Deck 9: Tribes

Question 1

Property rights in tribal societies are usually invested in family and other kinship groupings.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

Since young males are the focal point of political and economic power in gerontocracies, the elderly are often excluded from any decision-making processes.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

Pastoralists, such as the Nuer, slaughter most of their cattle in the fall and store the meat for use over the year.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

A segmentary lineage system is made up of several maximal and minimal lineages that can unite to form alliances and resolve disputes through what is called complementary opposition.

Question 5

Polygyny appears to be an ecologically and economically adaptive strategy for many tribal societies.

Question 6

Most tribal societies that practiced monetary exchange used what is called limited-purpose money; that is, it can be used to purchase any item or service desired.

Question 7

Cross-cultural research has shown that societies engaged in external warfare (warfare at long distances from home) develop matrilocal residence rules.

Question 8

A matrilineage is a unilineal descent group, whose members trace their descent through females back to a common, known female ancestor.

Question 9

Slash-and-burn cultivation is found primarily in Arctic and tundra areas where the growing season is short.

Question 10

Tribal societies rely on both formal courts and lawyers for internal conflict resolution.

Question 11

The mobility required by the pastoralist lifestyle has caused these groups to develop elaborate technologies for dealing with domesticated animals.

Question 12

If a tribal society has norms that prescribe cross-cousin or parallel-cousin marriage and an individual does not have a cousin in the particular category, that individual must remain single for the rest of his or her life since no mates fit the norm.

Question 13

Iroquois tribal society was organized around matrilineal descent groups, whose members lived together in a longhouse, had collective rights over land and tools, and were influential in decision-making processes.

Question 14

Anthropologists have found about the same number of matriarchal as patriarchal societies in the world.

Question 15

Martin and Voorhies found that since women contribute less to cultivation activities than men, their status is always lower than the men's status.

Question 16

Using a sociobiological model, anthropologist William Durham has suggested that tribal warfare is an adaptive reproductive strategy that increases inclusive fitness at the tribal level when groups are in competition.

Question 17

One way of resolving disputes in tribal societies is to force an individual accused of a crime to submit to a physical ordeal.

Question 18

When a society is divided into two parts, each is called a moiety.

Question 19

In contrast to leaders in band societies, tribal leaders are able to wield power through coercion and the formal authority vested in the office of "chief of the tribe."

Question 20

Margaret Mead felt that culture (enculturation) can strongly influence gender differences, either minimizing or maximizing the social differences between males and females.

Question 21

Nuer subsistence, like that of many other pastoral peoples:

A) is based primarily on the consumption of meat products
B) is based solely on cattle and pigs
C) depends heavily upon the blood and milk of their animals
D) is largely based on crops and foraging, with herding only contributing a small portion to the diet

Question 22

Anthropologists use the term "pastoralists" to refer to peoples who:

A) live in sedentary villages and rely principally on farming
B) are highly mobile, gathering wild plant foods from forest clearings
C) rely primarily on herd animals, such as caribou, cattle, sheep, or goats
D) subsist by slash-and-burn cultivation of forest lands

Question 23

Among the functions of bridewealth is:

A) guaranteeing that a woman will be considered personal property
B) compensation to her family for the loss of a woman's labor
C) freeing the husband of any responsibilities to the bride's kin group
D) paying for the costs of an elaborate wedding

Question 24

The most common form of polyandry is , in which brothers share a wife.

A) risk taking
B) sibling polyandry
C) fraternal polyandry
D) levirate
E) sororal polygyny

Question 25

Like forager societies, tribal groups lack art and music because of the mobile nature of their society.
Multiple Choice Questions

Question 26

One of the chief advantages of slash-and-burn cultivation is that it:

A) involves a huge labor force in converting forest to agricultural fields
B) can be carried out indefinitely on a single plot of land
C) produces food without complex technology
D) is effective in virtually any environment

Question 27

When the descent group of a man transfers some of its wealth to the descent group of a woman at or around the time of their marriage, this practice is known as:

A) bondage
B) levirate
C) bridewealth
D) chattel

Question 28

Polygyny in tribal societies is most closely related to:

A) hunting practices
B) bride service
C) a moiety social structure
D) the practice of warfare

Question 29

Unilineal descent groups are lineage groups that:

A) trace their ancestry to both the father's and mother's ancestors
B) trace their ancestry to either the father's or the mother's ancestors
C) establish a new lineage by severing ties to any ancestors
D) define themselves on the basis of relations through marriage

Question 30

A society that is organized into moieties (a terminology derived from the French) has a particular social organization that structures it into:

