Chapter 6 Test Bank

KNOWLEDGE OF KEY TERMS AND CONCEPTS

Multiple Choice

1. Anthropologists study the diversity of diets, the complex interactions between nutrition and the environment, cultural beliefs surrounding food, and political and economic processes, meaning that they study food

a) ethnocentrically.

b) structurally.

c) indifferently.

d) holistically.

2. People who study the effects of global economic changes on human–nature relationships and the impact of sustainable development initiatives on certain groups are __________ anthropologists.

a) medical

b) environmental

c) naturalist

d) environmental

3. According to Itzaj beliefs,

a) humans and nature exist in the same realm.

b) humans and nature exist in separate realms.

c) water is the elixir of life.

d) cutting down trees brings good luck.

4. What relationship between nature and human does Western thought emphasize?

a) complementary

b) oppositional

c) close

d) respectful

5. Mary Douglas compared food’s structure in society with _______________ and a formal dinner with a _______________.

a) theater; play

b) music; opera

c) language; sentence

d) sports; game

6. Eating practices are

a) unique to each culture, and rarely show similarities across cultures.

b) disconnected from political and economic processes in a society.

c) influenced only by elders in a society.

d) marked by identities such as gender, age, and ethnic group.

7. Foodways are subject to large-scale industrial processes, trade relationships, and trends, suggesting that they are

a) stable.

b) irrational.

c) isolated.

d) dynamic.

8. Which mode of subsistence includes the search for edible things?

a) foraging

b) horticulture

c) pastoralism

d) intensive agriculture

9. Food security refers to

a) protecting food from contamination.

b) access to sufficient nutritious food to be healthy and active.

c) government subsidies to agriculture to ensure a steady food supply.

d) providing food to all people equally.

10. Traditional ecological knowledge is

a) rarely shared in local languages.

b) not useful in the contemporary world.

c) extremely valued by Westerners.

d) not well known in the West because some species and ecological interactions exist in only one place.

11. A process that increases yields and includes prepping soil, technology, a large labor force, water management, and plant and soil modification is

a) transhumance.

b) industrialization.

c) intensification.

d) localization.

12. What is “fortress conservation”?

a) the protection of old walled cities, castles, and forts

b) an approach to conservation that assumes that people are threatening to nature

c) an approach to conservation that allows for human–animal interaction

d) an approach to national parks that includes building high-security fences and walls for protection

Fill in the Blank

13. ____________________ are the structured beliefs and behaviors surrounding the production, distribution, and consumption of food.

Foodways

14. ____________________ is the concept of measuring what people consume and the waste they produce.

Ecological footprint

15. ____________________refers to both a physical sensation and social distinction and prestige.

Taste

16. There are four major modes of ____________________ that anthropologists understand as the social relationships and practices necessary for procuring, producing, and distributing food.

subsistence

17. Interest within environmental anthropology concerned with how non-Western societies classify natural phenomena is called ____________________, which was at its peak in the 1960s.

ethnoscience

18. Sometimes the very landscapes that Westerners want to conserve without people on them are actually the result of indigenous involvement and manipulation. These are called ____________________ landscapes.

anthropogenic

True/False

19. All knowledge systems about nature, including science, are culturally based.

a) True

b) False

20. It has been proven that overpopulation will inevitably lead to global famine.

a) True

b) False

21. There are more undernourished people than obese and overweight people in the world.

a) True

b) False

22. In many parts of the world food is a very important way of communicating social identity.

a) True

b) False

COMPREHENSION OF FUNDAMENTAL CONCEPTS

Multiple Choice

23. One of the primary reasons indigenous leaders criticize the dominant model for administering protected environmental areas is

a) they don’t allow big-game hunting.

b) they assume nature must be uninhabited by people.

c) they don’t charge enough to visitors for entering the area.

d) they focus too much on integrating animals.

24. Throughout human history, humans have tended to adapt to the land in a way that is supportive of population size, a practice referred to as

a) climate change.

b) environmental determinism.

c) cultural relativism.

d) carrying capacity.

25. Which of the following reasons explains why a collaborative approach to conservation can be so challenging?

a) Scientists and conservationists are often skeptical of indigenous knowledge claims.

b) Indigenous communities do not have scientifically rigorous knowledge which is necessary for conservation.

c) The fact that indigenous people often want to continue living on their land undermines conservation goals.

d) Collaboration is unnecessary for sustainable development.

26. Consumer capitalism contributes to increasing ecological footprints in industrialized nations because

a) there is little threat of environmental impacts due to climate change.

b) it promotes the idea that people need less things to be happy.

c) goods are shipped using sustainable fuel sources.

d) the production of goods is not sustainable and uses too many raw materials.

27. Which of the following is a key argument of ethnobiologist Brent Berlin, who compared human classification systems?

a) Humans have a wide range of variation when it comes to classifying things.

b) All human classification systems are reflective of an underlying cognitive structure of the human brain that organizes information in systematic ways.

c) Humans organize information very differently depending on their environment.

d) Non-Western people do not organize scientific knowledge like Westerners do.

28. Anthropologists are interested in the nutrition transition because

a) it explains widespread changes in bodily form, eating patterns, and everyday life in urban settings.

b) it directs attention to the spread of nutritious food because of industrial agriculture.

c) it will aid the creation of sustainable agriculture.

d) it demonstrates in a powerful way how foodways mark social boundaries.

