Deck 11: Politics, Warfare, and Law

Question 1

Unlike the political organization of tribes and bands, chiefdom political structures are well-defined, corporate entities.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

Nationalism is a strong sense of loyalty to a nation-state based on shared language, values, and culture.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

Nationalistic wars are usually waged for ideological rather than economic reasons.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

Tribal societies rely on both formal courts and lawyers for internal conflict resolution.

Question 5

Adjudication of legal disputes in chiefdom societies was a major responsibility of the chief.

Question 6

A segmentary lineage system is made up of several maximal and minimal lineages that can unite to form alliances and resolve disputes through what is called complementary opposition.

Question 7

Anthropologists are interested in understanding how biological, environmental, economic, social, and other cultural variables influence warfare and feuds.

Question 8

Leaders of bands are usually males who are elected by majority vote and rule by coercion and intimidation.

Question 9

One way of resolving disputes in tribal societies is to force an individual accused of a crime to submit to a physical ordeal.

Question 10

As in U.S. politics, there is much prestige, wealth, and power associated with being a leader in a foraging society.

Question 11

States differ structurally from bands, tribes, and chiefdoms by having a bureaucratic or governmental organization.

Question 12

Technological advances in warfare during World War I led to a reduction in fatalities.

Question 13

Since Japan is a homogeneous society, there is less need for litigation than in the United States.

Question 14

The first codified laws originated in the Near Eastern civilization of Babylon.

Question 15

Anthropologists agree that a universal instinct for aggression is characteristic of the human species.

Question 16

Internalized norms based on a society's ethos are always followed.

Question 17

Social control in foraging societies is maintained by a standing police force that wields so much power that most individuals simply do not even think about committing a crime.

Question 18

The legal systems in Japan, Europe, and the United States are essentially the same because they arose from the common problems faced by all industrial states.

Question 19

Using a sociobiological model, anthropologist William Durham has suggested that tribal warfare is an adaptive reproductive strategy that increases inclusive fitness at the tribal level when groups are in competition.

Question 20

In contrast to leaders in band societies, tribal leaders are able to wield power through coercion and the formal authority that is vested in their office.

Question 21

Which of the following is a type of sodality?

A) an agglomeration of houses belonging to members of a single clan
B) a marriage arrangement between two moieties
C) a pact of non-aggression among neighboring tribes
D) an association of individuals that cuts across kinship groups

Question 22

Ethnologist Leopold Pospisil has suggested that there are four criteria that must be present in order for a norm to be considered a law. Which of the following is one of these criteria?

A) internalization
B) intention of universal application
C) ethical reasonableness
D) written form

Question 23

Which of the following helps reduce conflict in foraging societies?

A) a formal court system
B) the flexibility of group composition
C) lower fertility rates and smaller populations
D) beliefs in divine punishments

Question 24

Archaeologist Timothy Earle suggests that the key factor in the evolution of chiefdoms was which of the following?

A) regional symbiosis managed by descent groups
B) ceremonial trade and regional religious beliefs
C) control by individuals over resources and human labor
D) the storage and redistribution of food

Question 25

Through the control of resources and surplus goods, chiefs were able to ensure loyalty and deference from the general population. This status and authority enabled the chiefs to do which of the following?

A) collect formal tribute from their subjects
B) distribute land and water rights to certain families
C) own armies of slaves
D) maintain absolute power over their subjects

Question 26

The settling of legal disputes by a centralized authority is known as __________.

A) big-man leadership
B) litigation
C) totalitarianism
D) adjudication

Question 27

How can big men in Melanesia gain the allegiance of followers?

A) impress them by sponsoring a feast of pig meat from his family's herd
B) conquer them in battle, take them captive, and then provide them with freedom
C) demonstrate sacred knowledge by reciting long epic poems about ocean voyages
D) provide them with gifts of sheep, goats, and heavy wool textiles

Question 28

Which of the following is a characteristic of societies organized as bands and tribes?

A) highly structured and efficient political organizations
B) the absence of political organizations, only kinship groupings
C) decentralized political systems in which authority is vested among a number of individuals, groups, and associations
D) acephalus political organizations

Question 29

By ensuring that the whole group will prevent a single individual from being politically dominant or from exercising undue coercive powers, reverse dominance accomplishes which of the following?

A) causes bands to be unstable political units that often fission without warning
B) reinforces patterns of egalitarianism intrinsic to band-level societies
C) makes it impossible for a band leader to make any changes that might benefit the group
D) makes it extremely difficult for bands to find anyone who will assume a leadership role

Question 30

Since band societies are egalitarian, the leaders of bands must do which of the following?

A) lead by personal influence and persuasion rather than coercion
B) lead by strictly obeying the rules and laws set down by the band council
C) use force and physical threats to achieve political power
D) employ and maintain a military or police force that enforces the customs and laws

Question 31

In tribal societies, how are disputes and conflicts usually resolved?

A) by skilled individuals who function as mediators or negotiators
B) by formal judgments passed by a tribal council
C) by aggressive and violent behavior, often resulting in death
D) by participation in games of chance

Question 32

Clearly defined norms of a society that are enforced through the application of formal sanctions by a ruling authority are called __________.

A) internalized mores
B) ethos
C) laws
D) taboos

Question 33

How does the village headman of Yanomamö accomplish his role as a leader?

A) by example and persuasion rather than by coercion
B) with authority backed by loyal warriors
C) through the exaction of tribute from subjugated villages
D) via a bureaucratic elite composed of his wives and kinsmen

Question 34

In chiefdoms, the rule of primogeniture in the succession of political authority does which of the following?

