Deck 9: Kinship and Descent

Question 1

In which of the following descent groups is membership traced through either males or females?

A) matrilineal
B) patrilineal
C) unilineal
D) ambilineal

Answer 1

unilineal

Question 2

Which statement about members of unilineal descent groups is correct?

A) They know exactly which group they belong to and where their primary loyalties lie.
B) They are confused about their relationship to persons not included in their descent group.
C) They are related only to females if they are in a matrilineal group.
D) They are related only to males if they are in a patrilineal group.

Answer 2

They know exactly which group they belong to and where their primary loyalties lie.

Question 3

Urban kinship networks in Canada tend to be voluntary.Which of the following terms also applies to them?

A) intimate
B) proximate
C) selective
D) impersonal

Answer 3

selective

Question 4

Which sort of kinship network do neighbours and friends whom you consider to be "family" belong to?

A) lineal
B) fictive
C) proximal
D) mutual

Question 5

You belong to a patrilineal descent group.Who also belongs to your descent group?

A) your mother
B) your mother's brother
C) your father's sister
D) your mother's father

Question 6

According to researchers,which statement about kinship in modern Canadian society is true?

A) It is important only among immigrant families.
B) It is based entirely on the isolated nuclear family.
C) It is based on the modified extended family.
D) It is important only to the elderly.

Question 7

You belong to a publicly recognized social entity by virtue of being a lineal descendant of a particular ancestor.What are you a member of?

A) a descent group
B) a lineage
C) a clan
D) a moiety

Question 8

You are a male member of a patrilineal descent group.Which of the following is correct?

A) Descent is traced exclusively through your mother's male ancestors.
B) Your sisters belong to the same patrilineal descent group as you do.
C) You probably live in a South Asian horticultural society.
D) Your brothers belong to the same descent group as you;your sisters do not.

Question 9

In a patrilineal descent system,which statement about the children of a man's sister is correct?

A) They do not belong to a descent group until they have children.
B) They belong to the sister's descent group
C) They belong to the descent group of their mother's husband.
D) They do not belong to a descent group until they marry.

Question 10

Matrilineal descent groups are associated with agricultural societies? Who are the breadwinners in those societies?

A) men
B) women
C) hired help
D) adult children

Question 11

Which statement about matrilineal descent systems is true?

A) The strongest male-female relationships are between a wife and her brothers.
B) A son will inherit property from his mother's sister.
C) Disputes between a woman and her children will be settled by her brother.
D) Males generally reside in a men's house.

Question 12

Which statement about patrilineal descent systems is true?

A) They are not as common as matrilineal descent.
B) They give responsibility for training children to their mother or their mother's sister.
C) They are more likely than matrilineal descent systems to break up because of conflict.
D) They are largely patriarchal,thus placing women in subordinate positions.

Question 13

Among the matrilineal clans of the Iroquois,what was the preferred type of residence?

A) matrilocal
B) patrilocal
C) either matrilocal or patrilocal
D) neolocal

Question 14

Which statement about descent groups is the most accurate?

A) They are known only to the group itself.
B) They are composed of those who claim to be lineally descended from a particular family.
C) They lack a clear "definition" of membership.
D) They trace connections to a common ancestor through parent-child links.

Question 15

Our blood relatives are referred to as consanguineal.Which term refers to our relatives through marriage?

A) distant
B) nominal
C) extended
D) affinal

Question 16

Which people did a typical Iroquois longhouse include?

A) a group of wives with their husbands and children
B) an elder woman,her husband,their daughters,their sons-in-law,their daughters' children,and their unmarried sons
C) a senior woman,her brother,her brother's wife and children,and her sister's husband and children
D) an elder woman,all of her daughters,and all of her granddaughters

Question 17

Which of the following is NOT characteristic of matrilineal descent systems?

A) Membership is reckoned through females.
B) There are weak ties between husband and wife.
C) Matrilineal societies are always matriarchal.
D) A man's children belong to his wife's descent group.

Question 18

Of all the descent groups that exist in non-Western societies,which type of descent group is the most common?

A) bilateral
B) matrilineal
C) ambilineal
D) unilineal

Question 19

A boy is born into a society that practises matrilineal descent.Who exercises the most authority over him?

A) his mother
B) his father
C) his mother's brother
D) his father's sister

Question 20

Which statement best applies to societies in which patrilineal descent predominates?

A) The mother's relatives are considered group members.
B) Men choose their own marriage partners.
C) Men are the main breadwinners.
D) Women are not part of the social structure.

