Deck 5: Making a Living

Question 1

As the Kayapo of the Xingu River Basin in South America demonstrate,people in non-industrial societies:

A)Do not understand their environment.
B)Have very simple methods for managing their resources.
C)Would be better off with modern technology.
D)Are committed to becoming modernized
E)Have adapted to their environments without the use of modern science.

Answer 1

Have adapted to their environments without the use of modern science.

Question 2

A major characteristic of the environment which shapes aboriginal Australian survival is:

A)The absence of plants.
B)The generally benign climate.
C)Climatic stability throughout the year.
D)The shortage of water.
E)The presence of big game animals.

Answer 2

The shortage of water.

Question 3

The peoples of the Great Sandy Desert in Australia traditionally made a living by:

A)Pastoralism.
B)Foraging.
C)Horticulture.
D)Agriculture.
E)Market trade.

Answer 3

Foraging.

Question 4

The earliest human food-getting strategy was:

A)Horticulture.
B)Industrialism.
C)Foraging.
D)Pastoralism.
E)Fishing.

Question 5

In addition to milk and meat products derived from their herds of camels,sheep,and goats,the Yarahmadzai do all of the following except:

A)Gather dates.
B)Trade with agriculturalists.
C)Work for cash in nearby towns.
D)Cultivate grain.
E)Raise chickens.

Question 6

One of the major changes that the 20ᵗʰ century brought to the Inuit was:

A)Opportunities to enter the commercial fur trade and government employment.
B)Almost complete extinction in the inland hunting grounds,forcing Inuit to live on the seacoast.
C)Persecution by the government,leading to a reduction in Inuit numbers by more than 75 percent.
D)Schooling opportunities that led most Inuit to migrate to more temperate climates.
E)Almost complete extinction in native fisheries,forcing Inuit to move away from the coastline.

Question 7

In their adaptation to their harsh environment,the Australian aboriginals survived by:

A)Expanding their population.
B)Using a wide variety of food sources.
C)Hunting big game animals.
D)Practicing vegetarianism.
E)Using effective rituals to increase their food supply.

Question 8

Among the Maasai,pasture land is:

A)Owned by individual families.
B)Passed from mother's brother to sister's son.
C)Rented from the neighboring Nuer.
D)Owned collectively rather than individually.
E)Far less important than garden land and,therefore,ecologically degraded.

Question 9

Which of the following terms indicates the yield per person per hour of labor invested?

A)Efficiency.
B)Productivity.
C)Population density.
D)Industrialism.
E)Labor.

Question 10

Ecological anthropologists are most interested in:

A)Interactions between humans and their environments.
B)Controlling human population growth.
C)Protecting the natural environment.
D)Increasing the world's food supply.
E)Assessing the effectiveness of different methods of making a living.

Question 11

Under most conditions,foraging requires:

A)Strong,capable leadership.
B)Complex and sophisticated tools.
C)Clear and enforceable ideas about land ownership.
D)The presence of nearby agricultural people.
E)Independence and mobility.

Question 12

Sea ice is critical to the Inuit because:

A)It allows animal herds to migrate from one area to another.
B)It connects different Inuit communities.
C)It is used as a highway and as a building material.
D)It is their only supply of fresh water.
E)It allows supply planes to land,bringing needed food and equipment as well as tourists.

Question 13

In the United States today,what percentage of the population currently is involved in agricultural production?

A)0.5%.
B)1.0%.
C)2.5%.
D)4.0%.
E)12%.

Question 14

A critical form of cultural knowledge typically passed from fathers to elder sons in Maasai society is:

A)Hunting techniques in a marginal environment.
B)Environmental knowledge and how livestock is moved.
C)Market trade and economic partners.
D)Traditional healing techniques.
E)Means of contacting the supernatural and asking for abundance.

Question 15

Historically,the greatest source of environmental degradation has been:

A)Slash and burn farming practiced by traditional peoples.
B)Consumer desires and energy needs in wealthy nations.
C)Slash and burn farming practiced by modern peasants.
D)Traditional agriculture done without soil erosion control techniques.
E)Collection and burning of wood for cooking fires in large cities in poor nations.

Question 16

The major areas of pastoralism are found in:

A)East Africa,the Australian desert,and the Canadian arctic.
B)North America,the highlands of South America,and the Pacific Islands.
C)East Africa,Southwest Asia,and the Subarctic.
D)Eastern Europe,Southwest Asia,and North Africa.
E)South American tropical forests,the Australian desert,and North Africa.

Question 17

Which of the following best illustrates transhumant pastoralism?

A)The male cattle pastoralists of East Africa have two settlements and move their herds between these,while the women stay in the permanent dwelling year-round.
B)The Saami reindeer herders and their families move across the frozen landscape during the winter months and in the summer take jobs as day laborers.
C)The Yarahmadzai of Iran move with the entire village during the year from settlement to settlement,never knowing where they will be next.
D)The Quechua herd their alpacas from one pasture to another as needed,depending on the climate.They never move their residence.
E)Central Asian yak herders all live in one settlement permanently year-round and supplement the food for their animals.They do not switch settlements seasonally.

