Question 1

What do anthropologists mean when they say culture is shared?

Accepted Answer

Anthropologists emphasize that culture is shared among members of a group or society, rather than being solely attributed to individual people. Culture is learned and transmitted through social interactions, and shapes how individuals within a group think, behave, and communicate.

Question 2

The incest taboo is a cultural universal, but

Accepted Answer

The definition of what constitutes incest varies widely across cultures. While the incest taboo exists in every known society, the specific restrictions and definitions of incest vary greatly. For example, some cultures prohibit marriage between the children of siblings, while others prohibit marriage between cousins.

Question 3

Which of the following statements about enculturation is NOT true?

Accepted Answer

Enculturation refers to the process by which individuals learn and internalize the cultural traditions of their society or culture. Option D describes acculturation, which refers to the exchange of cultural features between different groups.

Question 4

Since the 1970s, many anthropologists have done research among the Ariaal, a nomadic community of northern Kenya. Just as anthropologists have studied many aspects of this community's culture, the Ariaal have formed opinions based on observation of their visitors. For example, they note how anthropologists

Accepted Answer

The passage specifically mentions that the Ariaal have noted how anthropologists "slather white liquid on their very white skin to protect them from the sun, and often favor short pants that show off their legs and boots." This indicates that the Ariaal have observed the physical appearance and behavior of the anthropologists.

Question 5

What process is most responsible for the existence of international culture?

Accepted Answer

Cultural diffusion, whether direct, indirect, or by force, is the process by which culture spreads from one group to another. It is responsible for the existence of international culture as it leads to the sharing of ideas, beliefs, and practices across national and cultural boundaries. Cultural diffusion can occur through various means such as trade, migration, tourism, and media, and it contributes to the development of a global culture that is influenced by different cultures from around the world.

Question 6

People have to eat, but culture teaches us what, when, and how to do so. This is an example of how

Accepted Answer

The statement recognizes the importance of biological needs, but also emphasizes how culture shapes our behavior and attitudes towards those needs. Therefore, choice A, which highlights the teaching function of culture, is the best option. The other choices do not fully capture the complex interplay between biology and culture.

Question 7

Anthropologist Clifford Geertz defined culture as ideas based on cultural learning and symbols. For anthropologist Leslie White, culture originated when our ancestors acquired the ability to use symbols. What is a symbol? It is

Accepted Answer

A symbol is something that represents or stands for something else, but there is no necessary or natural connection between the symbol and the thing it represents. It is a cultural construct that is learned and passed down through generations.

Question 8

Culture

Accepted Answer

Culture is acquired by humans as members of society through the process of enculturation. It is not exclusive to the elite and is not being destroyed by electronic media. Nonhuman primates may have had some rudimentary forms of culture, but it is not believed to have developed 10,000 years ago. The development of culture can vary among different societies and is not necessarily more developed in industrial nations compared to hunter-gatherer societies.

Question 9

There are two meanings of globalization: globalization as fact and process, and globalization as ideology and contested policy. What is the primary and neutral meaning of globalization as is applicable to anthropology?

Accepted Answer

The primary and neutral meaning of globalization as applicable to anthropology is the spread and connectedness of production, communication, and technologies across the world. This definition focuses on the objective and observable phenomena of globalization as a process of interconnectedness and does not imply a value judgment or political stance.

Question 10

Which of the following is a cultural generality?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Which of the following is a cultural...

Question 11

Why does this chapter on culture include a section that describes similarities and differences between humans and apes, our closest relatives?

Accepted Answer

The section on similarities and differences between humans and apes emphasizes culture's evolutionary basis and how it has been shaped by our ancestors over time.

Question 12

What are cultural particularities?

Accepted Answer

Cultural particularities refer to traits that are unique to a given culture and are not shared with others. They are specific aspects of a culture that differentiate it from others, and are often deeply ingrained in the customs, beliefs, and values of that culture.

Question 13

People in the United States sometimes have trouble understanding the power of culture because of the value that American culture places on the idea of the individual. Yet in American culture

Accepted Answer

The statement highlights that individualism is a distinctive shared value in American culture, which means it is a feature of the culture as a whole and not limited to a specific group or segment of the population.

Question 14

All of the following are evidence of the tendency to view culture as a process EXCEPT

Accepted Answer

Analysis that attempts to establish boundaries between cultures is not evidence of the tendency to view culture as a process, but rather as a fixed entity with clear boundaries. The other answer choices all reflect a processual understanding of culture.

Question 15

What does it mean to say that humans use culture instrumentally?

Accepted Answer

To say that humans use culture instrumentally means that culture is used as a means to an end, specifically to fulfill basic biological needs for survival and reproduction.

Question 16

Anthropologists agree that cultural learning is uniquely elaborated among humans and that all humans have culture. They also accept a doctrine designated in the 19ᵗʰ century as the "psychic unity of man." What does this doctrine mean?

Accepted Answer

The doctrine of psychic unity of man means that all human populations have equivalent capacities for culture, despite individual differences in emotional and intellectual capacities. This concept suggests that all humans have the ability to learn and create culture, regardless of individual differences in traits such as intelligence or creativity.

Question 17

Culture can be adaptive or maladaptive. It is maladaptive when

Accepted Answer

Maladaptive culture is one that threatens a group's continued survival and reproduction, putting its very existence at risk. This can happen when cultural traits, patterns, and inventions are not supportive of the group's needs and goals, or when they lead to harmful behaviors that diminish the fitness of individuals or the group as a whole. Therefore, option E is the best choice.

Question 18

The human capacity for culture has an evolutionary basis that extends back at least 2.5 million years. This date corresponds to

Accepted Answer

The earliest toolmakers whose products survive in the archaeological record date back to at least 2.5 million years ago, indicating the beginning of human cultural evolution.

Question 19

Which of the following LEAST explains the existence of cultural generalities?

Accepted Answer

Isolationism refers to the deliberate separation and restriction of contacts between cultures, which would actually hinder the spread of cultural generalities. The other options (A, B, C, and E) involve contact and interaction between cultures, which can lead to the adoption and spread of certain cultural traits and practices across different societies.

Question 20

Many human traits reflect the fact that our primate ancestors lived in trees. These traits include all of the following EXCEPT

Accepted Answer

Echolocation is a trait found in certain species of bats and marine mammals, but not in primates. The other traits listed are all adaptations to living in trees that are found in primates.

Quiz 2: Culture