Anthropology Telecourse Exam 3

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1. Your text suggests that a primary function of marriage in virtually all societies is
to obey the laws of the local gods or goddesses.
to create political alliances between groups.
to allow people sexual access to potential mates.
to establish an economic unit based on the sexual division of labor.
Marriage has no 'function'; it's simply human nature to want to commit oneself to a partner.


2. The cultural rule that requires a person to look for marriage partners outside a culturally defined group s/he belongs to is called
endogamy.
polygamy.
exogamy.
monogamy.
polygyny.


3. Brideprice
is the wealth that a woman brings with her into her marriage, which generally ensures that her husband and his family will treat her well.
is a custom usually found in matrilineal societies, in which women are so highly valued.
is essentially what a man pays in order to acquire sexual rights to a woman.
is the fee that must be paid by the bride's family to the groom if the marriage does not produce any sons.
is primarily compensation to a woman's family for the loss of their right to claim any children she will bear, and to her economically valuable labor.


4. What is patrilocal residence?
A married couple lives with or near the husband's father's kin.
A married couple can choose to live with either the husband's father's kin or with the wife's father's kin.
A married couple lives apart from either husband's or wife's kin group.
A married couple lives with or near the wife's brother's kin group.
A married couple lives with or near the wife's mother's kin group.


5. In the custom called 'levirate',
a father arranges his daughter's marriage on her behalf.
a widow marries her dead husband's brother.
a man takes his wife's own sister to be a second wife.
a girl marries her cross-cousin (her mother's brother's son).
None of the above.


6. Which of the following is the most accurate term for the form of marriage in which a man may have more than one wife at the same time?
Polyandry
Androgamy
Polygamy
Polygyny
Polyanna


7. The residence rule most commonly followed or preferred in contemporary North America is called
nuclear
patrilocal
neolocal
matrilocal
patrilineal


8. If an anthropologist describes a culture as practicing village exogamy and tribal endogamy, it would mean that
individuals marry outside their village, but within their tribe.
individuals marry outside their village and outside their tribe.
individuals marry within their village, but outside their tribe.
individuals get married in some village other than their own, and then bring their spouses back to their own village.
This is an impossible situation, since the two phrases are mutually contradictory.


9. According to the Original Study in chapter 8, on 'Arranging a Marriage in India,' which of the following is the most important quality parents of a son look for in a prospective bride for him?
How well she will be able to get along in his family.
How well he likes her, after they've had some chances to see each other.
How well she cooks and maintains a household.
How well-educated she is.
How physically attractive she is.


10. In the same study, the son (whose family was looking for a wife for him) had which of the following things 'going for him' most strongly? (i.e., what would a girl's family have liked best about him?)
His looks
His military career
His father's position in the government
His likable personality
His family's reputation


11. In arranging marriages in India, which of the following economic transaction take place?
There is an equal or equivalent exchange of gifts between the two families.
The groom pays brideprice to bride's father and family.
The bride's family gives traditional gifts to the groom and his family.
The groom works for his bride's family for 2-3 years to prove he can support her.
The groom and his family wait until the wife has had a child, and then pay her family a kind of brideprice for her proven fertility.


12. Among the Turkana (of East Africa) pastoralists discussed in the film on marriage and family, which of the following marriage customs is likely to occur?
A man moves in with his wife's family after their marriage.
An unmarried woman will choose the man she'd like to marry.
A man's wife may well ask him to marry a second woman, perhaps even choosing the new wife for him.
A man may have several wives in his lifetime, but never more than one at a time; he must divorce a first wife before taking a second.
Men want several wives because the dowries they bring with them into marriage can make a man rich.


13. In societies that permit a man to have more than one wife, having several wives is likely to be both a contribution to, and an indication of, a man's wealth.
True
False


14. In societies that permit a man to have more than one wife, the men in such societies take extra wives primarily to have sexual access to more women.
True
False


15. In societies that permit a man to have more than one wife, the rule of descent is likely to be matrilineal, since women are so important.
True
False


16. In societies that permit a man to have more than one wife, having several wives enables a man to have more children.
True
False


17. In societies that permit a man to have more than one wife, there is likely to be an increased age difference between a man and his later wives.
True
False


18. In societies that permit a man to have more than one wife, most marriages will be of the preferred form; that is, most men will have at least 2 wives.
True
False


19. A major cultural function of the universal rules of exogamy seems
to be sure that wealth stays within the family, and could not be claimed by someone in another kin group.
to maintain tribal or ethnic or racial purity by limiting marriage to 'one's own kind.'
to oblige kin groups to create ties of marriage and mutual obligation with other kin groups, thus contributing to the integration and solidarity of the society to which they belong.
to please ancestral spirits who are always offended at in-breeding.
There's no particular function to this; it's just human nature to want to look for sexual and/or marriage partners outside of one's own group.


