Question 1

If a biological father has little to do with his biological offspring, and instead spends most of his time with his sister's children who call him by a term meaning "father" rather than "uncle," the descent system of these people is most likely:
A) patrilineal.
B) matrilineal.
C) bilateral.
D) Any or all of the answers are correct.

Accepted Answer

In a matrilineal descent system, lineage and inheritance are traced through the mother's line. This scenario, where a man invests more in his sister's children than his own, aligns with matrilineal practices, as his sister's children would be considered part of his lineage, whereas his own children would belong to their mother's lineage.

Question 2

William Webb (1882-1964) excavated hundreds of burials at the Indian Knoll site in western Kentucky. How did Webb explain the presence of hunting weapons in the graves of women and children at the site?
A) Women and children hunted in life; they were therefore interred with the objects they would need in the afterlife.
B) Burial ritual; the artifacts were symbols of grief rather than objects that the interred used during life because women and children would not have hunted.
C) Misinterpretation of the archaeological evidence; the "hunting weapons" were not hunting weapons at all, but rather tools used to process plants.
D) All of the answers are correct; his interpretations of the site changed through time.

Accepted Answer

Webb explained the presence of hunting weapons in the graves of women and children as part of a burial ritual, suggesting the artifacts were symbols of grief rather than items used in life, as women and children were not typically hunters.

Question 3

Roughly what percent of professional archaeologists today are women?
A) 2%
B) 10%
C) 25%
D) 50%

Accepted Answer

As of the latest data, approximately 50% of professional archaeologists today are women, reflecting significant progress in gender diversity within the field.

Question 4

A social system in which positions of status are limited, and thus where not everyone of talent may achieve high status or prestige is called a(n):
A) ranked society.
B) egalitarian society.
C) nonresidential group.
D) residential group.

Accepted Answer

A ranked society is characterized by a hierarchical system where social positions and statuses are not equally available to everyone, limiting the opportunities for individuals based on their birth or other factors, unlike an egalitarian society where status is more evenly distributed.

Question 5

Ethnographic data from a variety of societies around the world has shown which of the following about men's and women's roles in ceramic manufacture?
A) When pottery is made by hand, it is usually made by women; when pottery is made on a wheel, it is usually made by men.
B) When pottery is made by hand, it is usually made by men; when pottery is made on a wheel, it is usually made by women.
C) When pottery is made on a wheel, men and women participate equally in the manufacturing process; women dominate the manufacturing process when pottery is made by hand.
D) When pottery is made by hand, men and women participate equally in the manufacturing process; women dominate the manufacturing process when pottery is made on a wheel.

Accepted Answer

Ethnographic studies have often found that hand-made pottery tends to be the domain of women, while the use of the wheel, which may require different skills or social permissions, is more commonly associated with men in various cultures.

Question 6

If you live in a society in which two or more local groups are organized under a single highly ranked individual, you live in a(n):
A) egalitarian society.
B) patrilineal society.
C) chiefdom.
D) Any or all of the answers are correct.

Accepted Answer

Chiefdoms are characterized by the organization of local groups under a single, highly ranked leader, distinguishing them from egalitarian societies, which lack such hierarchical structures, and from patrilineal societies, which are defined by inheritance and descent through the male line, not by their political structure.

Question 7

Margaret Conkey and Janet Spector pointed out which of the following biases in archaeology?
A) The fact that plant remains are rarely preserved at archaeological sites while animal bones and stone tools are often abundant, leading archaeologists to overestimate the importance of meat in prehistoric diets.
B) The fact that when archaeologists only study projectile points and ignore associated debitage, or debris, from the manufacture of stone tools, they end up with a biased view of prehistoric technological organization.
C) The fact that archaeologists tend to impose the current political organization of their culture onto prehistoric political organizations without sufficient data to justify their inferences.
D) The fact that archaeologists once viewed the world largely in terms of men's activities and perceptions, while the contributions of women were downplayed; this view was projected into prehistory, resulting in a strong androcentric bias in archaeology.

Accepted Answer

Margaret Conkey and Janet Spector specifically highlighted the androcentric bias in archaeology, where the contributions of women were downplayed, and the focus was predominantly on men's activities and perceptions.

