research
\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ is an approach in anthropology that stresses the importance of analyzing cultures in their own terms rather than in terms of the culture of the anthropologist. A) Holism B) Comparative perspective C) Cultural relativism D) Ethnocentrism
C) Cultural relativism
Many of the best early accounts of non-Western societies written during the early period of colonialism were written by: A) governors B) Catholic missionaries C) soldiers D) naturalists
B) Catholic missionaries
Early anthropologists such as Edward Tylor and Lewis Henry Morgan developed
A) non-theoretical, descriptive schools of anthropology
B) comparative evolutionary approaches for studying cultures
C) highly systematic fieldwork techniques
D) critical approaches to evolutionary theory
B) comparative evolutionary approaches for studying cultures
Morgan proposed a \_\_\_ stage evolutionary scheme for all societies based on many comparative criteria. A) 8 B) 3 C) 5 D) 10
B) 3
Which of the following is NOT one of the 3 fundamental concepts of Cultural Materialism? A) Infrastructure B) Substructure C) Structure D) Superstructure
B) Substructure
The founder of professional anthropology in the United States was A) Lewis Henry Morgan B) Franz Boas C) Bronislaw Malinowski D) Margaret Mead
B) Franz Boas
Franz Boas introduced the idea of \_\_\_\_\_\_ into America anthropology. A) evolutionary stages B) cultural relativism C) conflict oriented explanations D) armchair anthropology
B) cultural relativism
Durkheim’s contribution to anthropological theory was an emphasis on the importance of \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ on culture. A) race B) the individual C) the natural environment D) society
D) society
According to \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_, culture is a unique system of symbols with multiple layers of meaning. A) cultural materialism B) interpretive anthropology C) conflict theory D) structuralism
B) interpretive anthropology
Materialist approaches to the study of culture
A) emphasize the idea of culture being a system of thought and meaning
B) give primacy to the role of language in the structure of cultures
C) stress the role of technology and resource procurement in cultural development
D) emphasize the role of food-sharing as the reason culture developed
C) stress the role of technology and resource procurement in cultural development
Cross-cultural comparisons are
A) made by conducting fieldwork in multiple cultures
B) a means of understanding cultural differences and similarities through data analysis rather than direct observation
C) no longer made in twentieth century anthropology
D) none of the above
B) a means of understanding cultural differences and similarities through data analysis rather than direct observation
Who offered the first definition of culture in anthropology: “Culture is the complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, morals, law, custom, and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society?” A) Marvin Harris B) Sir Edward B. Tylor C) Alfred Kroeber D) A. R. Radcliff-Brown
B) Sir Edward B. Tylor
All definitions of culture include reference to ____.
A) the biological elements of culture
B) selectively shared knowledge, attitudes, values, and beliefs
C) economic forces as a role in shaping culture
D) survival of the fittest
B) selectively shared knowledge, attitudes, values, and beliefs
The TV show “Star Trek” (Original Series) regularly had Captain Kirk and the crew of the starship Enterprise visit an alien planet, find that the natives’ culture was somehow “broken” or “not as good as” their own, and implement what they deemed were “necessary” changes in order to “fix” the problem. This is a classic example of A) cultural evolution B) cultural relativism C) ethnocentrism D) ethnodeterminism
C) ethnocentrism
A group whose members and others think of their way of life as in some significant way different from that of other people in the larger society is called a \_\_\_\_\_\_. A) minority B) subculture C) ethnicity D) deviants
B) subculture
Robert H. Lowie was a student of Franz Boas and emphasized ______ as the primary engines for cultural development.
A) cultural evolution and independent invention
B) symbol and meaning
C) the influence of language
D) diffusion and culture contact
D) diffusion and culture contact
The term “survival of the fittest” was first coined and used by A) Charles Darwin B) Alfred Russel Wallace C) Herbert Spencer D) Lewis Henry Morgan
C) Herbert Spencer
Early anthropologists believed in \_\_\_\_, or the idea that all societies advance through improved stages over time, going from primitive to more advanced forms of society. A) cultural evolution B) progress C) modernization D) civilization
A) cultural evolution
Which of the following is the best definition of ethnogenesis?
A) the origination of first culture, from which all other cultures are descended
B) the spread of a cultural trait from its point of invention to other cultures
C) a process in which people develop, define, and direct their own cultural identities
D) genetic patterns underlying ethnic cultures
C) a process in which people develop, define, and direct their own cultural identities
Marxist anthropological theory stresses ______ as the driving factors in the development of culture.
