Anthropology Ch.1 Test Questions & Answers

1.

The subfield of anthropology that studies human evolution, including human genetics and human nutrition, is called

A)

biological anthropology

B)

linguistic anthropology

C)

cultural anthropology

D)

archaeology

2.

The subfield of anthropology that studies language use is called

A)

biological anthropology

B)

linguistic anthropology

C)

cultural anthropology

D)

archaeology

3.

The subfield of anthropology that studies the material remains of past cultures is called

A)

biological anthropology

B)

linguistic anthropology

C)

cultural anthropology

D)

archaeology

4.

The subfield of anthropology that studies human diversity, beliefs, and practices is called

A)

biological anthropology

B)

linguistic anthropology

C)

cultural anthropology

D)

archaeology

5.

When did anthropology emerge as an academic discipline?

A)

400 BCE

B)

1800s

C)

1900s

D)

1500s

6.

The moral and intellectual principle that one should withhold judgment about seemingly strange or exotic beliefs and practices is called

A)

diversity

B)

cultural relativism

C)

ethnocentrism

D)

a waste of time

7.

The thinker who developed evolutionary theory in the nineteenth century was

A)

Karl Marx

B)

Max Weber

C)

Emile Durkheim

D)

Charles Darwin

8.

During colonialism, the perception of non-Western peoples as primitive or savage is referred to as the process of

A)

evolution

B)

salvaging

C)

enculturation

D)

othering

9.

___________ is an approach in anthropology that directly addresses issues of social justice, such as poor health and political disempowerment.

A)

Radical social science

B)

Action anthropology

C)

Practicing archaeology

D)

Cultural anthropology

10.

The primary ethical responsibility of anthropologists is to

A)

themselves

B)

the people or species they study

C)

the agency that funds the research

D)

the institution in which they work

E)

the government of the country they work in

11.

Assuming your culture's way of doing things is the best is called

A)

cultural relativism

B)

patriotism

C)

natural selection

D)

ethnocentrism

12.

Diversity defined anthropologically

A)

is the same as difference

B)

does not include how people are similar

C)

focuses on multiplicity and variety

D)

is a term that is no longer used

13.

The practical use of anthropological knowledge to address real-world problems, sometimes called anthropology's “fifth field,” is applied anthropology.

14.

The practice of anthropologists explaining their research and being clear about the risks involved is called informed consent.

15.

Until the early 1900s, anthropologists believed that their role was to observe indigenous ways of life, interview elders, and assemble indigenously-made objects because those lifeways would soon disappear—an approach referred to as the salvage paradigm.

16.

Evolution refers to the adaptive changes that organisms make across generations.

17.

When cultural anthropologists live in societies for extended periods of time observing social life, they are doing fieldwork.

18.

The historical practice of more powerful countries claiming possession of less powerful ones is called colonialism and was a driving force in anthropology.

19.

A key concern in the 1850s that shaped the discipline of anthropology was the emergence of a new scientific theory called “evolution.”

A)

True

B)

False

20.

Historical archaeologists excavate sites where written historical documentation exists that provides an accurate description of the way the people actually lived.

A)

True

B)

False

21.

Diversity, defined anthropologically, refers to both multiplicity and variety, which is not the same thing as “difference.”

A)

True

B)

False

22.

Anthropologists have always approached a problem by specializing in one of the four subfields.

A)

True

B)

False

23.

Contemporary cultural anthropologists rank societies along an evolutionary scale from “primitive” to “advanced” to categorize human diversity.

A)

True

B)

False

24.

What prompted intellectuals to start systematically explaining the differences among people?

A)

the writings of early explorers

B)

the Enlightenment

C)

the Industrial Revolution

D)

World War II

25.

What process involves shifting from an agricultural economy to a factory-based one?

A)

modernization

B)

industrialization

C)

neoliberalization

D)

globalization

26.

The process by which inheritable traits are passed along to offspring because they are better suited to the environment is referred to as

A)

evolution

B)

natural selection

C)

degeneration

D)

genetic mutation

27.

Western colonial powers understood the different customs and cultures of the people they colonized as

A)

proof of their primitive nature

B)

basic human diversity

C)

a positive characteristic

D)

something to be celebrated and reproduced

28.

Which of the following is the most significant aspect of the salvage paradigm?

A)

archaeologists study other people's trash by salvaging it

B)

anthropologists study the natural destruction of societies

C)

anthropologists need to collect information from societies before they die out

D)

anthropologists produce paradigms to salvage the dignity of oppressed people

29.

During anthropological fieldwork, cultural anthropologists

A)

learn the local language, record people's economic transactions, and study how environmental changes affect agriculture

B)

examine items of material culture and the rise of cities and states

C)

excavate sites where written historical documentation exists in order to understand the transition from hunting and gathering to agriculture

D)

study how language use is shaped by group membership and identify and how language helps people organize their cultural beliefs and ideologies

30.

