Cultural Anthropology
Gram
Culture 1 QUIZ
 
1."Cultural relativism" refers to 
the study of the kinship patterns in human cultures.
the belief that one's own culture is superior to any others.
the interconnectedness of all parts of a culture relative to each other.
the study of the relationships between ancient cultures and their modern descendants.
none of these.

2.The 'Garbage Project' of the university of Arizona has come up with which of the following observations or conclusions that have relevance to other kinds of social science research? 
what people do may well differ from what people say, or believe, they do.
scarcity of a valued good (or commodity) in American society does not necessarily mean less of it will be wasted.
newspaper is not as quickly or easily decomposed in landfills as we might like to think
using surveys and questionnaires to learn about human behavior will not tell the whole story.
All of the above are insights that have been gained or reinforced through this ongoing research project.

3.According to your text, most modern definitions of culture emphasize that 
culture is intangible: a set of rules or knowledge that guide people's behavior, and as such cannot, itself, be directly observed.
'culture' is just another word for 'society.'
culture is primarily a set of biological adaptations to natural environments.
culture results in uniform behavior of all members of a society in any given situation.
some cultures are, by nature, better than others.


4.Your Text uses the example of the Garbage Project and the breaking of certain clan marriage taboos among the Trobriand Islanders as examples of which of the following? 
Both these examples show how informants may deliberately lie to researchers about behavior they are ashamed of.
Both these examples illustrate how, in times of emergency, people will break rules they would otherwise follow closely.
Both these examples illustrate how differences in social class can produce different behaviors within the same culture, as lower class people have less to lose by breaking the rules.
Both these examples illustrate how there can be noticeable differences between what people say they should do, and think they do, and what they actually do.
Both these examples illustrate how difficult it can be for an anthropologist to overcome her/his personal reactions to some of the more distasteful patterns of behavior in other cultures or subcultures.


5.THE REASON THE AUTHOR OF 'CHRISTMAS IN THE KALAHARI' DID NOT UNDERSTAND THE !KUNG'S REACTIONS TO HIS CHRISTMAS OX WAS 
HE HAD NEVER SEEN THEM PUT SOMEBODY DOWN THE WAY THEY WERE TREATING HIM
HE HAD SEEN THE PUT-DOWNS ON OTHER OCCASIONS, BUT HAD NEVER RECOGNIZED THEM AS A SIGNIFICANT ASPECT OF !KUNG BEHAVIOR
HE HAD NEVER BEEN WITH THEM AT CHRISTMAS BEFORE, AND DIDN'T KNOW THAT THEY REGARDED THIS AS A SACRED TIME, TO BE OBSERVED BY SILENCE AND FASTING.
HE WAS UNAWARE THAT THE !KUNG ASSOCIATED THE BLACK COLOR OF THE OX WITH EVIL AND WITCHCRAFT.




6._____________ refers to the position that because cultures are unique, each one should be evaluated only according to its own standards and values 
Ethnocentrism
Cultural materialism
Pluralism
Cultural relativism
Adaptation

7.Ethnology is 
the comparative study of two or more cultures.
the study of the historical relationships among languages.
A description of a single culture, based on first-hand observation.
The study of past cultures.
The study of human evolution.

8.According to the Original Study on HIV/AIDS in Africa (in Chapter 1 of your text), how have many of the traditional healers in the author's region of South Africa responded to the influences and availability of Western medical knowledge? 
Because they believe that most serious illnesses are ultimately caused by witchcraft, and know that Western medicine doesn't deal with that, most African healers she knows just don't pay much attention to Western medical information.
As they come to understand the truth about how HIV/AIDS is transmitted, many healers are afraid of being infected themselves, and are turning away patients with obvious symptoms.
Traditional healers who have accepted training in Western medical practice have started raising their fees, to the point that many patients in need of their care can no longer afford their services.
Thousands of traditional African healers in the author's province have taken Western AIDS training programs, and have altered some of their customary practices, especially those which involve possible contact with patients' blood.
Once traditional healers learn and begin to understand the greater effectiveness of Western medical approaches, they are giving up their traditional ways of thinking about and treating illness.