20. Your text defines a 'family' as a group consisting of
a man, his wife and their dependent biological and/or adopted children.
a man, his wife, his grown sons and their wives and all of the dependent children born to any of those couples.
a residential unit of people who live together and help provide for each other, who all consider themselves 'related' in some way.
a woman, her dependent children, and at least one adult male joined through marriage or blood relationship.
the whole human species, being descended from common ancestry, and therefore biologically related in the most fundamental way.


21. The extended family's greatest usefulness seems to lie in its ability to
provide a strong natural defense group against aggressive neighbors.
make mobility easier in response to changing economic circumstances.
provide a large, co-operative work force.
provide housing when housing is scarce.
strengthen the emotional bonds between a man and his wife and their children.


22. In the film excerpt on the family in India (Dadi's family), Dadi was most troubled by which of the following aspects of her youngest son's marriage?
Her son, Rajindar, wanted to bring his wife home to live with Dadi and Dada.
Rajindar and his bride were going to live by themselves in the city.
The marriage had not been blessed by the gods.
Rajindar had gone off to his bride's village to get married, and had not invited his own mother and sisters.
Rajindar's marriage to this high caste girl was so expensive, it was putting Dadi and Dada into debt.


23. Why has it been useful for research teams studying AIDS to include anthropologists?
An anthropological approach could provide insights into the workings of the high-risk subculture of gay men thus helping to trace patterns of disease transmission.
An anthropologist could develop ways of educating or implementing prevention strategies in a manner that would be acceptable to members of high-risk groups.
An anthropologist would be in a good position to act as an 'interpreter' between the gay subculture and the public health officials.
All of the above are important contributions of anthropology to this problem.


24. Eva Gabor (a famous actress, for you young ones!) has been married to eight (or is it nine?) husbands. This is a good example of
serial monogamy
polyandry
bigamy
polygyny
levirate marriage


25. Your text suggests that the basic fundamental problem which the traditional American nuclear family poses for its members is
the boredom of having so few people to interact with.
the independence of modern American women, who reject their 'traditional' homemaker role.
the American job market, which requires that families move often, and thus lose the stability of being settled in one place.
the sexual permissiveness of modern American culture which makes it too easy and tempting for married people to look elsewhere for additional or alternative partners.
the built-in isolation from the larger kin groups of both adults, which leaves a nuclear family very much 'on its own' to deal with all its experiences.


26. In the original study on the history of the modern American family, which of the following assumptions shaped the lives of the members of the 'pre-modern' American family, especially in the earliest decades?
Females were assumed to have been created as inferior and therefore submissive to males.
A whole community was thought to have the right and the responsibility to enforce proper behavior of family members.
Marriages were arranged to fulfill economic, religious and social functions for larger kin groups.
Children were assumed to be basically bad and stubborn and in need of strict, even harsh, parenting to be broken and molded into good Christian souls.
All the above were premises or assumptions that operated in the pre-modern American family.


27. In the same study, why does the author see the modern nuclear family as 'structurally fragile'?
Because the male heads of these families have too much authority and power over wives and children, who will react by rebelling.
Because the wives are left on their own too much of the time and tend to get bored.
Because the ideal of enduring romantic love is the basis for the formation of the marriages and provides a logic for divorce, when 'things don't work out.'
Because the wives, with no other support group, have to do so much of the work of household maintenance and childrearing, that they are unable to be sufficiently loving and attentive to their husband's needs.
Because the sexual permissiveness embodied in the nuclear family model undermines the sense of commitment to a spouse and children.


28. The author of this study concludes that
the nuclear family, which developed during the 1950's when men could finally earn enough money to well support dependent wives and children, is in fact the most natural and normal family form, even though it, lamentably, has not been able to last
the nuclear family regarded as 'normal' in the 1950's, with male wage earners and wives happily tending to the home, was a particularly strange, unlikely, and temporary variation in family organization.
the author of this study concludes that most of the social problems in America of the last 20 years have their roots in the unwillingness of women to provide stable, nurturing environments for their husbands and children.
most American women really do want to be able to stay home caring for house and children while supported by a husband; they have joined the work force reluctantly, only because the post-modern economy requires that they do so.
the truly 'good old days' in the history of the American family was during the pre- modern 19th, or even earlier, century Colonial Period, when families met all their members' economic and emotional needs.