Question 21

Which statement about ambilineal descent groups is true?

A) They are doubly unilineal.
B) They are likely to generate rivalry and divided loyalties among kin.
C) They enable individuals to affiliate with either the mother's or the father's descent group.
D) They allow older children to choose which uncles will teach them.

Question 22

Among the Haida of Canada's west coast,important families were divided into groups featuring names symbolic of their mythical origins.What term is used to describe these groups?

A) bilateral
B) proximate
C) totemic
D) collaborative

Question 23

A lineage is described as a "corporate" descent group.What does this mean?

A) The members all work for the same company.
B) The lineage can own property.
C) All members derive their livelihood from the same source.
D) All members can be "hired" and "fired" by more senior members.

Question 24

If a society is divided into moieties,how many descent groups are there?

A) two
B) three
C) four
D) unlimited

Question 25

What is the term for a noncorporate descent group whose members claim descent from a common ancestor but who cannot prove their genealogical links to that ancestor?

A) lineage
B) totem
C) clan
D) kindred

Question 26

Anglo-Canadians assume that they are related equally to the relatives on both the mother's and father's side.What is the term for this type of descent group?

A) ambilineal
B) double
C) bilateral
D) patrilineal

Question 27

Sarah Smith,after being away from home for many years,decides to hold a family reunion.She invites her siblings,parents,both sets of grandparents,her great-aunts and great-uncles,their children,her aunts and uncles,and their children.What is the term for this group,brought together for a temporary time,and which has such vague boundaries?

A) clan
B) kindred
C) family circle
D) lineage

Question 28

What is the term for the process by which descent groups split into two more new descent groups?

A) litigation
B) fission
C) dissolution
D) kin schism

Question 29

Which of the following is NOT a characteristic of moieties?

A) They are usually based on lineages.
B) They provide rights of access to other communities.
C) They perform reciprocal services for each other.
D) They maintain the integrity of the entire society.

Question 30

Which statement about descent groups is most accurate?

A) They are social units providing mutual support.
B) They provide social security for elderly and infirm members.
C) They often promote solidarity by discouraging worship of ancestors.
D) They help choose appropriate marriage partners for non-members.

Question 31

Among the Yakö of Nigeria,an individual might inherit grazing lands from his father's patrilineal descent group,and livestock and ritual knowledge from his mother's matrilineal group.Which type of descent is this an example of?

A) bilateral
B) bilocal
C) ambilineal
D) double

Question 32

Lineages tend to be exogamous.What does that mean?

A) Female members may have more than one husband at a time.
B) Male members may have more than one wife at a time.
C) Members who marry lose their lineage membership.
D) Members must find their marriage partners in other lineages.

Question 33

Which statement regarding a male in a system of bilateral descent is true?

A) He traces descent through his father for some purposes and through his mother for other purposes.
B) He traces descent through female lines only.
C) He traces descent through both parents simultaneously and recognizes multiple ancestors.
D) He traces descent through male lines only.

Question 34

In modern Western societies,women are more likely to be kinkeepers.What does this mean?

A) They usually are younger women.
B) They almost always become secondary caregivers for elderly kin.
C) They are required to maintain close ties and facilitate kin connections.
D) They offer emotional support to kin in crisis.

Question 35

A lineage is a corporate descent group.Which statement about its members is most accurate?

A) They are capable of acting as a single body.
B) They claim descent from a mythical ancestor.
C) They often do not know how they are related to their ancestors.
D) They derive only spiritual benefits from their group.

Question 36

Which statement about members of a moiety is true?

A) They are not fully part of their Aboriginal group.
B) They belong to a group that is smaller than a lineage.
C) They believe they share a common ancestor but cannot trace definite genealogical links.
D) They have much stronger feelings of kinship than members of a lineage or a clan do.

Question 37

Because they may have members living in many different villages,what do clans depend on to provide symbolic identification and promote solidarity?

A) totems
B) signs
C) promises
D) frequent feasts

Question 38

A clan is similar to a lineage.What is the main difference?

A) Clans are patrilocal,whereas lineages are matrilocal.
B) Clan common ancestors are real people,whereas lineages use mythical common ancestors.
C) Clans are never exogamous,whereas lineages are often exogamous.
D) Clans are not corporate groups,whereas lineages are corporate groups.

Question 39

What is the term for the belief that a group of people are related to,and descended from,common ancestral spirits within the natural world,such as plants,animals,or mountains?