9.Anthroplogy most clearly demonstrates itself to be a science by 
using questionnaires to gather data.
stating its conclusions as proven, absolute truths.
conducting carefully controlled experiments.
attempting to arrive at generalizations or laws about human behavior through a process of hypothesis testing and validation.
None of the above; Anthropology is primarily a humanistic discipline and makes no pretense of scientific thinking


10.THE PRIMARY FUNCTION OF CULTURE IS: 
CATEGORIZATION
ENCULTURATION
ADAPTATION
DEFENSE
OFFENSE


11.As part of your job, you may study the frequency of blood types in human populations, or watch the behavior of monkeys and apes, or dig for early hominid bones in East Africa. Thus you must be a/an 
an ethnologist
a primatologist
a historical archaeologist
a physical anthropologist
a cultural anthropologist





12.As part of the forward, (the section introducing the text), the authors present a series of maps of the world. He does this primarily in order to 
show the locations of the various cultures that will be referred to in the text
demonstrate how the way maps are drawn can both reflect and influence particular people's perceptions of their own cultures relative to others
discuss how the work of Anthropologists has changed our understanding of the peoples of the world
demonstrate the greater accuracy and objectivity of modern European and American maps over the culturally biased and limited views presented in maps made by less sophisticated societies
support his discussion of the 'global village' concept: the observation that in today's complex world all peoples are deeply interconnected and mutually dependent on each other

13.THE ETHNOGRAPHIC APPROACH FOCUSES ON: 
THE MEANING THAT OBJECTS AND EVENTS HAVE FOR THE MEMBERS OF A SOCIETY
MAKING MAPS
THE TRUE NATURE OF OBJECTS AND EVENTS AS MEA- SURED SCIENTIFICALLY AND OBJECTIVELY BY A DETACHED OBSERVER
THE ART, TEXTILES, ARCHITECTURE, AND GRAPHICS OF NATIVE PEOPLES
THE WAY PEOPLE PERCEIVE HOW TO GET FROM ONE PLACE TO ANOTHER


14.Archaeology is presented in your text as 
the study of garbage
the study of human evolution
the study of ancient art and architecture
a subdivision of Physical Anthropology
the study of the material objects that are the result of human behavior


15.An ethnologist is to an ethnographer as the science of biology is to 
the science of geology
the intensive study of a particular kind of animal
the collection of buttons
the study of fossils
teaching in a college or university

16.The term "gender" refers to 
biological differences between males and females
cultural meanings assigned to the biological differences between males and females
a method of determining sex
the dominant or most frequent sexual orientation of a society's members

17.According to a study cited in your text, anthropologists found that people in rural Peru 
frequently worked together on each other's land
never worked together on each other's land
said they frequently worked together on each other's land, but actually did so rarely
said they never worked together on each other's land, but actually did so frequently
refused to answer the sociologist's questionnaire, but responded willingly to the more informal tactics of the anthropologist


18.The major goal of an Anthropologist doing ethnography is 
to prove that the culture she is studying is better than her own.
To learn the language of the people he is studying.
To trace the historical roots of the people being studied.
To observe and describe the behavior patterns of a particular culture.
To prove that Western cultures are superior to non-Western cultures


19.WHICH OF THE FOLLOWING ILLUSTRATES AN ETHNOCENTRIC POINT OF VIEW? 
THE KALAHARI BUSHMEN'S RESENTMENT OF THE ANTHROPOLOGIST'S REFUSAL TO SHARE HIS TINS OF FOOD.
THINKING OF THE YANOMAMO'S DRUG-TAKING AS DISGUSTING AND IMMORAL.
MISSIONARIES SEEKING CONVERTS AMONG PRIMITIVE PEOPLE WHO 'DON'T KNOW ANY BETTER' BUT WHOSE SOULS ARE STILL WORTH SAVING.
REJECTING AMERICAN MIDDLE CLASS MATERIALISM AND ATTEMPTING TO TAKE ON THE SIMPLE, CO-OPERATIVE, SPONTANEOUS LIFE STYLE OF THE BUSHMEN OR THE PYGMIES.
ALL OF THE ABOVE INVOLVE AND ILLUSTRATE ETHNOCENTRISM IN ACTION.


20.Clyde Snow, the forensic anthropologist (discussed in the separate 'Anthropology Applied' box in Chapter 1), has done which of the following? 
he has documented human rights abuses in Argentina and elsewhere by studying the bones of people who have died 'mysteriously' during abusive military regimes.
he has studied the household waste patterns in Arizona, documenting the difference between what people say they do and what they actually do.
he has studied the population density of the large ancient Mayan city of Tikal, in Guatemala.
he has led many public debates on important Anthropological issues such as evolutionary vs. creationist theories of human origins.
all of the above are things he and other forensic anthropologists do, in addition to teaching.




