Deck 20: Kinship and Descent

Question 1

A young man of Jewish affiliation moves to New York City to find a job.Seeing no reason to "go it alone," he calls everyone he knows from both his mother's and father's side of the family,and attends various meetings to which he is invited.He is invited to multiple events and gatherings by virtue of his being related to various ancestors on both parents' side.These groups support him when he runs out of money and help him find an apartment and a job.We can say that he is a member of either a bilateral descent group or which of the following?

A)Patrilineal
B)Matrilineal
C)Unilineal
D)Cognatic
E)Ambilineal

Answer 1

Ambilineal

Question 2

Among the Hopi,which of the following functions as a landholding corporation,allocating land for the support of member households?

A)Lineages
B)Phratries
C)Moieties
D)Extended families
E)Clans

Answer 2

Lineages

Question 3

Among the Han,brothers and their sons were part of the same household and paternal uncles were like second fathers.What type of descent is this?

A)Neolocal
B)Kindred
C)Patrilineal
D)Matrilineal
E)Bilateral

Answer 3

Patrilineal

Question 4

If you are a member of a patrilineal descent group:

A)descent is traced exclusively through females.
B)your sisters belong to the same patrilineal descent group that you do.
C)your mother's brothers are members of your descent group.
D)your brothers belong to the same descent group but your sisters do not.
E)you do not publicly recognize your mother.

Question 5

When kinship membership is traced either through males or through females but not both,it is called:

A)bilateral.
B)unilineal.
C)patrilineal.
D)ambilineal.
E)matrilineal.

Question 6

Descent groups are associated with all of the following except:

A)they provide social security for the elderly members.
B)they promote harmony through worship of ancestors.
C)they play a role in arranging marriages for members.
D)they make all laws for the state.
E)they are economic units providing aid.

Question 7

Matrilineal descent groups are associated with farming societies in which__________________performs most of the labor in the house and gardens.

A)men
B)women
C)women's brothers
D)children
E)hired workers

Question 8

An extended unilineal descent group whose members claim descent from a common ancestor but who cannot trace their genealogical links to that ancestor is called a(n):

A)family.
B)totem.
C)lineage.
D)kindred.
E)clan.

Question 9

Among the Yako of Nigeria,an individual might inherit grazing lands from his father's patrilineal group,and livestock and ritual knowledge from his mother's matrilineal group.This is an example of which kind of descent?

A)Ambilineal
B)Bilocal
C)Patrilateral
D)Matrilineal
E)Double

Question 10

A clan is similar to a lineage except:

A)a clan has fewer people.
B)clan members are unable to trace exact genealogical links to their common ancestor.
C)clans are more likely to hold tangible property corporately.
D)clans are exogamous whereas lineages are endogamous.
E)clans are patrilocal whereas lineages are matrilocal.

Question 11

You belong to a patrilineal descent group.Which of the following belong(s)to the same group?

A)Your mother
B)Your father's sister
C)Your mother's sister
D)Your mother's father
E)Your father's sister's children

Question 12

All of the following statements about Han genealogy are correct except:

A)the tsu is a corporate kin group that traces its ancestry back about five generations through the female line.
B)the tsu functions as an economic and political unit that manages its own members.
C)Han women have absolutely no claims on their fathers' heritable property.
D)because of the genealogical depth of the tsu,individuals who have the same surname should not marry each other.
E)although a woman belongs to her father's tsu,she is practically absorbed by her husband's.

Question 13

In the Biocultural Connection box Maori Origins,what was the focus of the research on the Maori people?

A)Studying migration patterns of the first peoples to inhabit North America
B)Creating lineage divisions based on DNA samples
C)Connecting mitochondrial DNA with the Australian aborigines
D)Connecting DNA types with the people's origin myths
E)Sequencing DNA in order to type for potential diseases in this ethnic group

Question 14

All of the following are types of descent except:

A)moiety.
B)phratry.
C)lineage.
D)clan.
E)institution.

Question 15

A network of relatives within which individuals possess certain mutual rights and obligations is called:

A)kinship.
B)descent.
C)relative network.
D)social network.
E)affinal relationships.

Question 16

A boy is born into a society that practices matrilineal descent.The person who exercises authority over him is his:

A)sister.
B)father.
C)mother.
D)mother's brother.
E)father's brother.