A) several competing patrilineal clans
B) a single, fictional family
C) a clear, pyramidal hierarchy
D) equal halves with specific functions

Question 31

Levi-Strauss has used the term "generalized exchange" to refer to a cycle of marital exchange in which, among Lineages A, B, and C:

A) men of each lineage always marry within their lineage
B) men of Lineages A and B always marry women from Lineage C
C) Lineage B always gives women to Lineage A, but takes its wives from Lineage C
D) men of each lineage always marry outside of their lineage

Question 32

The most important belief underlying the practice of having a widow marry one of her brothers-in-law is that:

A) Her family should not have to return the bride price.
B) The rights of the deceased husband must be preserved.
C) All men should have more than one wife.
D) Widows should never have to live alone.

Question 33

A few tribal societies practice what is called , in which relatives are traced through both maternal and paternal sides of the family simultaneously.

A) unilineal descent
B) bilateral descent
C) patri-matri descent
D) two lines of descent
E) ambilineal descent

Question 34

While studying the Yanomamö, Napoleon Chagnon found that soil depletion was not the only reason these peoples moved their garden plots. His research found that:

A) Major population movements of the Yanomamö were due to warfare and conflict with neighbors.
B) The Yanomamö simply got tired of living in the same area and just packed up and left on a whim.
C) The Yanomamö had developed a 25-year plan that detailed their moves from year to year.
D) After about two to three years, poisonous snakes and alligators started to congregate in the garden plots because the vegetables attracted animals that snakes and alligators liked to eat.
E) These cleared plots eventually became shallow ponds that could not be used as gardens.

Question 35

When a married couple goes to live in the house of the brother of the husband's mother, the post-marital residence pattern is referred to as:

A) avunculocal
B) matrilocal
C) patrilocal
D) fratrilocal

Question 36

When two or more clans recognize that they share a common genealogical relationship, the more general grouping of these clans is known as a:

A) patrilineage
B) moiety
C) phratry
D) descent group

Question 37

A clan is a special kind of descent group whose members are defined by:

A) relationships to a male figure, known through myths and legends
B) common descent from unknown or sacred beings, such as special animals or plants
C) their long-term occupation of a specific geographical location
D) relationships to a specific extended family

Question 38

Property rights in tribal societies:

A) are usually vested in single, adult males
B) are usually vested in the family and other kinship groupings
C) are usually vested in individuals, who then determine who can use the land or resources
D) simply do not exist since these types of societies are always on the move looking for a new place to live
E) are vested in the chief of the tribe

Question 39

Which of the following descent groups is likely to result in the most flexible and loosely structured corporate social unit?

A) a patrilineal descent group
B) a matrilineal descent group
C) a clan
D) a kindred

Question 40

Compared with hunting and gathering band-level societies, tribal societies are:

A) smaller and more highly mobile across broad regions
B) larger, but with poorly defined territories
C) larger, more sedentary, and have fairly well defined territories
D) smaller, less mobile, and have less political integration

Question 41

The term "gerontocracy" refers to governance by:

A) a group of village elders
B) the clan with the most ancient heritage
C) the most successful warriors
D) a tribal council of lineage representatives

Question 42

Most modern anthropologists have come to the conclusion that matriarchy:

A) has been the most common form of tribal political organization
B) was practiced only among early agricultural societies
C) is not part of the archaeological, historical, and ethnographic record
D) represents the most highly sophisticated form of tribal government

Question 43

Totems are animals, spirits, or deities that have specific links to:

A) hills, rivers, or other geographic locations
B) an individual shaman or healer
C) a particular descent group
D) witchcraft and sorcery Essay Questions

Question 44

In most tribal societies, rules of descent, marriage, and residence are:

A) flexible and often subject to lengthy discussion and negotiations
B) strictly enforced and rarely changed
C) known only to village elders, who are consulted whenever a decision must be made
D) unconscious, and therefore defined mostly by outsiders (such as ethnographers)

Question 45

It has been suggested that the status of women in tribal societies:

A) is related to how much they contribute to the subsistence activities of the group
B) is correlated with the fact that they are the physically weaker sex and are easily exploited
C) increases when they are menstruating
D) is determined by age

Question 46

A form of tribal political organization found, for example, among the Nuer and Bedouins, based on multiple descent groups (often patriline?ages) that are interrelated and serve certain political functions is known as a:

A) segmentary lineage system
B) fragmented descent pattern
C) maximal moiety system
D) divided descent group configuration
E) clan

Question 47

Sociobiologists view patriarchy in tribal societies as a consequence of:

A) the scarcity of resources and the resulting dominance of males in warfare
B) a male supremacy complex found in all human societies
C) mythologies, beliefs, and ideologies that justify male domination
D) reproductive strategies in which male competition for females leads to conflict

Question 48

What are some of the demographic differences one finds between foragers and food producers such as pastoralists and horticulturalists? Why do you think there are these differences?