29. An older married couple, living together with their married sons, their daughters-in-law and their grandchildren, all in the same household or compound, would be a classic example of
An endogamous clan
An extended family
A double descent group
A consanguine family
A nuclear family


30. In the program on marriage, the girl of the Mien people of Laos who have resettled in America
didn't want to get married and was sad to have to leave her mother and her family.
was the first girl in her community to have fallen in love and chosen her own husband.
was proud and happy to have the big 3-day ceremony and to be able to wear the large, fancy headdress.
had disappointed her family by choosing to marry a white American boy she had met in high school.
was glad to finally be old enough to marry, so that she could get out of her parents household and start a life of her own.


31. In any society, the rules of residence primarily determine
whom one may or may not marry.
where a married couple will live.
how many children a couple may have.
which kin group or groups children will belong to.
how children receive their names.


32. A 'female husband' among the Nandi of West Africa is
a woman in an accepted, although rare, lesbian marriage who does the work culturally defined as masculine.
a man in a heterosexual marriage who, by his own choice and inclination, does many of the household tasks culturally considered to be 'women's work.'
a derogatory term for a man who allows his wife to make the important decisions and tell him what to do.
a married, but childless older woman who takes as her wife a somewhat outcast younger woman, who will bear the sons the older woman has not been able to produce.
None of the above: it's a total contradiction in terms, since 'husband' has to mean 'male marriage partner.'


33. The most frequent form of family in the United States in the 1990's is
still the independent monogamous two-parent nuclear family.
extended families variations, as grown children and their parents more often form households.
non-family households: people living with non-relatives or alone
'co-ops' or 'communes': sets of unrelated nuclear families who form joint cooperative households.
step-joint families, as sets of re-married parents share responsibilities for all the children born to any of the adults.


34. The various societies shown in the films on descent illustrate that descent groups do which of the following?
They determine who will support whom in a political contest or fight.
They regulate sexual access through their rules of exogamy.
They form a basis for political or economic alliance through ties of marriage.
They give members rights to shares in corporately owned resources, such as land.
All of the above are frequent functions of descent groups.


35. When people believe that they are descended from a common ancestor through males only, we call the rule
paternal descent
kindred
patrilineal descent
patrilocal descent
consanguineal descent


36. A group of kin related to each other by a unilineal rule of descent who can trace their actual relationships to a known common ancestor is called a
lineage.
clan.
kindred.
multiple family group.
moiety.


37. A non-corporate descent group who believe themselves to be related by a unilineal rule of descent, to an unknown, often mythical, common ancestor is called
a lineage
a clan
a kindred
a totem
a bilineal


38. Which of the following would NOT be part of Ego's patrilineal descent group?
His father's brother
His father's sister
His brother's daughter
His sister's son
His son's daughter


39. In matrilineal descent system, which of the following would NOT be considered to be related to a male ego?
His sister
His son
His sister's daughter
His mother's brother
His brother


40. Kindred organization is typical of societies which
rely largely on the nuclear family as the primary functional social unit
trace descent through many generations
have large, complex, and rather rigid social hierarchies
hold large tracts of land which they need to keep in the family
have large extended families


41. A major feature of family life in the Greek village of Kipsali seen in the second film on descent is?
The amount of time and energy a young boy must put into earning the bride price he'll have to pay when he gets married.
The value and respect shown towards women as the child-bearers of society.
A sharp separation of male and female worlds, in which the males are clearly considered more important.
The custom of levirate which sees to it that a widow, no matter how old, is soon remarried into her former husband's kin group.
The easy, secure, carefree world that is created for young children of both sexes by the parents, who know that their lives as adults will be difficult.


42. In a matrilineal descent system, such as that of the Hopi described in you text,
women are the authority figures and decision makers in the society.
a woman's daughters, but not her sons, belong to her descent group.
marriage ties between husband and wife tend to be closer than in other descent systems, because the woman has chosen her own husband.
all of the above are characteristic of matrilineal systems.
None of the above is likely to be true in a matrilineal system.


43. Among the Asante of West Africa, where women run the large complex vegetable markets,
the rule of descent is matrilineal, while the rule of residence is patrilocal.
men may take additional wives, although women often object to this.
men do not provide for their wives or their own children, so women have to work to feed their children.
after the death of her husband, a widow and her children may be run out of their home by his relatives.
All of the above are characteristic features or consequences of Asante family life.


44. The Mendi tribe of New Guinea, seen in the first film on descent, were killing cassowaries (large black birds) in large numbers in order to
show off and gain prestige for their clans by giving elaborate feasts to rival clans
drive away the ghosts they feared so much.
acquire brides for their sons by paying this form of brideprice to the girls' fathers.
get large amounts of protein into their diet just prior to going to war with enemy clans.
get rid of the main group of pests that had been demolishing their yam crops.