Question 18

The Maasai have faced increasing difficulties practicing transhumant pastoralism primarily because:

A)Global warming has made grasslands scarce.
B)Government taxation policies have radically reduced the sizes of their herds.
C)Men now have the choice of herding or working in the tourist industry and most frequently choose the later.
D)Cattle diseases have made herding impossible in much of the land the Maasai inhabit.
E)The required grazing land has been taken from them.

Question 19

Like most horticulturalists,the Lua' traditionally plant:

A)Only one main crop.
B)A variety of crops with rotating harvesting seasons.
C)Whatever crops bring the highest price in the world market.
D)Corn,beans,and squash.
E)Year after year,in the fields closest to their villages.

Question 20

For the Gwich'in,the most important result of climate change has been:

A)The increased presence of outside industries that have negative impacts on local culture.
B)The need to find more sophisticated ways of keeping warm as their area cools.
C)Increased contact with outsiders and increasing ability to sell furs and native crafts.
D)The decrease in size and health of the caribou herd on which they depend.
E)Increased ability to use snowmobiles to hunt caribou and fur bearing mammals.

Question 21

Which of the following is a culture change that has occurred recently in Musha,Egypt?

A)Women are becoming better educated than men.
B)The population has decreased over the last 100 years.
C)The income from cash crops is not as important as it once was.
D)Few people leave the village to work.
E)Tractors are now used for many purposes.

Question 22

A study about different types of vegetables consumed today found that what percentage of varieties of these vegetables is now extinct?

A)35%.
B)59%.
C)74%.
D)85%.
E)97%.

Question 23

The globalization of food has resulted in large increases in the wealth and power of:

A)The governments of poor nations.
B)Rural populations in poor nations.
C)Rural populations in wealthy nations.
D)Already wealthy city dwellers in wealthy nations.
E)Multinational corporations involved in agriculture.

Question 24

In Lua' horticulture,women:

A)Play no role in cultivation but only process food.
B)Harvest rice along with the men.
C)Do all cultivation jobs except driving a tractor.
D)Take care of the animals rather than work in the fields.
E)Plant and harvest kitchen gardens but do not participate in growing or harvesting the principal crop.

Question 25

Rural cultivators who produce for the subsistence of their households but are also integrated into larger,more complex state societies are called:

A)Farmers.
B)Horticulturalists.
C)Agriculturalists.
D)Peasants.
E)Peons.

Question 26

Musha,in Upper Egypt,is a typical contemporary peasant village in that the peasants:

A)Are isolated from the outside world.
B)Are in almost total control of their economy.
C)Have hardly changed their culture in hundreds of years.
D)Are highly constrained by government intervention.
E)Are influential in government planning.

Question 27

One result of the increased globalization of food is:

A)The revival of the family farm.
B)Increased reliance on food that is easy to ship.
C)Increased dependence on fast food and junk food.
D)Increased power of groups such as the Slow Foods movement.

Question 28

Which of the following was a critical change in rural America related to the increase in beef consumption in the late 20ᵗʰ century?

A)Increasing wealth of farmers (along with the increasing tendency of their children to leave the farm).
B)Increasing presence of Wal-mart and other superstores and decline of family-owned businesses.
C)Increasing domination by large corporate farming operations and decline of family farm.
D)Increasing opportunities in rural America leading populations to return from cities to rural areas.
E)Increasing importance of education in rural school districts.

Question 29

Preindustrial agriculture uses all of the following techniques except:

A)Fertilizer.
B)Selective livestock breeding.
C)Crop rotation.
D)Irrigation.
E)Pesticides.

Question 30

The physical environment affects culture,but culture does not affect the physical environment.

Question 31

A critical way in which industrial production differs from other productive systems is:

A)Increased dependence on male labor.
B)Substantially reduced working hours and greater free time.
C)The focus of production moves from food to other goods.
D)Increased dependence on female labor.
E)Increasing economic equality among members of society.

Question 32

The horticultural cycle of the Lua' indicates that they:

A)Have little knowledge about the best growing conditions for a particular crop.
B)Plant and harvest according to the government's willingness to buy their crops.
C)Use their highly effective knowledge of their environment for subsistence and cash crops.
D)Were better off l00 years ago when they were foragers in the same environment.
E)Are unable to participate in cash cropping since they are distant from markets where their products would be in demand.

Question 33

Increasing beef consumption led to changes in the meat packaging industry.These included:

A)Increased importance of unions.
B)Increasing use of unskilled immigrant labor.
C)Rising wages for workers.
D)Increasing need for highly educated work force.
E)Movement of meat packing industry from rural to urban areas.

