Deck 8: Political and Legal Systems

Question 1

Formal taxation most characterizes which form of political organization?

A)tribe
B)band
C)state
D)chiefdom
E)all of the above: all forms of political organization must be able to raise resources from their people

Answer 1

state

Question 2

The historical view of high rates of violence among the Yanomami emphasizes

A)the unbalanced sex ratio (scarcity of women) as a motivation for conflict.
B)how high rates of warfare are a response to "protein hunger."
C)the role of the increased presence of Westerners in the region.
D)its adaptive role in keeping population growth rates down.
E)how such warfare has increased the biological adaptiveness of the population by favoring the reproduction of strong males.

Answer 2

the role of the increased presence of Westerners in the region.

Question 3

In terms of traditional political organization, pastoralism is most associated with

A)a state-level form of government.
B)a tribal or chiefdom model of political organization.
C)band organization.
D)big-woman politics.
E)no formal leadership.

Answer 3

a tribal or chiefdom model of political organization.

Question 4

The use of a physically painful procedure for determining guilt or innocence is called

A)jury trial.
B)trial of endurance.
C)trial by ordeal.
D)feuding.
E)informal social control.

Question 5

Cultural anthropologists who focus on revealing how legal systems discriminate against certain groups are referred to as

A)applied anthropologists.
B)clinical legal anthropologists.
C)critical legal anthropologists.
D)legal pluralists.
E)all of the above.

Question 6

A big-man's position depends on

A)his personality.
B)his generosity.
C)many supporters working on his behalf.
D)having at least one wife.
E)all of the above.

Question 7

Moka is associated with which form of political organization?

A)bands
B)tribes
C)chiefdoms
D)big-man/big-woman systems
E)emerging nations

Question 8

The category of big-man/big-woman leadership is most characteristic of which cultural region?

A)Central America
B)Middle East
C)mainland Southeast Asia
D)Melanesia and the South Pacific
E)Japan

Question 9

The subfield of anthropology that addresses issues of social order and conflict resolution cross-culturally is called

A)political anthropology.
B)legal anthropology.
C)critical anthropology.
D)organizational anthropology.
E)social anthropology.

Question 10

In the tribal form of political organizations, leadership tends to be based on

A)heredity.
B)physical strength.
C)achievement.
D)luck.
E)ascribed status.

Question 11

Social control in small-scale societies is centered around

A)maintenance of social relationships.
B)norms.
C)informal enforcement.
D)the use of personalized mechanisms such as gossip or shunning.
E)all of the above.

Question 12

According to the textbook, a nation is a group of people who share a

A)language.
B)culture.
C)territorial base.
D)political organization.
E) all of the above.

Question 13

The biological determinist (or Darwinian) view explains high rates of warfare among the Yanomami by emphasizing

A)how warfare contributes to land acquisition and higher nutritional status of the winners.
B)women's role in starting wars through their demand for meat.
C)that successful warriors have more wives and thus have greater "reproductive success" than other men.
D)the role of meat availability in regulating nutritional status and group size.
E)all of the above.

Question 14

Leadership in bands is

A)informal.
B)restricted to men.
C)based on a person's greater access to material resources.
D)symbolized by elaborate armbands and necklaces.
E)linked to the ability to go into trance.

Question 15

The sides in a sectarian conflict are based on differences of

A) political system.
B) ascribed status.
C) religion.
D) "race."
E) language.

Question 16

The leader of a band

A)usually gets his title from his mother.
B)forces band members to follow his directions with song contests.
C)is distinguished by certain privileges and property.
D)is "first among equals."
E)sponsors lavish feasts.

Question 17

The form of political organization called the state is characterized by

A)a standing army.
B)control of information (propaganda).
C)a way of maintaining demographic records about its citizens.
D)its ability to define citizenship.
E)all of the above.

Question 18

An example of a political confederacy is

A)pre-colonial Hawai'i.
B)the Cherokee.
C)the Iroquois.
D)the Algonquins.
E)all of the above.

Question 19

Despite Carneiro's views, cultural anthropologists have shown that war is

A)inevitable.
B)necessary.
C)not a cultural universal.
D)part of evolution.
E)all of the above.

Question 20

A band is a form of political organization associated with

A)pastoralists.
B)horticulturists.
C)foragers.
D)agriculturalists.
E)industrialists.

Question 21

Anthropologist Robert Carneiro is pessimistic about the future of world peace and about anthropology's ability to contribute to world peace.