A) animism
B) pantheism
C) iconism
D) totemism

Question 40

The work of kinkeepers in Western society is increasing.What is this a result of?

A) expansion of government agencies dealing with families
B) cutbacks to funding of government services
C) an aging population coupled with rising birth rates
D) divorce and family breakdown

Question 41

Which statement about the descriptive,or Sudanese,system of kinship terminology is true?

A) It is more specific and precise than any other kinship system,including Anglo-Canadian.
B) It is the most common form of kinship terminology.
C) It has no terms for affinal relatives.
D) It indicates that all of ego's siblings have the same social status.

Question 42

Suppose that two people are given the same kinship term,(e.g. ,cousin).What does this mean?

A) They are genetically related.
B) They have the same gender.
C) They call each other by the same kinship term.
D) They occupy and share a similar status.

Question 43

Which of the following options indicates the most common descent principle and kin grouping found in industrial societies such as Canada?

A) unilineal kinship,the clan
B) bilateral kinship,the kindred
C) ambilineal kinship,the lineage
D) double kinship,the moiety

Question 44

Nancy is your cross-cousin.What does this mean?

A) She is your father's brother's daughter.
B) She is your mother's brother's daughter.
C) You are male.
D) You are female.

Question 45

Which system of kinship terminology gives a separate term for father,father's brother,mother's brother,mother,mother's sister,father's sister,and each type of cousin?

A) Crow
B) Sudanese
C) Omaha
D) Iroquois

Question 46

Which of the following is NOT a characteristic of kindreds?

A) Kindreds cease with the death of the ego.
B) Kindreds can be turned to for emotional support and financial aid.
C) Kindreds have a constant leader.
D) Kindreds act as ceremonial groups for rites of passage such as marriages.

Question 47

Who are your parallel cousins?

A) all children of the brothers and sisters of your mother and father
B) your father's brother's children and your mother's sister's children
C) your father's sister's children and your mother's brother's children
D) your father's brother's sons but not your father's brother's daughters

Question 48

Which people's matrilineal kinship system is the equivalent of the Omaha patrilineal kinship system?

A) Iroquois
B) Crow
C) Sudanese
D) Eskimo

Question 49

Which form of descent is the Hawaiian system of kinship terminology is usually associated with?

A) ambilineal
B) matrilineal
C) patrilineal
D) double

Question 50

Which statement about Omaha kinship terminology is true?

A) It is associated with matrilineal descent.
B) It designates ego's mother and her sisters by the same term.
C) It designates ego's father and his sisters by the same term.
D) It merges parallel cousins with ego's uncles and aunts.

Question 51

In which of the following groups is Iroquois kinship terminology widespread?

A) matrilineal and double descent
B) bilateral kindreds
C) ambilineal descent
D) multilateral kindreds

Question 52

An anthropologist discovers that an informant who is describing her society's kinship terminology uses the same term,"Bapa," to refer to both her father and her father's brother.What does this indicate?

A) The informant is being deceptive.
B) The informant is unclear as to who her real biological father is.
C) All "Bapas" share a common status and play the same roles in relation to ego.
D) The informant is poorly informed.

Question 53

Which system of kinship terms is associated with matrilineal descent?

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

Question 54

Suppose that ego's father,father's brother,and mother's brother are all referred to by the same term and that ego's mother,mother's sister,and father's sister are all referred by the same term,and that the term "brother" includes ego's male cousins,and brothers.Which system of kinship terminology does this describe?

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

Question 55

Which statement about Eskimo kinship terminology is true?

A) It is the most common kinship system in the world.
B) It is rarely used by European Canadians.
C) It emphasizes the extended family.
D) It is used by many hunting-and-gathering peoples.

Question 56

Which type of descent groups are Crow and Omaha kinship terminologies usually associated with?

A) cognatic
B) ambilineal
C) polygynous
D) unilineal

Question 57

What is the least complex system of kinship terminology,with the fewest terms for kin?

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

Question 58

Suppose that ego's "brother" and "sister" are distinguished from "cousins," and ego's father's brother and ego's mother's brother are both given the same kinship term.Which system of kinship terminology does this describe?

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

Question 59

In his original study,Liam Kilmurray writes about different aspects of the household.Which of the following best defines the symbolic order and idea of the domus,or house?

A) any sturdy structure that people live in
B) a nurturing place that excludes,controls,and dominates the wild or the outside
C) a nurturing place that includes and mediates the wild or outside
D) a structure for rest,eating,and raising children

Question 60

Suppose that membership in a group is determined not by descent from a common ancestor,but by the fact that individuals are closely related to one living relative (ego).What is the term for such a group?

