Deck 8: Marriage, Family, and Kinship

Question 1

Bride price occurs all over the world but is particularly common in __________.

A) Africa
B) East Asia
C) Europe
D) South America

Answer 1

Africa

Question 2

Societies with __________ descent have two rules of descent, each traced through links of one sex only, operating at the same time.

A) double
B) binary
C) dual
D) twofold

Answer 2

double

Question 3

In which group were incestuous marriages permitted?

A) the ancient Egyptian royal families
B) the Nuer of East Africa
C) the Nambikwara Indians of Brazil
D) the Brahmin caste of India

Answer 3

the ancient Egyptian royal families

Question 4

How common is the neolocal residence pattern practiced by most North Americans?

A) It is very rare, being seen in only about 5 percent of known societies.
B) It is practiced by over half of all known societies.
C) It is fairly uncommon, being found in about one quarter of known societies.
D) It is nearly universal, being found in 99 percent of known societies.

Question 5

Societies that practice bride exchange tend to __________.

A) depend on a relatively high contribution of women to primary subsistence
B) have a high level of social stratification and a low status for women
C) arrange marriages as lifelong contracts between rival kin groups
D) require a long period of bride service before the marriage takes place

Question 6

Some polygynous societies try to reduce competition by practicing sororal polygyny, which is when the co-wives are __________.

A) sisters
B) good friends
C) of similar temperament
D) of very different ages

Question 7

In which society did people not marry, but rather lived their whole lives in a residential group made up of maternal kin?

A) Na
B) Subanun
C) Kwakiutl
D) Hadza

Question 8

Caste societies typically have __________ marriages.

A) endogamous
B) exogamous
C) cross-cousin
D) incestuous

Question 9

Same-sex marriages are __________.

A) not typical in any known society
B) prohibited in all societies
C) fairly common in some societies
D) the norm in a few societies

Question 10

The custom of allowing a man to marry more than one woman is __________.

A) found in most of the societies known to anthropology
B) found in only a small minority of the world's societies
C) unlikely to engender jealousy among co-wives
D) strictly forbidden in Muslim society

Question 11

Which of the following is the most common economic marriage transaction cross-culturally?

A) bride price
B) bride service
C) indirect dowry
D) gift exchange

Question 12

Which of the following shows the different descent groups from least to most common?

A) ambilineal, bilateral, unilateral
B) bilateral, ambilineal, unilateral
C) bilateral, unilateral, ambilineal
D) unilateral, ambilineal, bilateral

Question 13

Although avunculocal residence is rare, nearly all avunculocal societies are __________.

A) matrilineal
B) ambilineal
C) bilineal
D) patrilineal

Question 14

Societies that practice dowry tend to be those in which __________.

A) women contribute little to primary subsistence
B) men may be married to more than one woman at a time
C) there is a shortage of desirable husbands
D) there is little social stratification

Question 15

To whom are the goods first transferred in an indirect dowry?

A) the bride's father
B) the groom's father
C) the groom
D) the chief

Question 16

Most societies __________.

A) disapprove of marriages between first cousins
B) encourage marriages between parallel cousins
C) encourage marriages between first cousins
D) encourage marriages between cross-cousins

Question 17

Of the following forms of marriage, the rarest is __________.

A) polyandry
B) monogamy
C) the levirate
D) polygyny

Question 18

Patrilineal societies, but not matrilineal societies, tend to be __________.

A) locally exogamous
B) kin group endogamous
C) kin group exogamous
D) locally endogamous

Question 19

In what modern nation might you still find the practice of dowry?

A) Italy
B) England
C) Germany
D) Spain

Question 20

A phratry is a __________ descent group composed of supposedly related __________.

A) unilineal; clans
B) unilineal; moieties
C) bilateral; clans
D) bilateral; moieties

Question 21

In a bilateral system, your __________ shares your exact kin group.

A) brother
B) mother
C) child
D) grandparent

Question 22

Because of its ego-centered nature, which of the following is least likely to serve as a permanent or persistent group?

A) kindred
B) patrilineage
C) matrilineage
D) ambilineal descent group

Question 23

Among foraging societies, what factor favors a bilocal residence pattern?

A) low rainfall
B) a lack of big game
C) frequent warfare
D) reliance on low-protein foods

Question 24

Many anthropologists suggest that neolocal residence is related to the presence of __________.

A) a commercial economy
B) overpopulation
C) an egalitarian social structure
D) food collecting

Question 25

A single mother and her son, living together, would be an example of a(n) __________ family.

A) independent
B) extended
C) nuclear
D) solitary

Question 26

In societies that practice matrilineal descent, a man belongs to the same descent group as his __________.

A) sister's son
B) daughter
C) brother's daughter
D) uncle's mother

Question 27

In societies with unilineal descent, __________.

A) some very close biological relatives are excluded from one's kin group
B) all individuals who reside together are considered kin
C) the kin group rarely acts as a unit
D) no biological relatives are excluded from the kin group

Question 28

Matrilineal descent affiliates individuals with __________.

A) kin of both sexes related to them through women
B) only male kin related to them through both men and women
C) only female kin related to them through both men and women
D) kin of both sexes related to them through men

Question 29

In a matrilineal descent group, __________.

A) females rarely exercise authority in their kin groups
B) authority is passed down the line to the current female head of household
C) the elder woman makes all decisions concerning marriage and residence for the group
D) all decisions are made by a group of related women

Question 30

Which of the following is an example of an exogamous marriage tradition?

A) marrying outside of a particular kin group
B) marrying a member of your own caste
C) marrying someone from within the village
D) marrying with the intent to produce a male heir

Question 31

Whether the couple lives with the husband's or wife's kin can have important consequences for the __________.

