Deck 7: Analyzing Sociocultural Systems

Question 1

People in band societies are joined together primarily through kinship affiliations.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

Anthropologists use the word "chiefdom" to refer to any non-Western political entity led by a charismatic individual with high status.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

One weakness of cross-cultural studies is that ethnographic reporting across cultures may be inconsistent.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

The general categories used by anthropologists to describe different political systems are hunter-gatherers, horticulturalists, agriculturalists, and industrialists.

Question 5

Ethnological research is used to investigate cross-cultural patterns and human universals.

Question 6

Some anthropologists argue that tribal groups emerged out of processes of subjugation and domination by complex state societies.

Question 7

Since there are no ethical guidelines in conducting cultural or anthropological research, the anthropologist is free to examine any topic and gain information in any manner he or she sees fit.

Question 8

The Human Relations Area Files (HRAF) contains ethnographic information concerning over 10,000 societies.

Question 9

The wealth differential among people in egalitarian societies is very small.

Question 10

Participant observation is the only method cultural anthropologists use to collect data.

Question 11

Cultural anthropologists use archival data to provide the historical context for the community or subjects they are studying.

Question 12

Contemporary anthropologists use different types of sociocultural systems, such as bands, tribes, chiefdoms, and states, to justify a unilineal view of cultural evolution.

Question 13

A state has clearly defined territories.

Question 14

Geographical and ecological circumstances played little role in the development of state level societies.

Question 15

Changes associated with the Industrial Revolution occurred during the eighteenth century in Europe.

Question 16

Political leaders in band societies control economic resources and exercise far-reaching political power.

Question 17

Historically, the geographical range of chiefdoms has included the Hawaiian Islands; North, Central, and South America; and Europe.

Question 18

Foragers have practiced the same ways of life since Paleolithic times.

Question 19

Most anthropologists find the term "chiefdom" to be outdated and no longer useful for anthropological research.

Question 20

If a researcher finds that two variables are correlated, this always means that one of the variables causes the other one.

Question 21

The European private trading companies that emerged prior to and during the Industrial Revolution formed part of an economic system known as __________.

A) mercantilism
B) merchantism
C) industrialism
D) the British East India Company

Question 22

Intensive agriculture utilizes __________.

A) the production of surpluses and field rotation
B) sedentism and urbanization
C) horticulture and cultivation
D) irrigation and fertilizers

Question 23

Which of the following is an example of archival data?

A) field notes
B) missionary reports
C) contemporary ethnographic films
D) historical analyses

Question 24

Anthropologists have concluded that band societies have been the basic type of sociocultural system for as long as __________ years.

A) 100
B) 10,000
C) one million
D) ten million

Question 25

Household composition data and dietary information that is expressed numerically are examples of __________.

A) random samples
B) emic data
C) qualitative data
D) quantitative data

Question 26

Which of the following statements about a chiefdom is true?

A) A chiefdom organizes regional populations through a hierarchy of leaders.
B) A chiefdom is an intermediary evolutionary political form between tribes and bands.
C) Chiefs do not have any greater access to luxury goods than other members of a chiefdom.
D) Chiefdoms are uniform in their political, economic, and cultural form.

Question 27

According to Jared Diamond, what circumstances contributed to the development of complex societies on the Eurasian continent?

A) having only a few species of plants and animals to draw upon for domestication
B) geographic isolation from other regions, which led to independent technological innovations
C) the spread of ideas and domesticated plants and animals from the Near East
D) access to variable microclimates

Question 28

Ideally, what characteristic should a good key informant possess?

A) formal ethnographic field training
B) being able to keep the ethnographer's purpose a secret
C) being willing to share secrets about one's neighbors
D) having a deep knowledge of the community

Question 29

__________ is central to the technique of participant observation.

A) Filming ethnographic fieldwork
B) Maintaining accurate records of the researcher's direct observations of social interaction and behavior
C) Conducting archival research
D) Judging the behaviors under observation

Question 30

One advantage of conducting unstructured interviews is that __________.

A) the ethnographer receives answers to specific questions
B) the informant is given freedom of expression
C) the anthropologist can interview several people simultaneously
D) the informant designs the research questions

Question 31

Work in industrial societies is often conducted __________.

A) in agricultural areas
B) at home
C) in factories and offices
D) by children

Question 32

The purpose of time-allocation analysis is to __________.

A) determine the best time to conduct interviews
B) allocate resources in order to compensate informants for their time and expertise
C) record how much time people in the society spend doing different activities
D) ensure that the anthropologist is using research time wisely and efficiently

Question 33

The term "tribe" is used in reference to __________ subsistence systems.

A) horticulturalist and pastoralist
B) foraging and hunter-gatherer
C) horticulturalist and agriculturalist
D) nomadic and pastoralist

Question 34

Which of the following statements about modernization is correct?

A) Modernization is a precursor to industrialization.
B) Modernization refers to the economic, social, and political consequences of industrialization.
C) Modernization and industrialization are the same thing.
D) Modernization can only occur in postindustrial societies.

Question 35

__________ is a common characteristic of contemporary hunter-gatherer societies.

A) Low population density
B) A sedentary subsistence strategy
C) Rigidly defined territorial boundaries
D) Hierarchical political organization

Question 36

The major difference between state and prestate societies is __________.