21.THE GREEN POWDER THAT YANOMAMO MEN BLOW UP ONE ANOTHER'S NOSES ON SOME OCCASIONS: 
IS A FORM OF TOBACCO
ENABLES THEM TO SEE AND COMMUNICATE WITH SPIRITS
IS TAKEN TO MAKE THEM MORE FIERCE
IS USED TO SETTLE DISPUTES
IS A FORM OF HAZING DIRECTED AT BOYS WHEN THEY ARE INITIATED INTO MANHOOD

22.Among the Kapauku Papuans of New Guinea, cited in your text, the observation that an attempt to eliminate warfare (which would create a more balanced sex ratio) would affect the practice of polygyny, which in turn would affect the economy (since men need extra wives to raise the pigs) is used as an example of which of the following characteristic of cultures? 
that culture is materialistic
that culture is relative
that culture is pluralistic
that culture is integrated
that culture is enculturated

23.In chapter 14 of your text, The Core, ( or chapter 2 of the big text) there is a photo of a man standing at a table displaying Survival magazines. This image is included to suggest that the rise of private militia groups in the United States is best seen as reflecting which of the following? 
A good balance between the needs of individuals and those of society
The frustration of people who feel that their needs are poorly satisfied by society
The attempt to maintain order in certain areas of the country
The problems caused by too great a cultural emphasis placed on the rights of individuals
An illegal and unjustified assumption of rights to use violence to achieve one's own ends


24.IN 'CHRISTMAS IN THE KALAHARI,' THE AUTHOR'S REAL MISTAKE WAS 
THAT HE COULDN'T TELL A FAT OX FROM A SKINNY ONE.
THAT HIS CONCEPTION OF WHAT A FAT OX LOOKED LIKE WAS DIFFERENT FROM THE BUSHMEN'S DEFINITION OF A FAT OX.
THAT HE FELT BOASTFUL ABOUT HIS CHOICE OF AN OX AND HIS OWN GENEROSITY IN SHARING IT.
NONE OF THE ABOVE--BUSHMEN ARE JUST BASICALLY MALICIOUS AND AND UNGRATEFUL PEOPLE.

25.When Annette Weiner (in the Original Study in Chapter 2) went to the Trobriand Islands 60 years after Malinowski had done his ethnographic study of these people, she found that 
the culture had changed so much that it was unrecognizable
the women were still significant producers of wealth, as Malinowski had recorded
Malinowski's views of wealth, political power, and descent were primarily from a male's point of view
Malinowski had attributed more power to women than in fact existed
women played no role in producing or manipulating wealth


26.WHICH OF THE FOLLOWING IS THE MOST ACCURATE EXAMPLE OF WHAT ANTHROPOLOGISTS MEAN BY THE CONCEPT OF 'CULTURE'? 
THE CLOTHES YOU WEAR TO SCHOOL
THE TOOLS YOU USE IN THE ACTIVITY OF GOING TO CLASS: PEN, PAPER, NOTEBOOK, DESK, ETC.
YOUR KNOWLEDGE OF THE RULES GOVERNING BEHAVIOR IN THE CLASSROOM WHICH ENABLES YOU TO INTERPRET WHAT IS GOING ON AND TO RESPOND APPROPRIATELY.
YOUR ABILITY, AS AN EDUCATED PERSON, TO APPRECIATE AND TALK KNOWLEDGEABLY ABOUT FINE ART WORKS AND CLASSICAL MUSIC.
ALL OF THE ABOVE ARE EQUALLY ACCURATE EXAMPLES OF THE ANTHROPOLOGICAL CONCEPT OF 'CULTURE.'


27.According to the author of "HIV/AIDS in Africa...." (the Original Study in chapter 1 of your text), how have traditional healers in her region responded to the huge influx of patients in their communities with AIDS? 
Most healers continue to use their knowledge of herbal remedies to treat what symptoms they can, and are turning their homes into hospice centers and orphanages for the people who have nowhere else to go.
To cope with the overwhelming patient load, healers are enlisting patients' families to help with the caretaking.
Because traditional diagnosis requires healers to go on drug-induced journeys to the spirit world, many healers are themselves in peril of overdosing on the hallucinogenic herbs.
Healers are becoming more important and powerful politically in their communities, because their services are so vital.
All of the above developments are commented on in this article.

28.When an Anthropologist was hired to help one band of Apaches work with architects in designing a new community that would fit Apache cultural patterns and needs, he found which of the following patterns of Apache life to be particularly important in designing new houses? (Note: This was the 'Anthropology Applied' example from Chapter 2.) 
Because Apache men have several wives, separate cooking/sleeping areas for each wife needed to be built into each house.
Because Apaches have very large families, and value individual privacy, lots of small bedrooms needed to be included in the plans for each house.
Because Apaches strongly separate the worlds of men and of women, houses had to be designed with male and female wings or areas on either side of a central public living space.
Because Apaches need to be able to clearly see each other in order to 'size up' a social situation and act appropriately, large spaces with no partitions separating cooking and eating areas needed to be built into each house.
Because Apaches spend most of their time and do most of their work and visiting activities outside, houses needed to have small bedroom/storage areas but large open patio spaces.


