Deck 1: What Is Anthropology?

Question 1

A cultural anthropologist who spends a year or so living with,talking to,and observing people whose customs he or she is studying is known as a(n)__________.

A) ethnographer
B) archaeologist
C) ethnohistorian
D) linguistic anthropologist

Answer 1

ethnographer

Question 2

Anthropology is a comparatively young discipline. It was only in the late __________ that anthropologists began to go to live with people in faraway places.

A) 1800s
B) 1700s
C) 1600s
D) 1900s

Answer 2

1800s

Question 3

Which subdiscipline is now frequently referred to as simply "cultural anthropology"?

A) ethnology
B) ethnohistory
C) anthropological linguistics
D) archaeology

Answer 3

ethnology

Question 4

The __________ is interested in what people speak about and how they interact conversationally.

A) sociolinguist
B) anthropological linguist
C) historical linguist
D) ethnologist

Question 5

Which of the following can encompass any of the four main subfields of anthropology?

A) applied anthropology
B) biological anthropology
C) anthropological linguistics
D) archaeology

Question 6

What is culture?

A) the customary ways that a particular population or society thinks and behaves
B) the religion, language, and values of a population
C) advanced knowledge of literature and fine arts
D) traditional beliefs that have been unchanged over generations

Question 7

In what way has anthropological research changed over the years?

A) Anthropologists now have more specialized areas of research.
B) Modern anthropologists are no longer trained with a holistic approach.
C) Anthropologists only work in academic settings today.
D) Anthropologists are now only interested in non-Western cultures.

Question 8

Prosimians,monkeys,apes,and humans are all members of the order __________.

A) Primates
B) humans
C) Homo sapiens
D) mammals

Question 9

Which of the following disciplines would have the greatest overlap with biological anthropology?

A) genetics
B) philosophy
C) history
D) physics

Question 10

The study of how languages change through time and how they may be related is called __________.

A) historical linguistics
B) structural linguistics
C) sociolinguistics
D) ethnolinguistics

Question 11

What is the difference between a paleontologist and a paleoanthropologist?

A) Paleontologists study many different types of animals, while paleoanthropologists focus on humans and their relatives.
B) Paleontologists work in the lab, while paleoanthropologists work in the field.
C) Paleontologists study humans, while paleoanthropologists study dinosaurs.
D) Paleontologists study archaeological and biological remains, while paleoanthropologists focus on only skeletal remains.

Question 12

Because historians rely on written records,they are limited to societies that existed within the last __________ years.

A) 5,000
B) 10,000
C) 50,000
D) 1,000

Question 13

A distinguishing feature of anthropology is the goal of understanding how aspects of human experience such as local history,physical environment,family life,language,settlement patterns,and religion are interrelated. This approach to culture is referred to as __________.

A) the holistic approach
B) the sociological approach
C) cultural materialism
D) participant observation

Question 14

How does anthropology differ from other disciplines concerned with humans?

A) It is broader in scope, both geographically and historically.
B) Anthropology has a more narrow focus on the cultural "other."
C) It has existed as a discipline longer than most other social sciences.
D) Anthropology has a less scientific approach than other disciplines.

Question 15

Anthropology is literally the study of __________.

A) humans
B) fossils
C) history
D) religion

Question 16

What are the two broad classifications of subject matter within anthropology?

A) biological and cultural
B) contemporary and ancient
C) Western and non-Western
D) theoretical and practical

Question 17

What proportion of anthropologists today are applied,or practicing,anthropologists?

A) over half
B) about one-quarter
C) only 10 percent
D) nearly all

Question 18

Which type of culture was the traditional focus for anthropologists?

A) non-Western cultures
B) Western cultures
C) extinct cultures
D post-industrialized cultures

Question 19

Why is it incomplete to simply call anthropology "the study of humans"?

A) Many other disciplines also study humans.
B) The focus of anthropology is on pre-human creatures.
C) Anthropologists study only certain aspects of human life.
D) Anthropologists study all species of mammals.

Question 20

The anthropological curiosity is primarily interested in __________.

A) typical characteristics of a cultural group
B) abnormal characteristics within a group
C) differences in individual behavior
D) behavioral changes over time

Question 21

How did anthropology help disprove assumptions by American educators in the 1960s that African American schoolchildren rarely drank milk because they were poor and uneducated?