Question 8

Schillaci and Stojanowski (University of New Mexico) argue from their analysis of the Pueblo Bonito burial population that the people of Pueblo Bonito practiced bilocal rather than matrilocal residence because:
A) ethnographic analogy suggests that the presence of prestigious grave goods accompanying both male and female skeletons at Pueblo Bonito is characteristic of bilocal residence patterns.
B) mitochondrial DNA studies showed that males were more closely biologically related than females.
C) analysis of cranial traits showed that the male sample possessed greater variation than the female sample, a pattern not expected within a matrilocal residence pattern.
D) analysis of cranial traits showed that the female sample possessed greater variation than the male sample, a pattern not expected within a matrilocal residence pattern; bilocal residence was also common among the eastern pueblos at the time of European contact.

Accepted Answer

Analysis of cranial traits indicating greater variation among females than males suggests a bilocal residence pattern, as in a matrilocal system, females would be more genetically similar, reflecting less variation.

Question 9

Clusters of residences among the Mikea people in Madagascar reflect:
A) matrilineal descent groups, with clusters of families consisting of older women, sisters, and their husbands.
B) patrilineal descent groups, with clusters of families consisting of older men, brothers, and their wives.
C) a mixture of descent groups, with an equal chance of members belonging to a patrilineage or a matrilineage.
D) status differences, with groups at the north end of a settlement having higher status than those at the south end.

Accepted Answer

The Mikea people in Madagascar organize their clusters of residences based on patrilineal descent groups. This means that families within a cluster typically consist of older men, their brothers, and the brothers' wives, reflecting a patrilineal social structure.

Question 10

Why has Peter Peregrine (Lawrence University) suggested that Chacoan pueblo society practiced matrilocal residence?
A) The small size of Chacoan pueblos (<60 square meters) lies within the size limits of ethnographically documented matrilocal residences.
B) The side-by-side spatial arrangement of pueblo rooms reflects social solidarity, which ethnographic data suggest is characteristic of matrilocal residence.
C) Bioarchaeological analysis of Chacoan burial populations has shown that females are more genetically similar to each other than are males; this means that females stayed in their village of origin while males migrated from elsewhere.
D) All of the answers are correct.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Why has Peter Peregrine (Lawrence University) suggested...

Question 11

The primary method for reconstructing male and female activities from the archaeological record comes from:
A) ceramic analysis.
B) lithic (including groundstone) analysis.
C) ethnographic analogy.
D) gender ideology.

Accepted Answer

Ethnographic analogy is a primary method for reconstructing male and female activities from the archaeological record. It involves comparing archaeological findings with the behaviors and practices of contemporary or historically documented societies to infer the roles and activities of people in the past. This method can provide insights into gender roles and activities when direct archaeological evidence is limited.

Question 12

The standard kinship system in North America as well as in many other industrialized nations is:
A) patrilineal descent.
B) matrilineal descent.
C) bilateral descent.
D) mostly patrilineal descent, with an almost equal amount of bilateral descent.

Accepted Answer

The standard kinship system in North America and many other industrialized nations is bilateral descent, where family connections are recognized through both the mother's and the father's sides.

Question 13

Anthropologists refer to the rules and structures that govern relations within a group of interacting people as:
A) residence patterns.
B) social organization.
C) residence rules
D) kinship systems.

Accepted Answer

Social organization refers to the patterns of relationships and social arrangements that structure the interactions within a group of people. This encompasses the roles, rules, and hierarchies that govern how members of the group relate to one another.

Question 14

Berdaches were:
A) recognized by their cultural group as a third gender.
B) men who chose to live as women, performing women's traditional roles.
C) also known as "two-spirits" in some Plains Indian societies.
D) All of the answers are correct.

Accepted Answer

Berdaches, also known as "two-spirits" in some Native American cultures, were individuals who combined activities and roles of both men and women, and were recognized as a distinct social category, often considered a third gender. This concept was acknowledged and respected in many Indigenous societies across North America.

Question 15

The socially recognized network of relationships through which individuals are related to one another by ties of descent (real or imagined) and marriage is called:
A) a moiety.
B) a lineage.
C) kinship.
D) bilateral descent.

Accepted Answer

Kinship refers to the socially recognized network of relationships through which individuals are related to one another by ties of descent (real or imagined) and marriage. It encompasses the patterns of relationships that define people's family connections to one another, based on both blood relations and marriage bonds.