29.Using a 'holistic perspective' in Anthropology means to 
look for the holes in earlier theories about human cultures
study how all the different parts of a culture are interrelated and connected.
immerse oneself wholly in the culture one is studying as a participant-observer.
be sure to interview and observe every member of the culture you're studying, so as not to leave out any source of data.
Focus on just one aspect of a culture in order to understand it thoroughly.

30.What is a society? 
Any group of people who join together for a common purpose.
Any set of rules or standards that define behavior that is considered proper or acceptable.
The relationships that hold a group of people together.
A group usually occupying a specific locality, dependent upon each other for survival, and sharing a common culture.

31.A culture-bound theory is 
a prediction that is bound to be filled in a particular culture
a theory developed by a cultural anthropologist rather than a physical anthropologist
a theory developed by a sociologist rather than an anthropologist
a theory based on assumptions common to a particular culture
a theory based on comparison of cultures


32.An ethnologist can be described as someone who 
studies female behavior
studies cultures of the past
develops a science of culture by comparing many specific cultures
studies primitive cultures
studies urban-industrial societies


33.CULTURE SHOCK MAY BE DEFINED AS: 
A CROSS-CULTURAL MISUNDERSTANDING
THE FEELING THAT YOUR OWN CULTURE IS BEST
A FORM OF ANXIETY THAT OCCURS WHEN ONE IS RE- QUIRED TO INTERACT WITH OTHERS IN A CROSS-CULTURAL SITUATION
THE PROCESS OF DISCOVERING, CLASSIFYING, COM- PARING, AND EXPLAINING A CULTURE
THE IMPACT ON ONE SOCIETY OF CULTURE BORROWED FROM ANOTHER

34.The process by which culture is transmitted from one generation to the next is called 
enculturation
adaptation
pluralism
ethnocentrism
inheritance

35.The Amish, described in your text,may be used as an example of subcultural variation in American society, because
they are a racially distinct, and distinctive, group
they share the values of thrift, hard work, independence and close family ties that many Americans respect
they maintain a distinctive way of life that emphasizes agrarian living and loyalty to their Amish communities rather than to the nation-state at large
they participate in a rite of passage called "rumschpringes"
all of the above




6.THE ACQUIRED KNOWLEDGE THAT PEOPLE USE TO INTERPRET EXPERIENCE AND TO GENERATE BEHAVIOR IS CALLED: 
CULTURE
ADAPTATION
FUNCTION
GENETIC CODE
ANTHROPOLOGY

37.According to the movie on the Yanomamo, what is "the only way you can get sent to hell"? 
by being too aggressive within your own village
by being stingy
by committing adultery: stealing other men's wives
by being a coward, not willing to participate in the defense of your village
by taking drugs

38.If this were a class in physical anthropology, you would be studying 
human evolution and racial variability
ancient human cultures
the observable physical activities of people in different cultures
human diets and health problems
all of the above


39.Anthropology is most accurately defined as the study of 
non-Western societies
primitive cultures
all human beings
all Primates
social insects, such as ants


40.Which of the following would illustrate an ethnocentric attitude? 
being shocked at the immorality of an African man who has five wives.
expressing disgust at the custom of eating grubs, beetles, and lice.
American parents making negative comments about their teenagers' taste in music.
referring to hunting/gathering cultures as 'primitive,' backward,' or 'savage.'
all of the above are examples of ethnocentrism.


41.IN CONTRAST TO ETHNOGRAPHY, ETHNOLOGY FOCUSES ON: 
TWO OR MORE CULTURES
A SINGLE CULTURE
NON-WESTERN CULTURES ONLY
FIELD RESEARCH TECHNIQUES
HUMAN CUSTOMS


42.THE MIXTURE OF FEELING AND BELIEF THAT YOUR OWN WAY OF LIFE IS DESIREABLE AND ACTUALLY SUPERIOR TO OTHERS IS CALLED: 
CROSS-CULTURAL MISUNDERSTANDING
ESTABLISHING AN IDENTITY IN THE FIELD
ETHNOLOGICAL COMPARISON
CULTURE SHOCK
ETHNOCENTRISM



43.Which of these defines cultural integration in an anthropological sense? 
Toleration of a number of subcultures within a single society.
The human tendency to accept people living nearby as 'neighbors.'
The tendency for all aspects of a culture to be interrelated.
The movement of some societies throughout a large geographic region.


