Deck 10: Chiefdoms

Question 1

Anthropologists refer to a society as a chiefdom on the basis of whether or not its members refer to one person as their chief.

Answer 1

False

Question 2

Adjudication of legal disputes in chiefdom societies was not a major responsibility of the chief.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

Polygyny, or the practice of one chief having many wives, was rare in chiefdom societies because it diluted the power of a single ruling lineage.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

All individuals in chiefdom societies have equal rank and status.

Question 5

During a potlatch among the Northwest Coast Indians, the more gifts that were given or destroyed by a chief, the higher his status.

Question 6

Interestingly, chiefdom societies have only been found in Africa and North America, suggesting that a prehistoric trade network or link must have existed between these continents.

Question 7

A chiefdom is a type of society that is intermediate in form between the band, tribal societies, and formally structured bureaucratic state societies.

Question 8

The term "chiefdom" causes much confusion outside of anthropology because the popular usage of the term "chief" means the leader of any stateless, non-Western society.

Question 9

Chiefdoms are hierarchically ranked societies.

Question 10

Rules of endogamy in Hawaiian chiefdoms actually resulted in sibling marriages.

Question 11

The dominance of males over females was common in most chiefdom societies.

Question 12

In order for chiefdoms to exist, natural resources had to be abundant, usually more so than resources in areas inhabited by band or tribal societies.

Question 13

The predominant form of economic exchange found in chiefdoms is redistribution.

Question 14

A hierarchical society is one in which some individuals have access to more wealth, authority, rank, status, and power than other individuals.

Question 15

A potlatch is an exchange ceremony when the Trobrianders give their chief lots of presents to show their appreciation of his leadership skills.

Question 16

Malinowski has argued that economic production and exchange in the Trobriand Islands are closely tied to the social and cultural norms of the kula exchange.

Question 17

In a potlatch, an individual achieves power and status by destroying or giving away large quantities of food and valuables.

Question 18

A chiefdom is an egalitarian society.

Question 19

Societies such as the Kwakiutl and Bella Coola of the Northwest Coast of North America are classified as chiefdoms, even though they had hunting and gathering economies and did not practice any horticulture or agriculture.

Question 20

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

Question 21

Archaeologist Timothy Earle has challenged the hypothesis by Elman Service that chiefdoms arose through regional symbiosis. Earle suggests that the key factor in the evolution of chiefdoms was the:

A) exchange of limited, high prestige goods among local descent groups
B) development of a lineage organization that controlled access to the land
C) degree of political and economic control that was held over productive resources and labor
D) domestication of animals
E) rise of religious elite that eventually took control of the economy of a region

Question 22

The status of an individual chief is closely linked to:

A) the size of his tribe
B) the prestige of his descent group
C) his skills as a hunter
D) the seasonality of resource availability

Question 23

Which of the following is most likely to be interpreted by an archaeologist as evidence for the existence of a chiefdom society?

A) remains from intensive shellfish collecting, fishing, and the hunting of sea mammals
B) agricultural implements such as grinding stones and digging sticks
C) fragments of pottery decorated with intricate designs
D) foundations of one house larger than the rest in a given community

Question 24

Which of the following might be interpreted as a modern example of the potlatch?

A) A local politician gives away hundreds of frozen turkeys at a campaign rally.
B) A special interest group pays the salary and expenses of a lobbyist.
C) A former president makes speeches in favor of his party's new candidate.
D) Delegates at a national convention trade buttons and other campaign memorabilia.

Question 25

Regional symbiosis:

A) occurs when the Kula Ring joins the Potlatch in Tahiti
B) is a term that refers to the type of language that was developed so people from different chiefdoms could understand each other when they traded goods
C) occurs when groups of people who live in different ecological habitats establish mutual dependency by exchanging their locally obtained products
D) refers to the different levels of legal structure (police, judges, juries) that exist in any chiefdom society
E) is the "symbol" of a chiefdom similar to a flag representing a modern nation

Question 26

The kula is an example of what type of exchange?

A) redistribution
B) balanced reciprocity
C) hypergamy
D) market exchange
E) silent trade

Question 27

Most chiefdom societies:

A) occupied areas that were rich in natural resources and conducive to producing a surplus
B) were located in marginal lands that demanded intensive irrigation and plow agriculture
C) were based on intensive foraging, supplemented by occasional hunting and fishing
D) relied on herd animals as the basis of their subsistence economy
E) were composed of two or more hunting-gathering bands that were integrated by strong patrilineal kin ties

Question 28

On the Northwest Coast, respected shamans with great spiritual power often surpassed high-ranking chiefs in the accumulation of material wealth.