A) the role of social and economic class divisions
B) the role of agency
C) the role of technology
D) strange women lying in ponds distributing swords
A) the role of social and economic class divisions
\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ is the spread of ideas, material objects, and cultural practices from one society to another through direct and indirect culture contact. A) diffusion B) syncretism C) culture history D) ethnogenesis
A) diffusion
Globalization stems from economic and political changes that have expanded worldwide through \_\_\_\_\_\_\_. A) colonialism B) mass media and consumerism C) democratization D) manufacturing and television
B) mass media and consumerism
Before fieldwork can begin, an anthropologist must _______.
A) choose a research problem
B) gather the majority of the data off-site
C) interpret the majority of the data
D) choose a field site in a remote, foreign location
A) choose a research problem
The idea that societies’ ways of meeting basic human needs (food, shelter, sleep, and reproduction) determine the rest of the sociocultural system is known as
A) the principle Economic Determinism
B) the principle of Cultural Relativism
C) the principle of Cultural Evolution
D) the principle of Infrastructural Determinism
D) the principle of Infrastructural Determinism
Which of the following is a common problem that anthropologists experience while doing fieldwork?
A) creating surveys
B) finding activists that will help resolve local conflicts and disputes
C) culture shock
D) bribing informants
C) culture shock
The video “Darkest Austria” illustrated that
A) Anthropologists always come to the correct conclusion about other cultures and their practices because they employ the scientific method.
B) Anthropologists are not immune to the bias of viewing other cultures through their own cultural lens.
C) Austrian culture is primitive and savage
D) African anthropologists have a better understanding of human culture than Western anthropologists do.
B) Anthropologists are not immune to the bias of viewing other cultures through their own cultural lens.
With perhaps an exception or two, language is a system of communication unique to humans in part because it is \_\_\_\_\_\_\_. A) both verbal and nonverbal B) complex C) symbolic D) memory based
C) symbolic
\_\_\_\_\_\_ is the ability to join sounds and words in theoretically infinite meaningful combinations. A) symbolism B) productivity C) duality of patterning D) syntax
B) productivity
Both gorillas and chimpanzees seem to be able to ______ in a rudimentary way, although they do not seem to do so in the wild.
A) understand and manipulate symbols
B) form human verbal sounds
C) understand video-taped or recorded call systems
D) produce syntax
A) understand and manipulate symbols
Currently, most researchers believe that speech capability had developed in human ancestors by \_\_\_\_\_\_\_ years ago. A) 200,000 to 250,000 B) 50,000 to 75,000 C) 100,000 to 150,000 D) 300,000 to 400,000
C) 100,000 to 150,000
Play is a crucial ingredient in the social development of primates because
A) having peers to play with appears to have a similar effect on an infant’s development as having a warm bond with a mother or other adult
B) play allows for the development of essential survival skills
C) it’s fun
D) all of the above
E) none of the above
D) all of the above
The study of the articulation and production of human speech sounds is known as A) phonology B) phrenology C) phonemics D) phonetics
D) phonetics
\_\_\_\_\_\_ is the analysis of the use of sounds to differentiate the meanings of words. A) Phrenology B) Phonology C) Phonemics D) Phonetics
C) Phonemics
A minimal unit of sound that differentiates meaning in a particular language is a A) phoneme B) morpheme C) syllable D) vowel
A) phoneme
The study of cultural spatial relationships is known as A) spatial analysis B) spatial linguistics C) morphology D) proxemics
D) proxemics
The study of how language use changes according to social context is A) cultural anthropology B) historical linguistics C) sociolinguistics D) intercultural communication studies
C) sociolinguistics
The Sapir-Whorf hypothesis states
A) socioeconomic position influences language use
B) the form and content of language influence speakers’ behaviours, thought processes, and worldviews
C) society and culture determine the content of language
D) language is an outgrowth of non-verbal communication
B) the form and content of language influence speakers’ behaviours, thought processes, and worldviews
In Scotland, native Scots will change from “Lallans” Scots to formal English, depending on the situation. This is an example of \_\_\_\_. A) code switching B) pidgin C) creole D) dialect
A) code switching
Your professor A) is an archaeologist B) is a cultural anthropologist C) is a physical anthropologist D) tends to drink a lot of coffee
A) an archaeologist
D) tends to drink a lot of coffee