44.THE YANOMAMO OF VENEZUELA COMMUNICATE WITH SPIRITS OF THE LOWER WORLD BY: 
FASTING AND PRAYING
ENGAGING IN SOLITARY VIGILS ON LONELY MOUNTAIN TOPS
BLOWING GREEN POWDER UP EACH OTHER'S NOSES
ENGAGING IN RITUAL CLUB FIGHTING
USING A COMPLEX CODE DRUMMED OUT ON HOLLOW LOGS


45.In Chapter 2 of your text, the Original Study is a passage from the work of Annette Weiner, who did her anthropological field work among the people of the Trobriand Islands. These cultures had been thoroughly studied 60 years earlier by a famous anthropologist named Bronislaw Malinowski. What did she learn or discover as she did her field work? 
she discovered that Malinowski had done such a thorough job of research here that there was really nothing new or significant that she could add.
She discovered that women and women's wealth played a much more important role in Trobriand political life than Malinowski had realized or reported.
She concluded that Malinowdki had deliberately withheld information about women's lives because he wanted to prove his theories about 'the natural dominance and superiority of men.'
She found that nothing that Malinowski had written had any basis in observable Trobriand behavior.


46.How did the shaman, Dedeheiwa, react to Chagnon's presence among the Yanomamo? 
Dedeheiwa evidently felt his position in the village was threatened by the stranger, Chagnon, and so he consistently attempted to turn the villagers against Chagnon.
Dedeheiwa, as a healer, was fascinated by the strange and powerful medicines Chagnon had brought with him, so he spent a lot of time with Chagnon trying to learn as much as he could.
Dedeheiwa remained suspicious of Chagnon; although he never actually threatened Chagnon, he kept a watchful eye on his activities from a 'safe distance.'
Dedeheiwa tolerated Chagnon's presence, but was so busy with his own healing rituals that he paid little attention to the stranger.
Dedeheiwa became a caring friend to Chagnon, and an excellent informant, anxious to teach Chagnon all he could about Yanomamo religion.


47.The author of the Original Study on HIV/AIDS in Africa has which of the following comments to make about the traditional healers she has been studying? 
She sees them as important sources of spiritual comfort for their communities, as they share their patients' beliefs about causation of illness.
She notes that the healers are turning their homes into orphanages to deal with the numbers of children left abandoned by dying parents.
She notes that the herbal remedies that have long been used by these healers have therapeutic effects on some of the distressing symptoms of AIDS.
She has seen many healers taking on what is essentiaally hospice care of terminally ill patients who have nowhere else to go.
The author comments positively on all of the above, stressing the continued importance of traditional healing in African communities hard hit by AIDS.
None of the above: the author is distressed to see so much reliance by African AIDS patients and their families on these healers, who may mean well, but really have nothing to offer in the face of this disease crisis.


48.In his discussion of subcultural variation, the author of your text suggests that one reason the Amish are more tolerated in American society than some other groups is that they are: 
very well-armed and prepared to defend their chosen way of life
of white European descent, with values similar to those of the dominant culture
so isolated that no-one pays any attention to them or cares what they do
American Indians whose rights to live by their own values have always been respected
live in such an unproductive, harsh part of the country, that they are admired for being able to survive there at all


49.HOW WAS NAPOLEON CHAGNON GREETED WHEN HE FIRST ARRIVED AT A YANOMAMO VILLAGE TO BEGIN HIS FIELD WORK? 
THE CHILDREN ALL SWARMED AROUND HIM INSTANTLY, BEGGING FOR HANDOUTS AND LAUGHING AT HIS FUNNY CLOTHING
THE MEN STOOD AT THE ENTRANCE TO THE VILLAGE, POINTING SPEARS AT HIM WHILE THE DOGS NIPPED AT HIS LEGS.
WHILE THE OTHERS WATCHED, THE HEADMAN OF THE VILLAGE APPROACHED HIM ALONE AND CHALLENGED HIM TO A CHEST-POUNDING DUEL.
THE HEADMAN APPROACHED HIM AND INVITED HIM TO COME RECLINE IN HIS (THE HEADMAN'S) HAMMOCK AS AN HONORED GUEST.
HE ARRIVED IN THE MIDDLE OF SOME KIND OF FEAST, AND WAS ENTHUSIASTICALLY PULLED IN TO JOIN THE FESTIVITIES.




Bottom of Form

Click HERE to exit the test and return to the testing system homepage


Test Pilot (4.4.3) is Copyright 2003, The McGraw Hill Companies, All Rights Reserved.

