Deck 1: Anthropology and the Study of Culture

Question 1

The cultural materialist perspective uses a three-level model of culture that includes

A)infrastructure, structure, and superstructure.
B)class, "race," and gender.
C)ethnicity, age, and class.
D)structure, agency, and change.
E)globalization, McDonaldization, and localization.

Answer 1

infrastructure, structure, and superstructure.

Question 2

A major theoretical debate exists in cultural anthropology today between

A)applied anthropologists and archaeologists.
B)cultural materialists and interpretivist anthropologists.
C)ecological anthropologists and economic anthropologists.
D)psychological anthropologists and medical anthropologists.
E)none of the above: there is no theoretical debate since all cultural anthropologists share the same theoretical perspective.

Answer 2

cultural materialists and interpretivist anthropologists.

Question 3

The San people of Southern Africa

A)mainly value the hoodia cactus as a source of a hallucinogenic drug.
B)worked with transnational advocacy groups to gain a portion of profits from hoodia's use in a diet pill.
C)still earn a living mainly from foraging on their traditional land in the Kalahari desert.
D)are now the economically dominant ethnic group in South Africa.
E)now reject the term Bushmen as derogatory.

Answer 3

worked with transnational advocacy groups to gain a portion of profits from hoodia's use in a diet pill.

Question 4

The tendency to apply one's own cultural values in judging the behavior and beliefs of people raised in other cultures is known as

A)cultural relativism.
B)cultural universalism.
C)ethnocentrism.
D)egocentrism.
E)cultural anthropology.

Question 5

Culture

A)is more developed in contemporary North America than in contemporary China.
B)first emerged among humans around 10,000 years ago.
C)is predominantly transferred through genes.
D)is being destroyed by globalization.
E)none of the above.

Question 6

People who have a longstanding connection with their home territory predating colonialism are referred to as

A)ethnic groups.
B)racial groups.
C)local groups.
D)lost people.
E)indigenous people.

Question 7

A cultural relativist would view contemporary Nacirema culture as

A)materialistic, aggressive, and without much worth.
B)just as interesting and worthy of study as any other.
C)more ethical than most others.
D)adaptively superior to any other.
E)trivial, frivolous, and simplistic.

Question 8

The increased spread of international ties and spread of Western capitalism worldwide is referred to as

A)internationalization.
B)capitalization.
C)interdependency.
D)holism.
E)globalization.

Question 9

Linguistic anthropologists study

A)how contemporary languages differ in terms of structure, grammar and sound systems.
B)nonverbal communication.
C)how languages change over time.
D)how languages are related.
E)all of the above.

Question 10

Among Tejano immigrants in the United States, making tamales symbolizes

A)a connection with the homeland in Mexico.
B)the triumph of culture over nature.
C)rejection of US values especially fast food.
D)a woman's role as a "good wife."
E)the importance of corn in Tejano culture.

Question 11

The functionalist approach says that

A)powerful structures shape culture.
B)cross-cultural comparisons are not valid.
C)culture should be studied on the basis of how people make a living.
D)cultures evolve from primitive to more advanced, or civilized.
E)culture is like a biological organism with interacting parts.

Question 12

The field of anthropology that studies human language and communication is called

A)biological anthropology.
B)communication science.
C)linguistic anthropology.
D)applied anthropology.
E)audiovisual anthropology.

Question 13

Microcultures, according to the textbook, can be formed on the basis of

A)age.
B)class.
C)race.
D)gender.
E)all of the above.

Question 14

The Garbage Project has much practical relevance because it provides information on

A)how rural areas differ from urban areas.
B)how long it has taken for garbage from prehistoric times to decompose.
C)recent consumption patterns.
D)how the poor of the world are creating the least garbage.
E)none of the above: the Garbage Project is a case of "pure research" and has no practical relevance.

Question 15

The main goal of cultural anthropology is to

A)understand why people behave and think the way they do.
B)predict culture change.
C)trace the evolution of culture from nonhuman primates to human primates.
D)discover the biological bases of culture.
E)learn how to change culture.

Question 16

Biological anthropologists focus on

A)the impact of colonialism on different cultures.
B)cross-cultural patterns of contemporary human politics.
C)human evolution and contemporary human variation.
D)how culture is passed on from one generation to the next.
E)historic data about various cultures.

Question 17

The cultural materialist interpretation of the Hindu belief in sacred cows points to

A)their ritual purity.
B)their fertility, as "mother figures."
C)their economic and environmental value.
D)all of the above.
E)none of the above.

Question 18

San peoples of Southern Africa fought a long legal battle to gain profits from

A)diamond mines on their land.
B)the discovery of oil on their land.
C)a new diet pill.
D)all of the above.
E)none of the above: the San are completely demoralized and lack the means of fighting for any kind of rights.

Question 19

Archaeologists use which of the following as research materials?

A)pieces of old pottery
B)prehistoric stone tools
C)remains of ruined houses
D)contemporary garbage heaps
E)all of the above

Question 20

Anthropology is usually divided into four fields, but some people claim that a fifth should be included, called

A)interpretivist anthropology.
B)functionalist anthropology.
C)theoretical anthropology.
D)applied anthropology.
E)cultural relativism.