Question 17

All of the following statements regarding a lineage are correct except:

A)it always involves a totem.
B)it is part of unilineal descent.
C)it is kinship that can be traced directly to an ancestor.
D)it has a genealogical depth of 4-6 generations.
E)it is found in both matrilineal and patrilineal groups.

Question 18

Which of the following is not a Maori cultural concept?

A)Waka
B)Iwi
C)Mauri
D)Namus
E)Tapu

Question 19

Mitochondrial DNA and Y chromosome studies of the Maori indicate that their creation myth telling of their origins from the ancient place of Hawaiki is consistent with an origin in:

A)India and Central Asia.
B)Morocco and northern Africa.
C)Polynesia and Southeast Asia region.
D)Australia.
E)North America.

Question 20

In what country do we find aboriginal Maori people?

A)Argentina
B)Canada
C)Australia
D)Tasmania
E)New Zealand

Question 21

The splitting of a descent group into two or more entities is called:

A)fusion.
B)fraction.
C)fission.
D)code switching.
E)delineation.

Question 22

Bilateral descent is commonly found among all of the following except:

A)postindustrial societies.
B)agricultural societies.
C)tribal societies.
D)industrial societies.
E)foraging societies.

Question 23

North Americans assume that they are related equally to the relatives on both the mother's and father's side.The group composed of such people to whom these individuals feel that they belong is called what kind of descent group?

A)Ambilineal
B)Double
C)Bilateral
D)Patrilineal
E)Matrilineal

Question 24

New reproductive technologies are:

A)dangerous,as they involve cloning.
B)the preferred form of reproduction in the United States.
C)not accepted in the United States.
D)less important today than 20 years ago.
E)changing the traditional understandings of kinship.

Question 25

The Hawaiian system of kinship terminology is usually associated with what type of descent?

A)Patrilineal
B)Matrilineal
C)Unilineal
D)Avunculineal
E)Ambilineal

Question 26

Members of a moiety:

A)belong to one of two major descent groups in a society.
B)are those who are divorced (they lack their "better half").
C)are usually able to trace their exact genealogical links to their common ancestor.
D)feel a much stronger feeling of kinship than is felt by members of a lineage or clan.
E)belong to a group that is smaller than a lineage.

Question 27

If two people are given the same kinship term,this means that:

A)they have the same genes.
B)no one can tell the difference between them.
C)they occupy a similar family status.
D)they are identical twins.
E)they are members of an adopted family.

Question 28

The Turkish honor killings that van Eck studied were occurring in which country?

A)Denmark
B)Sweden
C)France
D)Netherlands
E)Canada

Question 29

In kinship studies,EGO refers to:

A)the whole clan.
B)the center of a kindred.
C)moiety.
D)an entire lineage.
E)a person without immediate family.

Question 30

What was the primary purpose of advocacy anthropology among the Micmac?

A)To help the Micmac find jobs and get off welfare
B)To help with community relations after a series of honor killings
C)To help improve health conditions among the people
D)To help them expand their land-holdings for resource exploitation
E)To help them obtain official tribal recognition

Question 31

A totem is all of the following except:

A)a word that comes from the Ojibwa American Indian word which means "he is a relative of mine."
B)a symbol of animals,plants,natural forces,and objects.
C)usually associated with a clan's concept of its mythical origins.
D)found in our own society in the names we give to baseball and football teams.
E)found in all societies that have lineages.

Question 32

Approximately how many Micmacs are members of the Aroostook band today,according to official criteria?

A)100
B)1,200
C)1,500
D)3,700
E)7,000

Question 33

What are honor killings?

A)Murder condoned by the genealogical group in order to retaliate for shame of unapproved sexual activity
B)Murder against the genealogical group by those who wish to take its women and other possessions
C)Public shaming of individuals who have engaged in adulterous activities;this usually consists of verbal insults and flogging
D)Also called namus,this is the process of adapting to foreign cultures and giving up one's connection to ancestor worship
E)Historical feuds between lineages that last for more than four generations

Question 34

In which kinship terminology are ego's "brother" and "sister" distinguished from "cousins" and both father's brother and mother's brother are given the same kinship term,"uncle"?