Question 34

Agriculture is characterized by a:

A)Simple technology,such as the use of a digging stick.
B)Low population densities when compared with other food getting strategies.
C)Relatively complex techniques of water and soil control.
D)Slashing and burning of forest cover.
E)Nomadic movement of village populations.

Question 35

A major characteristic of industrialism is that it:

A)Is an energy-conserving strategy.
B)Restrains population growth.
C)Is incompatible with urbanization.
D)First occurred at the same time in different parts of the Western and non-Western world.
E)Invariably expands beyond its own boundaries.

Question 36

Extremely difficult working conditions in the meat packing industry:

A)Have only occurred since the 1960s.
B)Have improved dramatically now that most of the process is automated.
C)Have been "normal" since the 19th century.
D)Are a much greater problem for female workers than male workers.
E)Have almost disappeared as the result of the unionization of the industry.

Question 37

The main subsistence crop of the Lua' is:

A)Wheat.
B)Potatoes.
C)Rice.
D)Beans.
E)Corn

Question 38

A major change in Lua' subsistence patterns in the last several decades is:

A)Their growing isolation from other Thai hill tribes.
B)An increase in the diversity of crops planted.
C)A growing dependence on a few main crops which they sell to the market.
D)An increase in wild game in the forest so that they no longer need to depend on cultivation.
E)Expulsion from their lands because of the Vietnam War.

Question 39

The change from foraging to food production was revolutionary in that it happened within a very short period of time.

Question 40

The defining characteristic of horticulture is that:

A)It is the most inefficient utilization of the environment.
B)Fields are not used permanently but remain fallow for some time after being cultivated.
C)Plows and labor-intensive methods are used.
D)It cannot support populations over 25 persons per square mile.
E)It is found only in the New World.

Question 41

It is likely that difficult and dangerous conditions in the meat packing industry will soon result in new,strong government regulation of that industry.

Question 42

Because of global warming,the Gwich'in in northeastern Alaska are facing a high reduction in the number of seals they harvest each year.

Question 43

The yield per person per unit of land is known as the population density.

Question 44

In the last fifty years,the Lua' have increasingly moved from horticulture to agriculture.

Question 45

Industrialism has led to increased equality among people worldwide.

Question 46

The demand for beef in America rose dramatically in the stock boom of the 1920s.

Question 47

Yarahmadzai herders virtually never work for cash.

Question 48

The example of the Kayapo of the Xingu River Basin in South America shows that traditional people were often capable of destroying their own environments.

Question 49

The global food industry has led to increased poverty in rural America.

Question 50

Pastoralism is mainly found in areas that are too dry to support human populations through agriculture.

Question 51

Most contemporary foragers have been pushed back by more dominant cultures and are currently found in marginal areas of the world.

Question 52

The historic Maasai subsistence strategy takes account of the fact that in some years there will be drought.

Question 53

Agriculture requires more capital investment than horticulture.

Question 54

What are the five basic subsistence strategies that anthropologists recognize?

Question 55

Name the three basic criteria of each subsistence strategy.

Question 56

Pastoralism can be either transhumant or nomadic.

Question 57

Global warming has made it easier for the Inuit to hunt year-round and has therefore increased the number of Inuit living traditional lifestyles.

Question 58

An important source of income for the Egyptian village of Musha is the money sent back to the village by migrant labor.

Question 59

In Musha,Egypt,wheat and cotton are among the most important crops.

Question 60

Today,only a very small percentage of the world's people live by foraging.

Question 61

Describe an agricultural two-year cycle using what you have learned from Musha,Egypt.

Question 62

Name four characteristics of a foraging society.

Question 63

The integration of resources,labor,and capital into a global network is called __________.

Question 64

What does it mean to say that horticulture is a "mixed subsistence strategy"?

Question 65

Compare foraging,horticulture,and agriculture in terms of (a)technology,(b)main features of social organization,and (c)relation to population density and productivity.

Question 66

Describe the Maasai practice of "drought reserve."

Question 67

Define industrialism as a subsistence strategy.

Question 68

Name three advantages of using a plow in agriculture.

Question 69

Why did the American beef industry experience a boom after World War II?

Question 70

Compare and contrast transhumant and nomadic pastoralism.

Question 71

Is it better for us to eat local foods? Why?

Question 72

What major challenges are the Gwich'in of northeastern Alaska facing as a result of global warming?

Question 73

The number of individuals supported per square mile of earth is called __________.

Question 74

How is agriculture different from horticulture?

Question 75

Describe ways in which seasonal variation in the environment structures the activities of the Gwich'in,the Yarahmadzai,the Lua',and Musha,the Egyptian village.

Question 76

__________ are rural,food-producing populations that are incorporated into larger state societies.

Question 77

How is pastoralism different from ranching?

Question 78

Name two major changes that have occurred to the Inuit people's subsistence strategy during the past few decades.

Question 79

Define foraging.

Question 80

What are the primary steps in swidden cultivation?