45. The text's description of traditional Chinese society, prior to World War II, illustrates which of the following characteristics of patrilineal societies?
The value placed on respect of and obedience to elders, especially sons to fathers
The greater importance or dominance of men over women
The importance of the lineage as the primary social decision making unit
The importance of ancestors and of fulfilling ceremonial obligations to them
All of the above are central characteristics of traditional Chinese family life and characteristic of many patrilineal cultures


46. The original study of Chinese women in modern rural Taiwan suggest which of the following about their lives?
It shows how Western influence has altered traditional ideas about women's roles.
It shows that these women can gain considerable influence over the 'men's world' without appearing to do so.
It shows that these women are eagerly seeking educational and career opportunities outside the home.
It shows that when these women have closer and more comfortable relationships with their husbands, they have less to do with other women.
It shows that these women are still virtually powerless and passive in their roles as wives.


47. If you were a young Navajo girl, which of the following statements would be likely to apply to you?
You would be working in the fields, planting, weeding, and harvesting the corn.
You would be encouraged by your family to go away to white school so you could learn an independent career and not be tied down by all the old traditions.
You would spend much time learning the craft of silver-smithing from your father's mother.
You would be living with your mother or her sister, and would call them both by the same kin term.
You would get together with your girlfriends on ritual occasions and dance sexually provocative dances to entice the boys and begin the process of finding a husband.


48. Among the matrilineal Trobriand Islanders,
there is a relaxed attitude about sex, openly expressed in the dancing of both women and men.
men are not thought to be related to their children.
men are seen as leaders, and play the major roles in public economic and political life.
a woman's husband will support his sister and his sister's children.
All of the above are consequences of Trobriand style matrilineality.


49. The 'family circles' of the Jewish population in New York City illustrate which kind of descent system?
Patrilineal
Ambilineal
Matrilineal
Avunculocal
Kindred


50. Modern industrial societies and some marginal hunting/gathering societies often have which of the following characteristics in common?
Nuclear family organization
Value on independence and self-reliance
Bilateral descent system
All of the above
None of the above - These two kinds of societies are completely different in every respect.


XC#1. The point of the discussion in your study guide about the two other Mayan villages, Chan Kom and Xaibe, was to demonstrate
that the extended family structure shown in the film really is characteristic of all Mayan villages that do milpa farming.
how people will alter their subsistence patterns in whatever way they need to, in order to maintain their preferred form of family life.
that the form of family structure, even within a single culture, will change to fit local subsistence and economic needs.
that the Mayan extended family is the only possible response to the demands of milpa farming, and that it disappears as soon as the villagers turn to other means of subsistence.
that government interference in traditional village economics tends to destroy the fabric of existence and leave villages worse off economically than they were before.


XC#2. Among the Yucatec Maya filmed by Hubert Smith, child-rearing practices in the two Mayan families tend to foster which of the following attributes or personality traits in the children?
Aggressiveness in boys, passiveness in girls
Dependence on others, especially family
Competitiveness in productive activities or in school
Individualism and self-reliance
Creativity, imagination, and problem-solving


XC#3. The difficulties experienced by Reymundo Colli's two youngest sons, when sent to school in the city, were primarily due to which of the following circumstances or cultural patterns?
In their extended families, Mayan children frequently are subject to little discipline and tend to 'go wild' when on their own in the city.
Children from rural extended families tend to be slow learners.
Children in Mayan extended families are accustomed to acting independently and taking responsibility for themselves; they often resent and resist the rigidity and authority of the urban school setting.
Children in Mayan extended families tend to depend upon their family for support and guidance, and are at a loss when on their own away from home.
Children from rural villages tend to be teased and looked down upon for their 'country bumpkin' ways by the more sophisticated 'city kids.'


XC#4. What role did Prudencio Colli Canche play as father of the other extended family featured in the video?
Because he was the oldest male, his chief responsibility was to look out for the family's political interests in the local community, while his sons did all the farm work.
Prudencio and his sons each worked their own separate cornfields and provided for their own nuclear families.
As the eldest male, Prudencio directed the farming activities and made most of the final decisions for the whole extended family, with others yielding to his judgment.
Because he was the oldest, he was no longer able, or expected to, work or manage family affairs: he had essentially 'retired' to peaceful grandparenthood.
As the eldest male in the family, Prudencio spent much of this time fulfilling his obligations to his 'cargo' offices, leaving the running of the family farm to his adult sons.


XC#5. Milpa farming among the Yucatec Maya, as illustrated in the film
Requires that new fields be cleared for planting every two or three years, while the previous fields are left to lie fallow.
Illustrates how women do most of the food-producing work in the fields in horticultural societies such as this.
Results in the over-use and abuse of the land, ultimately destroying it for any further agricultural use.
Requires the use of draft animals and plows to turn up the deep clay-ey soil.
All of the above.




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