Question 49

One type of "sodality" is defined as:

A) an agglomeration of houses belonging to members of a single clan
B) a marriage arrangement between two moieties
C) a pact of non-aggression among neighboring tribes
D) an association of individuals that cuts across kinship groups

Question 50

One of the most significant causes of warfare among tribal horticulturalist societies is:

A) revenge for homicides and other crimes
B) competition for potential wives
C) conflicts over ideological differences
D) acquisition of land

Question 51

Corporate groups of people of about the same age who share specific rights, obligations, duties, and privileges within a society and progress through various stages of life together are called:

A) class mates
B) age sets
C) buddies
D) friendship circles
E) comrade cliques

Question 52

Among the Azande of East Africa, crop failures were typically attributed to:

A) menstruating women
B) poor leadership
C) celestial events
D) witchcraft

Question 53

Including as many people as you can, diagram your own kindred and then identify the following groups or individuals, assuming you reckon kinship in that manner and you are Ego:
Nuclear Family
Extended Family
Patrilineage
Matrilineage
Cross-cousins
Parallel-cousins

Question 54

Among many tribal societies, sorcery provides a way of explaining:

A) severe illnesses and the spread of disease
B) movements of the sun, moon, and planets
C) the process of pregnancy and childbirth
D) relationships between patrilineal descent groups

Question 55

Like band societies, tribal societies:

A) have highly structured and efficient political organizations
B) do not have any political organizations, only kinship groupings
C) have decentralized political systems in which authority is vested among a number of individuals, groups, and associations
D) have acephalic political organizations

Question 56

Deborah Gewertz, who has re-examined Mead's interpretations of the Tchambuli (Chambri), arrived at the conclusion that:

A) Chambri women are among the most aggressive in all human societies.
B) Mead's interpretations failed to take specific historical circumstances into account.
C) Chambri men were submissive due to frequent defeats in warfare.
D) Cultural values do not influence gender roles.

Question 57

In general, divorces are most common among societies that are:

A) patrilineal and patrilocal
B) matrilineal and matrilocal
C) organized into bilateral descent groups
D) polyandrous and avunculocal

Question 58

One of the ways that "big men" in Melanesia can gain the allegiance of followers is to:

A) impress them by sponsoring a feast of pig meat from his family's herd
B) conquer them in battle, take them captive, and then provide them with freedom
C) demonstrate sacred knowledge by reciting long epic poems about ocean voyages
D) provide them with gifts of sheep, goats, and heavy wool textiles

Question 59

Among the Yanomamö, the village headman leads:

A) by example and persuasion rather than coercion
B) with authority backed by loyal warriors
C) through the exaction of tribute from subjugated villages
D) via a bureaucratic elite comprised of his wives and kinsmen

Question 60

In tribal societies, disputes and conflicts are usually resolved by:

A) skilled individuals who function as mediators or negotiators
B) formal judgments passed by a tribal council
C) aggressive and violent behavior, often resulting in death
D) participation in games of chance

Question 61

What is the relationship between post-marital residence rules and the form of descent found within a society? How did patrilocal and matrilocal residence patterns arise? What is the possible relationship between warfare and residence rules?

Question 62

How are women treated in many tribal societies? Why are they treated in this manner? How much variation exists in the treatment? Are matrilineal societies different from patrilineal ones?

Question 63

What forms of political organization are found in tribal societies? What are some of the reasons that have been offered to explain these types of organization? How do they differ from those found in forager groups?

Question 64

Explain the concepts of segmentary lineage system and complementary opposition. Do you see any adaptive significance in this form of political organization?

Question 65

Describe the relationship among gender, subsistence, and female status in matrilineal societies.

Question 66

"Since kinship, marriage, and residence rules are ideal rules, they can never be violated or changed." Comment on this quote.

Question 67

Are there any reasons why polygyny occurs most frequently in tribal societies? Is polygyny an adaptive strategy, or is it maladaptive?

Question 68

What is the relationship between bridewealth and divorce? Is marriage stable because of high bridewealth costs, or can a society afford to have high bridewealth only if it has a stable form of marriage? How are descent rules (matrilineal versus patrilineal) associated with marital stability?