A) status of the husband or wife
B) economic stability of the family
C) educational potential for the children
D) relationship with elderly parents

Question 32

What modern factor is making it less common for people to seek help from their kindred?

A) aid from the state
B) increasing population
C) more frequent divorce
D) smaller family size

Question 33

How are members of a lineage connected?

A) They can trace descent from a common ancestor through known links.
B) They believe themselves to be descended from a common ancestor.
C) They are related through frequent marriage between their two communities.
D) They are all members of a multi-generational, extended household.

Question 34

In what type of societies are extended-family households found most frequently?

A) sedentary agricultural economies
B) post-industrial Western societies
C) semi-nomadic herding cultures
D) traveling food collector bands

Question 35

Which of the following societies is most likely to practice bride service?

A) Native American foragers
B) African agriculturalists
C) Asian horticulturalists
D) European industrialists

Question 36

Which of the following explanations for the universality of marriage has the most support from the ethnographic record and comparative animal studies?

A) postpartum requirements
B) prolonged infant dependency
C) sexual competition
D) gender division of labor

Question 37

Depopulation is likely to change a(n) __________ system into a(n) __________ one.

A) unilineal; ambilineal
B) bilateral; unilineal
C) ambilineal; bilateral
D) bilateral; ambilineal

Question 38

In a unilineal descent system, an individual __________.

A) belongs to only one line of descent
B) belongs to two distinct lines of descent
C) may belong to multiple lines of descent
D) changes his or her line of descent several times throughout his or her life

Question 39

The U.S. custom of the bride's family paying for the wedding is most similar to which type of marital exchange?

A) dowry
B) bride service
C) bride price
D) gift exchange

Question 40

What is the prevailing family type in over half of all societies known to anthropologists?

A) extended family
B) independent family
C) nuclear family
D) solitary family

Question 41

Why does sexual competition appear to be higher among humans than other primates?

A) Unlike most other primates, human females are sexually receptive throughout the year.
B) Humans are more likely than other primates to live in multi-male, multi-female social groups.
C) Humans are particularly aggressive primates and more likely to compete through physical means.
D) There is a lower female to male ratio in human communities than in most other primate groups.

Question 42

Write a definition of marriage that would embrace all known forms of marriage recognized by anthropologists. In other words, what factors do these diverse unions have in common?

Question 43

What two major factors do all forms of marriage consider?

A) sexual and economic
B) economic and land-ownership
C) economic and kinship
D) sexual and kinship

Question 44

Which condition predicts a discouragement of romantic love as a basis for marriage?

A) the husband and wife live in an extended-family household
B) there is relatively little sexual freedom for either spouse
C) both partners are needed to make significant contributions to primary subsistence
D) one of the primary goals of marriage is to produce children

Question 45

The presence of patrilocal residence pattern can often be predicted in societies that __________.

A) frequently fight with neighboring groups, so the sons are needed close to home for defense
B) rely on women to contribute the largest portion of food to the diet
C) live in countries with commercial or money exchange systems
D) practice hunting and gathering

Question 46

Many Westerners view the practices of dowry, bride wealth, and bride service to be about "buying" a wife. Explain why this is an inaccurate description of economic marriage transactions. What is the purpose of such economic exchanges between families?

Question 47

What factor predicts male-female bonding among birds and mammals?

A) whether or not a female can simultaneously provide for herself and her babies
B) greater female sexuality and higher levels of male competition
C) an extended infant dependency period
D) a gendered division of labor between food gathering and defending a home territory

Question 48

Compare and contrast matrilocal and patrilocal residence, giving specific examples where appropriate.

Question 49

Imagine how your life might be different if unilocal-rather than neolocal-were the rule in North American society. What social trends are generally associated with these residence patterns?

Question 50

What is the primary contrast between avunculocal and matrilocal societies?

A) Avunculocal societies fight internally, while matrilocal societies fight externally.
B) Avunculocal societies fight externally, while matrilocal societies fight internally.
C) Avunculocal societies have exogamous marriage, while matrilocal societies have endogamous marriage.
D) Avunculocal societies have endogamous marriage, while matrilocal societies have exogamous marriage.

Question 51

Marital residence largely predicts the __________.

A) types of kin groups found in a society
B) average fertility rate
C) dependence on market transactions
D) style of marital exchange practiced

Question 52

Why is an ambilineal society not divided into separate kin groups, as in unilineal systems?

A) A person belongs to more than one group and cannot live in several places at once.
B) They are organized by religious group membership, rather than kin groups.
C) The number of relatives in an ambilineal society is too small to create large kin groups.
D) Intermarriage between groups makes it hard to keep track of kin groups in ambilineal systems.

Question 53

What feature of unilineal descent groups enables them to act as separate and distinct units?

A) Individual membership in a group is very clear.
B) Individuals may be members of multiple groups simultaneously.
C) The group allows for a very large unit of related individuals.
D) The group is naturally limited to a small, tightly knit unit.

Question 54

Which of the following statements is true of the relationship between family and household?

A) In simpler societies, the family and household are indistinguishable, but in more complex societies they may diverge.
B) In complex societies, the family and household are indistinguishable, but in simpler societies they may diverge.
C) In simpler societies, the family is always bigger than the household, but in more complex societies they are of comparable size.
D) In complex societies, the family is always bigger than the household, but in simpler societies they are of comparable size.

Question 55

Relate the concept of the extended family to the different forms of marriage discussed in the chapter (monogamy, polygyny, and polyandry). What might an extended family look like in each of these marital systems?