Question 29

Totem poles indicated high social status and connections with ancestral deities. They were typically erected in front of the houses of Northwest Coast chiefs.
Multiple-Choice Questions

Question 30

Archaeologist Timothy Earle suggests that the key factor in the evolution of chiefdoms was:

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

Question 31

Native American societies of the Northwest Coast such as the Bella Coola, Haida, and Tlingit are usually categorized as chiefdoms. However, they are atypical of chiefdom societies because:

A) They cultivated taro, yams, and sweet potatoes.
B) They were governed by tribal councils.
C) They were hunters and gatherers and did not practice agriculture.
D) They had no urban centers.

Question 32

Chiefs often maintained political legitimacy through rituals and religious beliefs.

Question 33

In Polynesia, a powerful chief would have been considered by other members of his culture to have more mana than a commoner.

Question 34

The potlatch feasts of the Northwest Coast societies are usually interpreted as a form of:

A) long-distance barter
B) resource conservation
C) ritualized warfare
D) redistributional exchange

Question 35

A number of factors have been implicated in the origin of chiefdom societies. Which of the following is not one of these factors?

A) population growth
B) technological innovations
C) food storage
D) development of a complex writing system for record keeping

Question 36

The ancient chiefs of Hawaii often sought to legitimize their authority through ritual human sacrifice.

Question 37

The kula, described by Malinowski in Argonauts of the Pacific, refers to:

A) a type of outrigger canoe used for long-distance travel by island chiefs
B) a ceremonial dance performed by the indigenous Hawaiians
C) a ritual in which red shell necklaces were traded for white armbands
D) a sacred beverage whose use was restricted to Tahitian chiefs

Question 38

The term "barter" is used to refer to:

A) the agreement on a certain price for a specified product
B) a system of unbalanced reciprocity, in which goods of unequal value are exchanged
C) the direct exchange of one commodity for another
D) the redistribution of goods in a marketplace

Question 39

The term "regional symbiosis" is used by anthropologists to refer to:

A) the process whereby a tribe is transformed into a chiefdom
B) interdependent exchange of products from different resource areas
C) relationships between human societies and domesticated species
D) cultural mechanisms for food storage and redistribution

Question 40

Food storage can directly affect political economy because:

A) Accumulation of surplus within households results in differences in social status.
B) Storage reduces the need to be economically productive.
C) It is essential for the survival of foraging societies dependent upon unreliable resources.
D) Food was a principal commodity in long-distance exchange.

Question 41

Aside from the prestige factors associated with the potlatch among the Northwest Coast Indians, what other functions did these ceremonies have, and what were the implications?

Question 42

In chiefdom societies:

A) Gender relations were very unequal, with males exercising political and economic control over females.
B) A woman's chances of success depended, not on her rank, but the rank of her siblings and parents.
C) Such things as arranged marriages and bridewealth payments enabled men to claim rights to the labor of both women and children.
D) All of these choices occurred in chiefdom societies.

Question 43

A hierarchical society is one in which:

A) all individuals have an equal opportunity to achieve wealth and status
B) a town or village is ruled by a tribal council of elders or respected individuals
C) some individuals have access to more wealth, status, and power than others
D) political authority is expressed in pictographic symbols, called hieroglyphs

Question 44

A major function of music, dance, and poetry in chiefdom societies was to:

A) provide entertainment and comic relief for the chief and his family
B) pay homage to the legitimacy of the chiefs and their ancestral deities
C) enable the lower classes to have an outlet for their hostilities that did not threaten the chiefs
D) divide society into different artistic strata to promote competition and creativity
E) enhance the status of the chiefdom in relation to other chiefdoms in the area

Question 45

The term shaman is used to designate:

A) an individual who had the ability to sicken and to cure, and who often served as spiritual guide to chiefs
B) a cosmic power that can be increased through brave deeds, diminished through illness, and passed from a chief to his sons
C) the New Year's festival in ancient Hawaii, at which human sacrifices were practiced
D) the principal ancestor in a conical clan Essay Questions

Question 46

A major difference between redistributional and reciprocal economies is that:

A) reciprocal economies are more common in societies with inequalities in social status
B) redistributional economies tend to make certain individuals wealthier than others
C) reciprocal economies always involve the exchange of a recognized form of currency
D) only redistributional economies involve transfers of goods among related villagers