A) Anthropological research has shown that many ethnic groups in different parts of the world, including Asians, Arabs, Jews, and African Americans, avoid fresh milk because they cannot digest it.
B) Anthropologists established that milk was intentionally being withheld from black students as a form of institutionalized racism.
C) Researchers established that African Americans can afford milk but do not like the taste of it.
D) Anthropologists demonstrated that all ethnic groups who do not drink fresh milk are poor and uneducated, not just African Americans.

Question 22

Which type of anthropological knowledge is often applied to forensic investigations?

A) biological
B) linguistic
C) cultural
D) archaeological

Question 23

How might anthropologists employ the holistic approach in the study of a particular religious custom?

A) They would consider the environmental and economic origins of the custom.
B) They would record the history of the custom as told by the community's elders.
C) They would employ the methods of participant observation to better understand the custom.
D) They would approach the custom with Western biases in mind.

Question 24

Anthropology helps us realize that people are physically and culturally adapted to their particular __________.

A) environment
B) lifestyle
C) religion
D) language

Question 25

An ethnohistorian would __________.

A) study the way in which cultures have changed over time
B) work in the field for long periods of time
C) study only past cultures, much as archaeologists do
D) prepare lengthy reports on extinct cultures

Question 26

To what does the term basic research usually refer?

A) research that is driven by simple curiosity
B) testing of already existing products
C) research that is necessary for the development of a new technology
D) testing new tools to meet basic needs, such as medications

Question 27

Some specialties cross anthropological subfields. What subfields contribute to medical anthropology?

A) ethnology and biological anthropology
B) linguistic anthropology and ethnology
C) archaeology and linguistic anthropology
D) biological anthropology and archaeology

Question 28

What is the focus of cross-cultural researchers?

A) They hope to discover general patterns about cultural traits.
B) Their goal is to minimize the effects of cultural homogenization.
C) They are interested in finding the best ways of behaving.
D) They bridge the gap between anthropology and other social sciences.

Question 29

What two distinct sets of questions are sought by biological anthropologists?

A) the emergence and evolution of human beings; how and why contemporary humans vary biologically
B) reconstructing cultural changes in the past through artifacts; the history and diversity of languages
C) applying knowledge of culture to correct social problems; understanding how and why people today vary in their customs and behaviors
D) using cultural knowledge to dominate and exploit other societies; studying the earliest examples of tool use by our human ancestors

Question 30

In contrast to research anthropologists,who are almost always employed in universities,__________ anthropologists are commonly employed in government agencies,development agencies,consulting firms,charitable foundations,and other settings outside academia.

A) applied
B) historical
C) archaic
D) philosophical

Question 31

How do we know that all living people belong to the species Homo sapiens?

A) People from all populations can successfully interbreed.
B) All modern humans have the same blood type.
C) Humans from around the world look pretty much the same.
D) Historical documents can trace ancestry back to the origin of our species.

Question 32

Which of the following illustrates one way anthropology helps to alleviate cultural misunderstandings?

A) Understanding differences in body language across cultures helps with communication.
B) Anthropologists insist that you learn at least one other language.
C) Anthropology teaches that all behaviors are acceptable.
D) Anthropology encourages everyone to do a cross-cultural immersion course in college.

Question 33

Which of the following areas of study is a part of anthropology?

A) why contemporary peoples have different cultures
B) how race is linked to behavior and intelligence
C) how insect colonies are organized
D) when and how dinosaurs became extinct

Question 34

Which of the following may be trained in any or all of the subfields of anthropology?

A) applied anthropologist
B) biological anthropologist
C) ethnologist
D) political anthropologist

Question 35

An anthropologist with a __________ specialization focuses much of his or her research on a particular region of the world.

A) theoretical
B) time period
C) geographical
D) political

Question 36

Unlike other linguists,anthropological linguists are primarily interested in __________.

A) unwritten languages
B) the ways in which language is related to beliefs and behaviors
C) the way language is used in different social contexts
D) the historical connections of different languages to each other

Question 37

Unlike ethnologists,ethnographers __________.

A) describe a given society based on their own fieldwork
B) study societies with writing systems
C) compare societies cross-culturally
D) are interested in "primitive" peoples

Question 38

Unlike archaeologists,__________ draw on a database of observations and interviews with living people.

A) ethnologists
B) paleoanthropologists
C) ethnohistorians
D) bioarchaeologists

Question 39

Which type of anthropologist would be best suited to investigating the daily life of an Asian civilization dating to 15,000 years ago?

A) an archaeologist
B) an ethnologist
C) an ethnohistorian
D) a primatologist

Question 40

Compared to anthropologists of previous years,an anthropologist today is more likely to __________.

A) specialize in one certain topic or area
B) investigate many different aspects of life of the people studied
C) study a geographically more distant society
D) do fieldwork alone

Question 41

How is the ethnohistorian's work similar to that of a historian?

A) They must piece together information from scattered-and sometimes contradictory-sources.
B) They work entirely on populations from the past.
C) They eschew artifacts in favor of the written record.
D) Both are housed in history departments in most universities.

Question 42

Why do most disciplines become more specialized as they grow?

A) Knowledge accumulates and methods become more advanced.
B) People get bored studying the same topics over and over again.
C) Theories fade out of use and more complex ideas must take their place.
D) Scientists today are simply more intelligent than scientists of the past.

Question 43

How does specialization affect an anthropologist's connection to other disciplines?

A) Most anthropologists have some overlap with other disciplines that share their research.
B) Specialization isolates anthropologists from other disciplines.
C) There is very little specialization in anthropology, so communication with other disciplines is frequent.
D) Anthropologists can become so specialized they become a part of another discipline altogether.

Question 44

What drives anthropologists to choose such a broad subject of study?

A) They believe that any generalization about humans should be applicable across time and space.
B) A key tenet within anthropology is that there is a fundamental base to all human culture.
C) Many anthropologists believe that other disciplines lack scientific rigor.
D) Anthropology attracts people who have difficulty narrowing their research focus.

Question 45

What is the holistic approach? Demonstrate how the holistic approach is a vital component of the anthropological perspective.

Question 46

Which of the following disciplines would have the greatest overlap with archaeologists researching early toolmaking?

A) geology
B) geography
C) anatomy
D) sociology

Question 47

Consider the following subfields of anthropology: archaeology,primatology,paleoanthropology,ethnology,and linguistic anthropology. Group these subfields into either biological anthropology or cultural anthropology,and explain your answer.

Question 48

Compared to the historian,the archaeologist is __________.

A) more likely to study very ancient cultures
B) less likely to analyze written records of ancient societies
C) more likely to analyze written records of ancient societies
D) more likely to study how societies change over time

Question 49

What is the primary purpose of an ethnologist's fieldwork?

A) It provides the data needed to describe the typical behavior and thought of a group of people.
B) It allows researchers to become more sympathetic to their research subjects' concerns.
C) Fieldwork is a training period to prepare ethnologists for jobs as professors.
D) It is a rite of passage for anthropologists, as it is a traditional component of anthropological work.

Question 50

Anthropologists are becoming more and more specialized. Does this specialization complement or weaken the historically unique anthropological perspective?

Question 51

How is the study of anthropology useful?

A) The study of anthropology gives us a better understanding of humankind.
B) Exploring human variation shows us why social stratification is unavoidable.
C) It teaches us that Western culture should be replaced by more indigenous belief systems.
D) The study of world cultures helps us determine which culture traits are the best.

Question 52

Although archaeologists and historians are both interested in the past,how does archaeology differ from history in its approach?

A) Unlike historians, archaeologists study past societies that pre-date written records, using only material remains such as pottery and stone tools.
B) Unlike historians, archaeologists only care about the writing systems of non-English speakers.
C) Archaeologists dig up dinosaurs, while historians focus on humans.
D) Archaeologists only rely on fossil remains from human ancestors.

Question 53

Ethnology overlaps with more specific disciplines,such as literature,economics,or religious studies. What,then,is the distinctive feature of ethnology?

A) It is interested in how these various aspects of life fit together.
B) It focuses on non-Western variation in these areas.
C) It compares these topics cross-culturally.
D) Only ethnology studies these issues among people with no written language.

Question 54

Anthropology is sometimes called the "umbrella discipline" because it can encompass so many diverse areas of study. Explain what topics fall under the scope of anthropology,and why.

Question 55

What is the relevance of anthropology? Give at least three examples of anthropological knowledge being applied to real-world problems.