Linguistic anthropologists study

A)

people's economic transactions and how environmental changes affect agriculture

B)

the written historical documentation in order to understand the transition from hunting and gathering to agriculture

C)

the quantitative patterns in land use from census data

D)

how our language evolved, how our mouths form words, and how indigenous people classify their social worlds

31.

A key principle of the holistic perspective developed by Franz Boas is

A)

understanding the racial diversity of the human species

B)

identifying the holes in people's understanding of their worlds

C)

a goal of synthesizing the entire context of human experience

D)

that people are fundamentally ethnocentric

32.

A key element of the scientific method, which both explains things and guides research, is

A)

participant observation

B)

theories

C)

universal truths

D)

hypothesis

33.

Techniques that classify features of a phenomenon and count, measure, and construct statistical models are collecting and analyzing

A)

qualitative data

B)

historical data

C)

ethnographic data

D)

quantitative data

34.

The comparative method

A)

is used only by linguistic anthropologists studying two or more languages

B)

suggests that all societies pass through stages, from primitive state to complex civilization

C)

explains the sheer variety of ways of being human around the world

D)

refers to the practice of comparing two or more cultures

35.

Even though anthropologists use parts of the scientific method, some don't see what they do as science because

A)

the complexity of social behavior prevents any completely objective analysis of human culture

B)

they do not do research in a laboratory

C)

they use only qualitative methods

D)

ethnography is part fiction

36.

Research that involves interviews, observations, images, objects, and words is a qualitative study.

37.

Some anthropologists believe that the ethical principle of “do not harm” is not enough, and that anthropologists have a responsible to actively “do good” in a society.

38.

Ethics, defined as moral questions of right and wrong, are important to anthropologists.

39.

A key feature of the culture concept is that it refers to the taken-for-granted notions, rules, moralities, and behaviors within a social group that feel natural.

40.

The scientific method is a research method in pursuit of ultimate truths.

A)

True

B)

False

41.

There is rarely any guessing involved in the development of theories because they are tested repeatedly.

A)

True

B)

False

42.

When qualitative methods are employed, the researchers themselves are often used as the research instrument.

A)

True

B)

False

43.

Anthropologists like E. E. Evans-Pritchard and Renato Rosaldo do not see cultural anthropology as a science.

A)

True

B)

False

44.

A relativistic perspective on the meanings of Coca-Cola in Tzotzil Maya communities in Chiapas, Mexico, would emphasize that

A)

they, the Tzotzil, are dominated by globalization

B)

the Maya are becoming a lot more like people from the United States

C)

those meanings are only sensible within a culturally specific set of ideas about religion and spirituality

D)

the Maya love carbonated beverages

45.

An evolutionary perspective would be most likely to explain colonialism as

A)

the natural abilities of more civilized people to control less civilized people

B)

the role of Enlightenment ideas in explaining cultural difference

C)

that more evolved countries shouldn't get involved in other countries

D)

a useful, holistic response to social problems

46.

A qualitative approach to studying social life in your university would emphasize all of the following except

A)

prolonged and intensive participation and observation in the community

B)

the construction of statistical models to explain activities in the community

C)

the use of field notes, recordings, images, and documents to understand life in the community

D)

your own subjective impressions

47.

A quantitative approach to studying the archaeological past would be most interested in

A)

the organizing of images, recordings, field notes, and documents about a field site

B)

the personal impressions of the archaeologist him- or herself

C)

the comparison of several distinct field sites

D)

building and testing hypotheses by collecting, classifying, and measuring the remains of past cultures

48.

An ethical approach to anthropological research emphasizes

A)

a commitment to doing minimal harm

B)

the acceptance of low-risk clandestine research

C)

responsibilities toward the host country and the people being studied

D)

a responsibility for informed consent only when the participants speak the same language as the anthropologist

49.

The application of the comparative method in his research in Papua New Guinea led coauthor Robert Welsch to focus on

A)

blood samples from representative villagers

B)

published and unpublished accounts of mask collectors who visited different villages

C)

census data concerning household composition

D)

natural resource extraction practices

50.

Describe how a cultural relativist would study the ethical principles of another culture.

51.

How could an anthropological perspective on diversity be used to explain social change in your community?

52.

What role do you think the scientific method plays in the application of anthropology to solving social problems?

53.

How would you use anthropology's holistic perspective to understand the effects of low-fat diets in American lives?

54.

Could you apply the primary ethical principles of anthropology to another academic discipline? Why or why not?

55.

What is a common thread or theme that runs through all of the subfields of anthropology?

56.

What were the main concerns that emerged in the 1850s, and how did they shape professional anthropology?

57.

Why do you think anthropologists are so concerned with the ethics of research?