Question 47

The political structures of chiefdoms differ from those of tribes because in a chiefdom:

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

Question 48

The political and legal authority of Hawaiian, Tonga, and Tahitian chiefs was reinforced by a religious and ideological system based on social inequalities. This system was called:

A) mana
B) tabu
C) potlatch
D) kula

Question 49

The rule of primogeniture in the succession of political authority:

A) provided for continuity of the political system and avoided a power struggle when the chief died
B) enhanced the prestige of the king
C) usually caused a power struggle within the central chiefly hierarchy
D) often generated regional warfare that was tied to the symbiosis of the area
E) rarely occurred since succession was closely linked to the matrilineal descent rules

Question 50

In Polynesia, the term mana refers to:

A) a bread-like substance that appears in times of drought
B) elaborate forms of deference and expressions of humility
C) a cosmic force that certain individuals could acquire
D) the ritual of human sacrifice practiced at harvest time

Question 51

In a conical clan, all members of the clan trace their descent from:

A) the chief
B) the grandmother of the chief
C) the patron god of the chief
D) a common ancestor

Question 52

How and why did chiefdoms come into existence? That is, how did economic inequality and social stratification arise from egalitarian foraging and tribal societies? What factors may have been involved in this evolution or change?

Question 53

According to anthropologist Robert Carneiro, the objective of many chiefs was to:

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 they were gods
D) disencumber themselves of material possessions and incur debts of personal obligations from their followers through potlatch-like ceremonies

Question 54

Briefly compare and contrast the social organization of chiefdom societies with the social organization of your own society or cultural group. You should include such things as family and kin, marriage and residence rules or norms, gender relations, and the role and status of the elderly.

Question 55

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

A) human sacrifice
B) ideology
C) totalitarianism
D) adjudication

Question 56

In Hawaiian chiefdoms, the culmination of warfare between rival chiefs was:

A) sacrifice and replacement of the ruling descent group of the losers by the winners
B) complete disruption of the political structure of the losing chiefdom
C) intermarriages between the winners and members of the ruling descent group of the losers
D) the erection of monuments to delineate new territories

Question 57

According to the Hawaiians themselves, the chiefs of ancient Hawaii were given the right to rule because they:

A) intimidated their subjects through military force and human sacrifice
B) were able to amass enormous wealth and redistribute it strategically
C) played key roles in trade and exchange networks between islands
D) were critical to the maintenance of moral and sacred order

Question 58

As illustrated by the Natchez Indians of the Mississippi region, marriage in chiefdom societies often:

A) resulted in divorce because the couples were too tired and stressed from the daily obligations imposed upon them by the chief
B) resulted in males marrying other males in order for them to gain higher rank and status in the society
C) provided a systematic form of social mobility, especially for women
D) lacked ritual, since marriages were not important to the social order of chiefdoms

Question 59

An example of the use of endogamous marriage in a chiefdom would be a marriage between the chief and:

A) the daughter of a political ally
B) his first cousin or his sister
C) a woman captured from another tribe
D) a patron goddess of his ancestors

Question 60

Through the control of resources and surplus goods, chiefs were able to ensure loyalty and deference from the general population. This status and authority en?abled the chiefs to do all of the following EXCEPT:

A) recruit armies
B) distribute land and water rights to certain families
C) sentence someone to death for violating social norms
D) maintain absolute power over their subjects

Question 61

What was the role of supernatural forces in legitimizing the power of the chief? Illustrate your answer with specific concepts from ethnographic case studies.

Question 62

Describe the social structure of chiefdoms. What were the specific social rankings and how were these determined?

Question 63

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

Question 64

What was the role of trade and exchange in chiefdom-level societies? Give some specific examples of how goods were acquired and transferred from one individual to another.

Question 65

How did the practices of reciprocity and redistribution differ in chiefdoms from the way they functioned in bands and tribes? Why do you think these differences exist? What factors affected the way exchanges took place?

Question 66

Explain why many traditional Polynesian societies are characterized as chiefdoms and not tribes or bands.

Question 67

If you were an archaeologist investigating an ancient society, what special features of the physical remains (houses, burials, artifacts, artwork, etc.) would tell you the society was a chiefdom?

Question 68

What are the ways a person could become chief in a chiefdom? What were the responsibilities of a chief? What were the limitations to a chief's power?

Question 69

What role did kinship and descent play in the social structure of a chiefdom?