A) provides for continuity for the political system and avoids a power struggle when the chief dies
B) enhances the prestige of the king
C) encourages power struggles within the central chiefly hierarchy
D) promotes a cycle of regional conflicts and warfare

Question 35

Which of the following is a form of tribal political organization that is based on multiple descent groups that are interrelated and serve certain political functions?

A) a segmentary lineage system
B) a fragmented descent pattern
C) a maximal moiety system
D) a divided descent group configuration

Question 36

According to anthropologist Robert Carneiro, the objective of many chiefs was to do which of the following?

A) increase the extent of their territory in order to control the surplus production of surrounding communities
B) maintain the peace with their neighbors in order to avoid armed conflict
C) become full-time religious leaders and use impressive rites and rituals to prove that they were gods
D) disencumber themselves of material possessions and incur debts of personal obligations from their followers through potlatch-like ceremonies

Question 37

What is one of the most significant causes of warfare among tribal horticulturalist societies?

A) revenge for homicides and other crimes
B) competition for potential wives
C) conflicts over ideological differences
D) acquisition of land

Question 38

Which of the following is characteristic of political structures among chiefdoms?

A) Leadership is vested in an institutionalized office that exists independently of a particular person.
B) The central leadership position is earned rather than passed down within a single ruling family.
C) Leaders maintain absolute authority, usually enforced by physical coercion.
D) Political power derives from personal qualities, such as intelligence or skill, rather than economic success.

Question 39

In Hawaiian chiefdoms, warfare between rival chiefs culminated in which of the following?

A) sacrifice of the losing ruling descent group
B) complete disruption of the political structure of the losing chiefdom
C) intermarriage between the winning and losing descent groups
D) the erection of monuments to delineate new territories

Question 40

Based on standardized procedures for dealing with civil and criminal offenses, the first known code of law was the __________.

A) Laws of Babylon
B) Precepts of Order
C) Code of Hammurabi
D) Civil Enactments of Order

Question 41

Which of the following best conveys the meaning of "popular sovereignty"?

A) Kings and queens should retain ultimate political power.
B) People, rather than rulers, are the ultimate source of political authority.
C) Monarchy positions should be elected rather than inherited.
D) Political power should be vested in the elite and upper classes, rather than the lower classes.

Question 42

What are codified laws? How do they differ from other social controls? How and why do anthropologists think they evolved?

Question 43

A sense of loyalty to the nation-state based on shared language, values, and culture is called __________.

A) ethnicity
B) nationalism
C) statehood
D) popular sovereignty

Question 44

Explain why many traditional Polynesian societies are characterized as chiefdoms and not tribes or bands. Use specific details to support your answer.

Question 45

What is the difference between legitimate and illegitimate political power? Give an example of each.

Question 46

What are the ways that a person can become chief in a chiefdom? What are the responsibilities of a chief? What are the limitations of a chief's power?

Question 47

Anthropologists have varying opinions on whether or not __________ contribute(s) to warfare among the Yanomamö.

A) competition over women
B) religious and moral convictions
C) higher levels of hormones associated with aggression
D) limited protein resources

Question 48

A type of state that rules on the basis of religious authority is known as a __________.

A) galactic polity
B) radial polity
C) theater state
D) feudal state

Question 49

What aspects of political organization were instrumental in the development of agricultural states? Cite specific evidence to support your answer.

Question 50

What does the process of complementary opposition achieve in tribal societies?

A) the reduction of overall conflict through a sense of shared goals
B) joint leadership of the community through parallel kinship networks
C) the formation of alliances to resolve specific conflicts without creating a permanent, centralized leadership
D) the resolution of conflict without resorting to violence

Question 51

The Azande use which of the following to help determine guilt and innocence in criminal cases?

A) oracles
B) ordeals
C) oaths
D) legal officials

Question 52

What forms of political organization are found in horticulturalist and pastoralist societies? What are some of the reasons that have been offered to explain these types of organization? How do they differ from those found in foraging groups?

Question 53

Which of the following are used by Eskimo to resolve disputes?

A) song duels and wrestling matches
B) poetry contests and foot races
C) sled races and ice-fishing contests
D) cold weather ordeals and kayak races

Question 54

How has technology altered the practice of warfare? Compare and contrast warfare in industrial and postindustrial societies with earlier forms of warfare.

Question 55

Paramount chiefs in Hawaiian society were responsible for ruling at the __________ level.

A) descent group
B) island
C) district
D) national

Question 56

Compare and contrast the theories presented by Elman Service and Timothy Earle on the evolution of chiefdoms. What are the key points on which they differ? Given your understanding of chiefdoms, which theory do you prefer and why?

Question 57

Let us assume that the United States has just invaded Haiti and has installed a new government on the island. Will everyone in Haiti consider the new government to be a legitimate one or an illegitimate one? Why?

Question 58

One of the most distinctive features of law in industrial societies is the proliferation of public and procedural law, referred to as __________.

A) tort law
B) administrative law
C) habeas corpus
D) litigation law

Question 59

Explain the segmentary lineage system and complementary opposition. Do you see any adaptive significance in this form of political organization?

Question 60

Which of the following is a characteristic of the Chinese legal system?

A) a system of magistrates with limited jurisdiction
B) absence of a legal code until recent times
C) a strong police force
D) the informal administration of sanctions by community leaders