Question 1

During the 1950s and 1960s, the FBI maintained surveillance records on dozens of anthropologists suspected of left-wing political leanings.

Accepted Answer

This is true. As part of its counterintelligence program, the FBI kept watch on many individuals and groups that it deemed potentially subversive, including anthropologists who were thought to have connections to leftist or communist organizations.

Question 2

Boas argued that geographical regions were associated with certain types of cultures only because the boundaries of those regions (mountains, rivers, coasts) limited the ability of cultural practices to diffuse from one region to another.

Accepted Answer

Boas believed that geographical barriers limited the diffusion of cultural practices, leading to distinct cultures within certain regions.

Question 3

Boas acquired the idea of culture areas from museum displays, which had always organized cultural artifacts by geographical regions.

Accepted Answer

False

Question 4

A.L. Kroeber's doctrine of possibilism suggested that within a given region only a single kind of cultural adaptation was possible.

Accepted Answer

A.L. Kroeber's doctrine of possibilism suggested that within a given region multiple cultural adaptations were possible, depending on the resources and environmental conditions.

Question 5

Julian Steward's 1936 article on Great Basin hunter-gatherers was the first application of a materialist theory to explain the characteristics of a specific culture, although it is now recognized as having reached erroneous conclusions about hunter-gatherer kinship and social organization.

Accepted Answer

Julian Steward's 1936 article on Great Basin hunter-gatherers is recognized as the first application of a materialist theory to explain the characteristics of a specific culture. However, it is now understood that Steward reached erroneous conclusions about hunter-gatherer kinship and social organization in his work.

Question 6

Anthropologists now recognize that the nutritional hardship that Steward attributed to hunter-gatherers like the Shoshone was largely the result of white contact and resulting loss of territory.

Accepted Answer

Anthropologists today understand that the nutritional difficulties experienced by hunter-gatherers like the Shoshone were primarily the result of the loss of their land and culture due to white colonization and contact, rather than inherent flaws in their lifestyle.

Question 7

Although hunter-gatherers work less than people in the United States, the advent of "labor-saving" technology since the 1950s has reduced the work week for Americans by nearly one full day.

Accepted Answer

Despite the introduction of "labor-saving" technology, the average work week for Americans has not been significantly reduced by nearly one full day since the 1950s; in fact, in many cases, work hours have increased or remained relatively stable due to various economic and social factors.

Question 8

Leslie White divided cultures into "technological," "sociological," and "ideological" levels that basically corresponded to Marx's three-part division of societies.

Accepted Answer

Leslie White's three-part division of cultures corresponds to Marx's three-part division of societies.

Question 9

Leslie White's contention that "culture evolves as the efficiency of energy capture increases" is borne out by Johnson's data on the relationship between energy input and output in hunter-gatherer, horticultural, and intensive agricultural societies.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Leslie White's contention that "culture evolves as...

Question 10

Economist Ester Boserup argued that people would only opt for intensified food production if they were forced to-either by increasing population or the demands of a dominant class of tribute-takers.

Accepted Answer

Ester Boserup theorized that agricultural intensification, meaning the increase in agricultural production per unit of inputs (which could include labor, land, time, fertilizer, etc.), occurs not out of a desire for improvements but out of necessity, often driven by population pressure or the demands of a ruling class. Her work contrasts with the Malthusian theory by suggesting that population growth can be a driver of technological progress and increased food production.

Quiz 11: Evolution Redux