Question 22

While there are many examples of women leaders in states, anthropologists have found no examples of women leaders in other forms of political organization.

Question 23

The major religion of people of the Central Asian states is

A)Buddhism.
B)Islam.
C)Confucianism.
D)Christianity.
E)none of the above: the people mainly follow localized tribal traditions.

Question 24

Capital punishment is most commonly used in tribal forms of political organization.

Question 25

The use of prisons to punish people emerged only with the state.

Question 26

Prisons are the oldest form of social control.

Question 27

A big man's leadership position depends on, among other factors, the productivity of his wife or wives.

Question 28

The form of political organization typically found among horticulturalists is the band.

Question 29

The Kurds are an example of an ethnic group that seeks to form a separate nation.

Question 30

Japan's crime rate is lower than the United States' crime rate.

Question 31

High levels of interpersonal lethal violence are cross-culturally universal.

Question 32

The country of __________ imprisons more people than any other country in the world.

A)Russia
B)United States
C)Japan
D)France
E)Mexico

Question 33

Band leaders have authority and influence but no power.

Question 34

In large-scale societies, punishment is often legitimized through supernatural forces and their ability to affect people.

Question 35

Only 5 modern states are currently dominated by female leadership.

Question 36

Big-man and big-woman leadership is most closely associated with a form of exchange called redistribution.

Question 37

Influence refers to a way of gaining a desired end without the use of force.

Question 38

An example of a society with tribal political organization is the Kayapo.

Question 39

Traditionally, most Kurds are farmers.

Question 40

In the premodern period, warfare was a more effective way to gain domination over new regions than it is now.

Question 41

What is a major difference between a band organization and a big-man or big-woman political organization?

Question 42

The maintenance of a full-time, standing army is a characteristic of the form of political organization known as the __________.

Question 43

The number of people in prison per 100,000 people in a country is referred to as the __________.

Question 44

The economy of Puerto Rico is based on __________.

Question 45

The band form of organization most characterizes the __________ mode of livelihood.

Question 46

A policy of ethical behavior on the part of private commercial entities is called __________.

Question 47

Discuss who are the Kurds, their current situation of the Kurds, and the challenges they are facing.

Question 48

In England and France, a disproportionate number of prisoners are Muslims.

Question 49

Stuart Kirsch advocated on behalf of an indigenous community in __________.

Question 50

An example of a culture with an internalized system of social control that operates through interpersonal and group pressure is __________.

Question 51

Kurds have faced political repression in Iraq and __________.

Question 52

Because more than half of the "nation" of Puerto Rico lives outside the home island, most Puerto Ricans have a __________ identity.

Question 53

In the United States, southern states have higher rates of incarceration (imprisonment) than northern states.

Question 54

Discuss two differences between the political organization of bands and states.

Question 55

In contrast to laws that are formal and written, __________ are unwritten and informal understandings about proper behavior.

Question 56

While some people argue that the Iroquois were a matriarchy, it is more likely that gender __________ characterized political leadership and decision-making.

Question 57

The main religion of the Central Asian States is __________.

Question 58

An example discussed in the textbook of a social group that cultural anthropologists have shown to be discriminated against by legal systems is __________.

Question 59

__________ is the term for the ability to use force in order to bring about results.

Question 60

Australia's juvenile justice system is an example of a legal system that has managed to avoid discrimination against Aboriginal peoples.

Question 61

What are key features of Kurdish culture and what challenges are they experiencing today?

Question 62

What does Benedict Anderson's concept of "imagined communities" mean and what are three examples of how states attempt to create a sense of political unity from diversity?

Question 63

Discuss an example of findings of critical legal anthropologists.

Question 64

Define a norm and a law and give an example of each.

Question 65

Summarize each side of the debate over whether anthropologists should advocate on behalf of the communities studied.

Question 66

What is the anthropological definition of warfare?

Question 67

Describe trial by ordeal and compare it with the court system/trial by jury.

Question 68

Using examples from the text, discuss the possibility that the democratization process could be impaired by local political traditions based on kinship and patronage.

Question 69

What is the subject matter of legal anthropology?

Question 70

Discuss how social inequality affects the legal system for youth in Australia.

Question 71

Summarize what anthropologists know about women's roles in political leadership in bands, tribes, chiefdoms and states. Discuss two ethnographic examples.

Question 72

Describe the global-local category of social conflict and provide an example from the text.

Question 73

Discuss how modes of livelihood relate to forms of political organization