A)Eskimo
B)Iroquois
C)Hawaiian
D)Crow
E)Omaha

Question 35

A phratry is a unilineal descent group composed of two or more__________________that believe they are related to each other.

A)moieties
B)totems
C)kindred
D)lineages
E)clans

Question 36

Namus is another name for:

A)Russian lineages.
B)French clans.
C)Turkish honor.
D)Hispanic migratory patterns.
E)Polish social networks based on totems.

Question 37

In__________________kinship terminology,the term "brother" is given to ego's brother,father's brother's son, and mother's sister's song;a different term is used for the sons of father's sister and mother's brother."Mother" refers to ego's mother and mother's sister;"father" refers to ego's father and father's brother.Separate terms are used for mother's brother and father's sister.

A)Eskimo
B)Hawaiian
C)Iroquois
D)unilineal descent
E)kindred

Question 38

Clans,because they may have members living in many different villages,depend on__________________to provide symbolic identification and promote solidarity.

A)totems
B)signs
C)promises
D)treaties
E)feasts

Question 39

Which anthropologist worked with the Aroostook band of Micmacs in Maine?

A)Alan Kolata
B)Clementine van Eck
C)Fred Plog
D)Weston LaBarre
E)Harald Prins

Question 40

Through what practice do lineages develop new alliances within the larger social system?

A)Exogamy
B)Endogamy
C)Ancestor worship
D)Totemism
E)Fusion

Question 41

Alternative means of reproduction are forms of new reproductive technologies.

Question 42

The Hawaiian form of kinship is the least complex.

Question 43

Matrilineal societies are matriarchal-that is,women have the primary authority.

Question 44

The Han in China have a patrilineal descent system that is very much a "man's world."

Question 45

Compadrazgo is a form of ritualized adoption.

Question 46

A moiety is a larger group than a phratry.

Question 47

Another name for kindred is "the relatives."

Question 48

Unilineal descent means that relatives are traced on either the male or female side only.

Question 49

Kindred and bilateral descent can be used interchangeably since they mean the same thing.

Question 50

Whatever descent system is used,the kin of both mother and father are important to the social structure of every society.

Question 51

Totemism is associated with clan organizations.

Question 52

Hopi men spend their lives laboring for their wives' lineages,and in return,they are given food and shelter.

Question 53

The Dutch people allow honor killings in order to respect minority cultures.

Question 54

The Micmacs are a tribe in Massachusetts.

Question 55

The Eskimo kinship system produces a designation of parallel and cross cousins.

Question 56

Anglo-American culture uses Eskimo kinship terminology.

Question 57

The Iroquois avoid cross-cousin marriages in order to strengthen alliances.

Question 58

DNA studies prove that the Maori origin myths about migration routes from northern Africa are correct.

Question 59

The more individuals become enmeshed into larger social networks,as happens in political states,the more they rely on kinship.

Question 60

In ambilineal descent,the individual may be affiliated with either the mother's or father's lines.

Question 61

Use the example of your own family or that of your friend to explain the meaning of North American kindreds.

Question 62

How do different societies create fictive kin? Discuss two examples.

Question 63

Explain lineage exogamy,particularly focusing on the advantages of exogamy's use in lineages.

Question 64

Compare and contrast the Hawaiian and Iroquois kinship systems.

Question 65

What is the kindred,and where do we find this?

Question 66

Compare and contrast the kin organization of the Hopi and the Chinese.

Question 67

How is bilateral descent different from ambilineal descent?

Question 68

What is an honor killing?

Question 69

What is the significance of kinship terminology,focusing in particular on structuring of societies?

Question 70

Briefly explain the concept of bilateral descent.

Question 71

What is the primary purpose of a moiety?

Question 72

Define and contrast a clan and lineage.

Question 73

Explain how kinship organization was important to the research conducted by anthropologist Harald Prins in Maine among the Aroostook Band of Indians.

Question 74

In which kinds of societies is patrilineal descent likely to be found?

Question 75

What is the organizational hierarchy of descent groups? List each from the smallest to the largest and briefly describe.

Question 76

What is a totem,and how is it related to kinship and descent?

Question 77

What is a tsu,and what is its role in Han society?

Question 78

Explain how new reproductive technologies challenge our understandings of kinship.

Question 79

What is the importance of a descent group?

Question 80

In what ways are Hopi lineages similar to corporations?