A) permanent settlements
B) bureaucratic organization
C) prestige hierarchies
D) military skill

Question 37

Morton Fried has criticized the use of the term "tribe" on the basis that __________.

A) it represents a fixed evolutionary stage of social organization
B) it should only be used in reference to Native American political entities
C) the word is derived from an ethnocentric Roman word
D) it is an ethnic term from the South Pacific that has been inappropriately applied to other regions

Question 38

__________ is an important part of research design in cultural anthropology.

A) Outlining the methods that will be used to collect data
B) Securing funding
C) Conducting an excavation of the field site
D) Interpreting data through various theoretical lenses

Question 39

Jack Goody and Eric Wolf point to the importance of __________ as a factor in the success of the European Industrial Revolution.

A) agriculture
B) highly intelligent individuals
C) military power
D) long-distance trade

Question 40

One difference between industrial and postindustrial societies is that in the latter __________.

A) production is entirely mechanized
B) more people are employed in service and high-technology occupations
C) trade occurs on a global level
D) people earn higher salaries

Question 41

Anthropologists use the Human Relations Area Files to __________.

A) extract census data about a field site
B) look up standard definitions of universal human behaviors
C) compare cultural phenomena across societies
D) locate other anthropologists working on similar research topics

Question 42

When administering a questionnaire in a large society, an ethnographer generally __________.

A) selects a sample of individuals that is representative of the larger population
B) chooses a few close informants to survey
C) hires graduate students to help reach every household
D) seeks help from local government census takers

Question 43

__________ remains a contested aspect of ethnographic research.

A) Providing information to military organizations
B) Protecting the anonymity of informants
C) Conducting clandestine research
D) Keeping research objectives a secret from the subject population

Question 44

An anthropologist accused of "reifying" a culture would be one who __________.

A) reveals the names of his informants
B) adopts the religious beliefs of the local people
C) participates in a culture without recording observations
D) presents a simplified portrayal of the culture as homogeneous

Question 45

Which of the following is linked with the holistic perspective in anthropology?

A) informant interviews
B) culture shock
C) multivariate hypotheses
D) independent variables

Question 46

Political systems with centralized bureaucratic institutions that establish power and authority over large populations in a specific territory are known as __________.

A) bands
B) tribes
C) chiefdoms
D) states

Question 47

What are the benefits and limitations of conducting cross-cultural research?

Question 48

You have just been awarded a grant of $100,000 to conduct research among the Tingunee of the lower Quebin river valley. The Tingunee have never been visited by other peoples nor is anything known about their culture. What might your goal be in this study? Formulate a general research design to study the culture of these people. What research strategies might you employ, what data might you collect, and what concerns might you have in doing this study?

Question 49

Is there any difference between a newspaper reporter and an anthropologist reporting on his or her findings in another culture? Discuss the particular research methods anthropologists use as well as the ethical issues they consider.

Question 50

A crucial difference between structured and unstructured interviews is that __________.

A) unstructured interviews involve asking the same question of everyone in a sample of the population
B) structured interviews involve asking the same question of everyone in a sample of the population
C) unstructured interviews require participants to reveal their true identities
D) structured interviews require participants to reveal their true identities

Question 51

What theories have scholars offered for why different types of sociocultural complexity evolved in different regions of the world? Support your answer with specific examples.

Question 52

__________ is a particular asset for anthropologists conducting ethnographic fieldwork.

A) Speaking the local language
B) Having a pleasant personality
C) Being fully versed in the history of the region
D) Knowing how to reduce culture shock

Question 53

Which of the following statements is true of cross-cultural studies?

A) They allow anthropologists to make distinctions between behaviors that are culture specific and those that are universal.
B) They make it possible for anthropologists to determine if a social trait is biologically inherited or culturally derived.
C) They are no longer used by anthropologists because this older methodology has been shown to produce False results due to both temporal and geographic lag.
D) They cannot be conducted today because there has been too much migration from one culture to another due to modern transportation.

Question 54

Why is the term "tribe" problematic? What is the origin of the word and how has it been applied to describe people within and outside of anthropology? Write a well-supported argument for or against its continued use within anthropological circles today.

Question 55

What are the advantages and disadvantages of using sociocultural evolutionary models and categories? How do contemporary sociocultural evolutionary models differ from those of the nineteenth century? Why do anthropologists continue to use categories such as bands, tribes, chiefdoms, and states?

Question 56

Explain how anthropologists use multivariate or multidimensional approaches in their research. Why is this important? How does this approach illustrate the intersection of the ways anthropologists collect and analyze data? Illustrate your answer with specific examples.

Question 57

What are the general characteristics of band societies? How are contemporary band societies different from those that existed during the Paleolithic?

Question 58

Describe the differences between chiefdoms and states. Elaborate on how anthropologists use these terms to refer to particular political and economic patterns. Support your answer with specific examples.

Question 59

Which of the following is a potential drawback of using the HRAF?

A) Anthropologists in the past may not have provided the historical context for their observations.
B) It has yet to be computerized.
C) Sociologists and historians have contributed information as well as anthropologists.
D) Extracting data is a slow process.

Question 60

What was the Industrial Revolution? What circumstances led to its occurrence? Describe the effects it has had on today's world, particularly with respect to cultural interaction and change.