Question 16

With patrilocal residence, commonly associated with patrilineal descent a newly married couple lives in the:
A) groom's village of origin.
B) groom's mother's village of origin.
C) bride's village of origin.
D) bride's father's village of origin.

Accepted Answer

Patrilocal residence refers to the cultural practice where a newly married couple lives in the groom's village of origin, maintaining proximity to his family and ancestors.

Question 17

A set of lineages that claims to share a distant, often-mythical ancestor is called a:
A) moiety.
B) clan.
C) kinship system.
D) berdache.

Accepted Answer

A clan is defined as a group of people united by actual or perceived kinship and descent where the common ancestor is often mythical, distinguishing it from other kinship groups.

Question 18

Political organization can be defined as:
A) the culturally prescribed behavior associated with men and women which can vary from society to society.
B) the rules and structures that govern relations within a group of interacting people.
C) a society's formal and informal institutions that regulate a population's collective acts.
D) a network of relationships through which individuals are related to one another by ties of descent.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Political organization can be defined as:
A) the...

Question 19

The difference between gender roles and gender ideologies is:
A) gender roles are the culturally prescribed behaviors associated with men and women, while gender ideologies are the culturally prescribed values assigned to the tasks and status of men and women.
B) gender roles are highly variable among cultures, while gender ideologies are constant among all cultures.
C) gender roles are constant among all cultures, while gender ideologies are highly variable.
D) None of the answers; the terms are interchangeable.

Accepted Answer

Gender roles refer to the behaviors that a culture expects from men and women, while gender ideologies involve the underlying values and beliefs that justify these roles, including the significance and value assigned to the tasks and status of each gender within a society.

Question 20

The argument that females depicted in Classic Maya stelae occupied similar and complimentary roles to those of males, and that these Maya stelae depict a prehistoric cargo system, is based on:
A) translation of Maya hieroglyphics that describe the operation of cargo systems.
B) historically linked ethnographic analogy.
C) oral tradition; although Maya today do not participate in cargo systems, a record of their past participation has been preserved through storytelling.
D) All of the answers are correct.

Accepted Answer

The argument is based on historically linked ethnographic analogy, which involves comparing the roles depicted in Classic Maya stelae with known practices and roles in similar or related cultures, rather than direct evidence from translations, oral traditions, or a combination of sources.

Quiz 11: Reconstructing Social And Political Systems Of The Past

If a biological father has little to do with his biological offspring, and instead spends most of his time with his sister's children who call him by a term meaning "father" rather than "uncle," the descent system of these people is most likely:

William Webb (1882-1964) excavated hundreds of burials at the Indian Knoll site in western Kentucky. How did Webb explain the presence of hunting weapons in the graves of women and children at the site?

Roughly what percent of professional archaeologists today are women?

A social system in which positions of status are limited, and thus where not everyone of talent may achieve high status or prestige is called a(n) :

Ethnographic data from a variety of societies around the world has shown which of the following about men's and women's roles in ceramic manufacture?

If you live in a society in which two or more local groups are organized under a single highly ranked individual, you live in a(n) :

Margaret Conkey and Janet Spector pointed out which of the following biases in archaeology?

Schillaci and Stojanowski (University of New Mexico) argue from their analysis of the Pueblo Bonito burial population that the people of Pueblo Bonito practiced bilocal rather than matrilocal residence because:

Clusters of residences among the Mikea people in Madagascar reflect:

Why has Peter Peregrine (Lawrence University) suggested that Chacoan pueblo society practiced matrilocal residence?

The primary method for reconstructing male and female activities from the archaeological record comes from:

The standard kinship system in North America as well as in many other industrialized nations is:

Anthropologists refer to the rules and structures that govern relations within a group of interacting people as:

Berdaches were:

The socially recognized network of relationships through which individuals are related to one another by ties of descent (real or imagined) and marriage is called:

With patrilocal residence, commonly associated with patrilineal descent a newly married couple lives in the:

A set of lineages that claims to share a distant, often-mythical ancestor is called a:

Political organization can be defined as:

The difference between gender roles and gender ideologies is:

The argument that females depicted in Classic Maya stelae occupied similar and complimentary roles to those of males, and that these Maya stelae depict a prehistoric cargo system, is based on: