Question 1

How has the Industrial Revolution affected energy use? Discuss the emergence of industrial and postindustrial societies, their characteristics, and how they meet their subsistence needs.

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Question 2

Describe pastoralist subsistence patterns. What types of environments do pastoralists inhabit today? How do they make use of natural resources? Include a discussion of the East African cattle complex in your answer.

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Question 3

What is the demographic transition? Explain why this transition takes place and the conditions that affect it. Support your answer with specific details.

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Question 4

Which of the following would have the effect of lowering fertility?

Accepted Answer

Sexual abstinence, or the avoidance of sexual activity, is known to prevent pregnancy and thus lower fertility. Choices A, C, and D do not necessarily have a consistent effect on fertility and may even have varying effects depending on cultural or individual factors.

Question 5

__________ are incentives for people to move from one society to another.

Accepted Answer

Pull factors are defined as the incentives for people to move from one society to another. These incentives can be economic, social, political, or environmental. Examples of pull factors include job opportunities, higher wages, improved living conditions, political stability, and better education and healthcare systems. Demographic determinants refer to characteristics of a population such as age, gender, and ethnicity. Migration factors and push factors refer to reasons that prompt people to leave their home country or region such as war, natural disasters, persecution, or lack of job opportunities.

Question 6

The Semang of Malaysia, who hunt with blowguns, get most of their meat from __________.

Accepted Answer

The Semang of Malaysia primarily hunt small game for meat, such as fish and other small animals. They are not known to hunt larger animals like elephants, buffalo, kangaroos, emus, monkeys, or crocodiles.

Question 7

Describe the demographic changes that emerge in agricultural societies. How are these changes tied to subsistence? Support your answer with specific examples.

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Question 8

Discuss human cultural adaptations to different environments. What patterns have anthropologists noted in terms of human subsistence patterns? Give examples of how human subsistence needs and the natural environment intersect.

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Question 9

Why do anthropologists study demography? Illustrate with an example that shows how demographic analysis intersects with other areas of anthropological interest. Include a description of the quantitative demographic measures that would be relevant to the example you have chosen.

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Question 10

Compare and contrast the characteristics of chiefdoms in Africa and North America in terms of the environment, subsistence, and demography. How do these examples illustrate the similarities and differences that anthropologists have noted in chiefdom societies?

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Question 11

Describe the environments occupied by foragers today. How do these compare to areas occupied by foragers in the distant past? What accounts for these changes?

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Question 12

The chiefdom societies in Tahiti enhanced their agricultural yield through __________.

Accepted Answer

The chiefdom societies in Tahiti enhanced their agricultural yield through irrigation and land terracing, which allowed them to effectively manage and distribute water for their crops. These techniques helped them to cultivate more land and produce more food, supporting their growing populations.

Question 13

Compare and contrast horticulture and intensive agriculture in terms of how the environment is used to meet subsistence needs. Illustrate with cross-cultural examples.

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Question 14

High infant mortality rates, the view that children are future assets who can care for their parents in old age, and the benefits associated with child labor all encouraged individuals in agricultural states to do which of the following?

Accepted Answer

High infant mortality rates and reliance on child labor created a need for large families in agricultural states. Children were seen as assets and necessary for a family's survival and economic prosperity. Small families were not practical in such contexts, and raiding forager and tribal groups for children was not a common practice. Sorcery, witchcraft, and shamanism were not typically used to prevent deaths in agricultural societies.

Question 15

What do the terms "fission" and "fusion" refer to in hunting-and-gathering societies?

Accepted Answer

Fission refers to the splitting up of a larger group into smaller ones due to a decrease in available resources or other factors, while fusion refers to the merging of smaller groups into a larger, more cohesive group in times of plenty. This cyclical change in population density relative to resources is a common phenomenon in hunting-and-gathering societies.

Question 16

The transition from foraging to food production __________.

Accepted Answer

The transition from foraging to food production often led to higher mortality rates, poorer sanitation, and decreased life expectancies due to factors like increased population density, reliance on fewer food sources, and the spread of diseases in more settled communities.

Question 17

The change for high fertility rates and high mortality rates to low fertility rates and low mortality rates is called the __________.

Accepted Answer

The demographic transition refers to the transition from high fertility and high mortality rates to low fertility and low mortality rates, usually associated with economic and social development. The roller-coaster theory and socialization of vital rates are not widely recognized concepts in demography. Urbanization can be a factor influencing changes in fertility and mortality rates, but it is not a comprehensive explanation for the demographic transition.

Question 18

Why do foraging societies sometimes resort to infanticide?

Accepted Answer

Infanticide in foraging societies is often a response to anticipated food shortages, allowing the group to ensure the survival of the larger community by reducing the number of mouths to feed.

Question 19

Populations of agrarian civilizations grew rapidly because of which of the following?

Accepted Answer

Agrarian civilizations experienced increased fertility rates due to stable food supplies and the ability to support larger families, leading to rapid population growth.

Question 20

Compare and contrast how foragers, pastoralists, and horticulturalists control population growth. Discuss the concept of carrying capacity as well as specific techniques used to manage fertility.

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Quiz 8: Environment, Subsistence, and Demography