A) clan
B) lineage
C) moiety
D) kindred

Question 61

The Dynamic Anthropology article "Resolving a Native American Tribal Membership Dispute" demonstrates some of the applied aspects of kinship studies.In the article,what was the central question that divided the Aroostook Band?

A) the question of who was a legitimate "Indian" and who were "non-Indians"
B) the question of who had Native hunting and fishing rights
C) the question of who was entitled to be Chief of the Band
D) the question of the entitlement to vote of female Band members

Question 62

The Mbuti pygmies orient their houses symbolically.Which statement best describes this practice?

A) They orient them to face their relatives and friends and avoid others.
B) They orient their houses toward the east to greet the daily sunrise.
C) They orient their houses facing north to honour the evening north star.
D) They orient their houses facing west to bid the daylight goodbye as the sun sets.

Question 63

Fictive kinship is not important to Canadians.

Question 64

Where was the Terra Amata complex located?

A) It was located on a mountainside with a view.
B) It was located in a sheltered forest.
C) It was located on an island.
D) It was located on a beachfront property.

Question 65

When did the first large-scale urban settlements in the world appear?

A) 20,000 years ago
B) 15,000 years ago
C) 9,000 years ago
D) 4,000 years ago

Question 66

The research on Cheddar Man revealed something about kinship that was quite remarkable.What characteristic of human kinship behaviour did it reveal?

A) Human kinship lines diffuse and drift from their original location quite rapidly.
B) Human kinship lines alter between matrilineal and patrilineal phases.
C) Members of a kinship group may not stray far from home over very long periods of time.
D) Members of a kinship group cannot be tied to archaeological specimens.

Question 67

Extended kinship ties are still important to the well-being of individuals and nuclear families in Canada.

Question 68

The term kinship refers to our consanguineal relatives but not our affinal relatives.

Question 69

The central importance of kinship and social life has declined over time.What has declined along with
It?

A) the number of kinship systems that can be documented
B) the importance and emphasis on kinship terminology studies in anthropology
C) people's interest in genealogy
D) people's access to genealogical information

Question 70

How many kinship terminology systems have anthropologists documented?

A) four
B) five
C) six
D) ten

Question 71

What was some of the early research conducted by Harald Prins on behalf of the Micmacs instrumental in allowing them to do?

A) re-establish their lobster fishing rights off the east coast
B) obtain reparations for having their land base taken by the U.S.military in the 1940s
C) open a gambling casino on their tribal lands under federal law
D) gain tribal recognition and a land base

Question 72

Which of the following is an example of a fictive kinship group?

A) a patrilineal lineage
B) a clan
C) a kindred
D) an extended family

Question 73

The Stone Age housing discovered at Terra Amata represents some of the oldest houses known.How old is this Stone Age housing complex?

A) 2 million years
B) 1 million years
C) 380,000 years
D) 120,000 years

Question 74

Genetic anthropology is a fast-growing field that connects archaeology and medical anthropology.According to the text,what impact is genetic anthropology likely to have in the future?

A) It will make archaeological research obsolete in the future.
B) It has the greatest implications for archaeological research in the future.
C) It will eventually document all of human evolution from early primates to modern humans.
D) It has tremendous implications for both prehistoric and contemporary anthropological studies.

Question 75

What label is most consistent with the type of research done by Harald Prins on the Aroostook Band?

A) physical anthropology
B) medical anthropology
C) applied anthropology
D) salvage anthropology

Question 76

The modified extended family in Canada cannot exist without residential proximity and rigidly defined obligations.

Question 77

In Canada,the size of our kin group is not a matter of personal choice.

Question 78

The residence known as the longhouse has existed in several cultures over the course of human history.What was the most important social function of these structures?

A) They served as gaming parlours as well as homes.
B) They played a large role in reflecting and determining kinship structures.
C) They played a large role in reflecting ritual and religious preferences.
D) They served as meeting halls for intertribal conferences.

Question 79

A common way of dealing with problems beyond the coping ability of a household is the formation of descent groups.

Question 80

The Anthropologist's World article on "Genetic Anthropology and the Descent of the Cheddar Man" combines genealogy and genetic science.What have these techniques allowed anthropologists to reveal?

A) a human descent line extending 50,000 years back in time
B) a human descent line extending 9,000 years back in time
C) that descent can only be traced to a maximum of 5,000 years
D) that descent can only be traced to a maximum of 1,500 years