29. Which of the following is not true of how food preferences relate to gender?

a) Men always love meat, no matter which culture they are from.

b) Foods take on qualities associated with one gender or another.

c) Men and women are enculturated to eat certain foods.

d) Foods are linked to gender-appropriate behaviors.

30. One of the main reasons agricultural intensification interests anthropologists is that

a) pastoralists and foragers practice it.

b) it’s the basis of industrial agriculture, which is the only viable way to feed large populations.

c) it often leads to overproduction.

d) there are many strategies for achieving it.

31. One of anthropology’s insights about the foraging mode of subsistence is that foraging people

a) struggle to survive in harsh environments.

b) have a cultural view of their environments as giving.

c) settle into agriculture the first chance they get.

d) lead largely unsustainable lifestyles.

32. Among the Kel Ewey Tuareg nomads, a perfect meal is simple and the same for everybody regardless of wealth because

a) it provides a stable diet for all its members in a precariously dry environment.

b) they consider the diversity of food options available in consumer capitalism wasteful.

c) their first concern as a group is environmental conservation.

d) they have perfected their mode of subsistence to be hyper efficient, allowing for more leisure time.

33. Long-term damage to soil quality is typical of

a) pastoralism.

b) foraging.

c) horticulture.

d) Intensification.

34. What does not contribute to an individual’s ecological footprint?

a) a person’s water waste

b) the amount of new consumer goods a person purchases

c) a person’s economic ideology

d) the energy required to produce a person’s groceries

Fill in the Blank

35. A key feature of ____________________ movements is their attention to the linkages between social marginalization and environmental degradation.

environmental justice

36. In the face of disparities in access to food, anthropologists are increasingly studying the issue of ____________________.

food security

37. One reason many environmental anthropologists are skeptical of ____________________ as a sole explanation for environmental degradation is that it doesn’t recognize that different societies and people within each society consume differing amounts of resources.

overpopulation

38. Although the image of burning tropical forests can be unsettling, ____________________ can be a sustainable form of horticulture.

swidden agriculture

True/False

39. Environmental anthropologists accept the idea that all indigenous people are environmentalists.

a) True

b) False

40. Many non-Western societies have conservation traditions that are based on distinct principles of human–nature relationship.

a) True

b) False

41. Foodways rarely change because people are conservative.

a) True

b) False

42. Foragers tend work less to survive than agriculturalists or pastoralists.

a) True

b) False

43. Societies tend to stick with one mode of subsistence.

a) True

b) False

APPLICATION OF ANTHROPOLOGICAL CONCEPTS

Multiple Choice

44. Political ecological perspectives are applicable to all of the following except

a) the effects of traffic corridors on the air quality of an urban neighborhood.

b) the role of peasant farmers in tropical deforestation.

c) the relationship between high birth rates and overfishing.

d) the migration of rural people to cities because of ecological crisis in the countryside.

45. The concept of “fortress conservation” would be applicable to all of the following situations except

a) the eviction of a local community from a national park to keep it pristine in the Brazilian Amazon.

b) the criminalization of local people who practice traditional hunting in formally protected Costa Rican rain forests.

c) the construction of ecotourist facilities to protect visitors from wandering lions in the Tanzanian savannas.

d) the prevention of pastoralists from moving through a game reserve to gain access to a waterhole during the dry season in Morocco.

46. A political ecologist who studies people displaced by rising sea levels would probably focus on

a) why people didn’t fortify their homes against the tides.

b) how industrialization encouraged by the state affected the landscape.

c) the carrying capacity of their new land.

d) why people weren’t better educated about climate change to begin with.

47. An environmental anthropologist studying obesity and overweight would focus on

a) cultural body norms.

b) biological predispositions toward weight gain.

c) the effect of industrial agriculture on nutrition transition.

d) changes in physical activity with the rise of technology.

48. A cultural relativist would be most likely to emphasize that pastoralists

a) are living backward lives and need to modernize.

b) are inefficient in their adaptation to nature.

c) have developed effective social institutions and knowledge that ensure long-term sustainability of the landscape.

d) are a relatively new example of cultural adaptation to nature.

49. Which of the following would be least likely as an explanation given by a cultural anthropologist for the existence of food insecurity among the poor?

a) It’s related to the ignorance of the poor to effectively feed themselves.

b) It’s related to the globalization of foodways.

c) It’s related to government policies and priorities.

d) It’s related to dynamics involved in the industrialization of foodways.

Short Answer

50. Do you think an anthropologist studying pastoralism in a non-Western setting, such as Ethiopia or Sudan, could offer useful insights about rangeland management to ranchers in a US state like Wyoming or Texas? Explain your answer.

51. Is knowledge of how horticulture in small-scale societies works useful for rethinking how agriculture works in our society?

52 .Could you apply the concept of cultural landscape to a North American suburban community? Explain your answer.

Essays

53. What role do you think perspectives drawn from environmental anthropology can play in the study of climate change?

54. Do Americans have traditional ecological knowledge? Explain your answer and use examples.

55. If you were asked to analyze food insecurity in your community as an anthropologist, what perspectives and concerns would you bring to the issue?

OPPORTUNITIES FOR ANALYSIS AND SYNTHESIS

Essays

56. What does it mean that all knowledge systems about the environment are culturally based?

57. How does gender differentiation help organize women’s and men’s food preferences?

58. How and why do social relationships differ in distinct modes of subsistence such as foraging, horticulture, and pastoralism?

59. According to environmental anthropologists, under what conditions can a society have sustainable relations with the natural world