Question 21

One way that Tejano immigrant women can express dissatisfaction with their marriages is by refusing to make tamales.

Question 22

Culture is best defined as the effects of biological heredity on human behavior.

Question 23

The only great ape found in Asia is the

A)chimpanzee.
B)orangutan.
C)baboon.
D)bonobo.
E)gorilla.

Question 24

A recent mental health disorder in Japan related to sleep is

A)insomnia.
B)nightmares about work.
C)falling asleep during the day.
D)sleeping sickness.
E)none of the above: Japan has no sleep-related disorder.

Question 25

Cultural constructionism is best seen as a theoretical argument that stands in opposition to cultural relativism.

Question 26

Absolute cultural relativism is a view that promotes questioning and debate concerning cross-cultural practices.

Question 27

In India, widows wear black.

Question 28

Biological determinism is opposed to the perspective called cultural constructionism.

Question 29

Cultural materialists attempt to learn about culture by examining the material aspects of it, such as the environment and how people make a living within a particular environment.

Question 30

Papua New Guinea has many natural resources and a low rate of HIV/AIDS among its population.

Question 31

Two theoretical trends were influenced by postmodernism: structurism and functionalism.

Question 32

Most North American anthropologists agree that general anthropology consists of five fields.

Question 33

Microcultures can be formed on the basis of institutions such as hospitals and schools.

Question 34

Orangutans now live only in pockets of forested areas in the country of Brunei.

Question 35

The Weyéwa people of Indonesia are known for recognizing over 20 types of "taste."

Question 36

Both globalization and localization can be seen in the spread of McDonald's restaurants.

Question 37

A study of middle schools in the southwestern Rocky Mountain region of the U.S. found that Mexican immigrant girls are marginalized, especially because they are not interested in or good at sports.

Question 38

The four models of cultural interaction are: clash of civilizations, McDonaldization, hybridization, and localization.

Question 39

Basic natural functions-such as eating, drinking, sleeping, and eliminating-are done and thought about the same way everywhere, as opposed to cultural functions such as language.

Question 40

Indigenous peoples are strongly connected to their homeland, but often do not have legal rights to it.

Question 41

Interpretive anthropology and "thick description" are mainly associated with a cultural anthropologist named __________.

Question 42

__________ refers to the process by which one culture dominates another.

Question 43

Excessive daytime sleepiness is correlated with decreased worker productivity in the country of ___________.

Question 44

Franz Boas promoted the theoretical approach called __________, which is the view that individual cultures must be studied and described in their own terms and understood within their own historical context.

Question 45

In the framework of cultural materialism, the most basic aspect of culture is called __________.

Question 46

Define globalization and localization and give an example of each.

Question 47

A step proposed to move anthropology to being "anti-racist anthropology" is ___________.

Question 48

How have anthropologists approached the definition of culture?

Question 49

Describe the past and present situation of the San peoples of Southern Africa; discuss the challenges they are currently facing and how they are seeking to rebuild their culture.

Question 50

What is a microculture and what are some examples of important microcultures?

Question 51

Define the concept of holism and provide a cultural example.

Question 52

In a cultural materialist framework, the mental aspects of culture are referred to as __________.

Question 53

The theoretical approach which is the view that powerful structures such as economics, politics, and media shape cultures and create entrenched systems of inequality and oppression is referred to in the textbook as __________.

Question 54

The French anthropologist Claude Lévi-Strauss is associated with the theoretical perspective called __________.

Question 55

State the overall goal(s) of cultural anthropology and provide two examples of how cultural anthropologists have contributed to achieving the goal(s).

Question 56

An example of a basis for microcultural formation is __________.

Question 57

Judging other people's cultures on the basis of one's own culture is called __________.

Question 58

Malinowski's functionalism approach is similar to the concept of __________, which is the interrelatedness of various aspects of culture.

Question 59

The concept of biological evolution says that ___________.

Question 60

__________ refers to the approach that seeks to explain why people do and think what they do by considering biological factors such as people's genes and hormones.

Question 61

Define the principles of ethnocentrism, cultural relativism, absolute cultural relativism, and critical cultural relativism. Choose an issue and consider it from two of these perspectives.

Question 62

What is culture and what are three of its key characteristics?

Question 63

What is applied anthropology and what are two examples of it?

Question 64

Describe one microculture that you know about from your personal experience, class lecture, class films, or reading. What makes this microculture distinct? What characteristics, if any, does it share with another microculture?

Question 65

What does the theory of agency emphasize; provide an example.

Question 66

How has theory in cultural anthropology changed since the late nineteenth century?

Question 67

Discuss three examples of behavior that show how culture is not the same as nature.

Question 68

How do cultural anthropologists define gender? Discuss two examples of gender as cultural rather than "natural."

Question 69

Describe and discuss two of the three major debates in cultural anthropology.

Question 70

Contrast cultural materialism with interpretivism in terms of their theoretical position, definition of culture, and methods.