Deck 14: The Evolution of Our Behavior: Putting It All Together

Question 1

According to the text, cultural behaviors have:

A) only practical value
B) only symbolic meaning
C) both practical value and symbolic meaning
D) value only as a means of adapting to the natural environment

Answer 1

both practical value and symbolic meaning

Question 2

According to the Bible, why are Jews prohibited from eating pork?

A) pigs are not clean
B) you could get trichinosis
C) pigs were hard to raise in Southwest Asia
D) pigs have cloven hooves but don't chew cud

Answer 2

pigs have cloven hooves but don't chew cud

Question 3

According to the Bible, which of these dishes would be acceptable to eat?

A) boiled lobster
B) a tuna salad sandwich
C) crab cakes
D) fried clams

Answer 3

a tuna salad sandwich

Question 4

According to a literal interpretation of the Bible, which of these dishes would be acceptable to eat?

A) mice
B) snails
C) grasshoppers
D) lizards

Question 5

Mary Douglas stresses which role of cultural behaviors?

A) practical
B) materialistic
C) symbolic
D) biological

Question 6

In her analysis of the dietary laws, Mary Douglas seems to stress categories based on:

A) cleanliness
B) form of locomotion
C) ease of hunting or herding
D) health considerations

Question 7

Marvin Harris's approach to cultural analysis is called:

A) cultural materialism
B) symbolism
C) cultural relativity
D) sociobiology

Question 8

How, in general, does Marvin Harris explain the biblical dietary laws?

A) they were means of establishing the identity of the ancient Hebrews
B) they were all health or hygiene related
C) they resulted from some practical, usually economic considerations
D) they functioned to impose order on one part of the ancient Hebrews' world

Question 9

The author of the text feels that the biblical dietary laws are a result of:

A) symbolic considerations
B) practical considerations
C) an inherent need for people to order important aspects of their world
D) a combination and interaction of all of these

Question 10

The dietary laws also provide a good example of a:

A) set of religious beliefs
B) folk taxonomy
C) subsistence pattern
D) legal system

Question 11

The Dani of West Iran are:

A) foragers
B) hunter gatherers
C) horticulturalists
D) pastoralists

Question 12

The Dani's stated reason for their ritual warfare is to:

A) placate the ghosts of the slain
B) avenge the theft of property
C) symbolize and channel existing tensions
D) acquire additional pigs, wives, and land

Question 13

A holistic anthropological analysis of Dani ritual warfare suggests that its function is to:

A) placate the ghosts of the slain
B) avenge the theft of property
C) symbolize and channel existing tensions
D) acquire additional pigs, wives, and land

Question 14

How might the warfare among the Dani aid in maintaining the quality of their environment?

A) war deaths keep the population down
B) it alters land holdings and allows some land to lie fallow
C) its expense helps establish trade networks with the outside
D) it promotes reproduction to try to counter war deaths

Question 15

The Dani also have secular wars. Which of the following is NOT a reason for these?

A) disputes over pigs
B) disputes over wives
C) inability to resolve some conflict
D) defense from outside invaders

Question 16

Kuru among the Fore of Papua New Guinea is caused by:

A) cannibalism
B) a bacterial infection
C) a inherited genetic condition
D) an abnormal protein

Question 17

Kuru among the Fore of Papua New Guinea is passed from person to person by:

A) cannibalism
B) sharing drinking vessels
C) airborne microorganisms
D) sexual contact

Question 18

Anthropological analysis indicates that the function of Fore cannibalism among mainly the women was:

A) to help cure kuru
B) as a "fertilizer" to aid growth of crops
C) to supplement their diet in an increasingly protein poor society
D) to try to possess the power of the men whose bodies they ate

Question 19

The Fore attributed the kuru epidemic to:

A) the coming of Europeans
B) the work of sorcerers hired by the less well-off Fore
C) the invasion of a new microorganism
D) the reintroduction of cannibalism among the women

Question 20

How did the kuru epidemic affect Fore economics?

A) wealth decreased due to the high cost of medical care
B) people had to rely more heavily on cash crops to get money from the outside
C) wealth was redistributed as money went to sorcerers to help stop kuru
D) because most victims were women the labor force was severely depleted

Question 21

Altruism is:

A) a statement that is, by definition, true
B) an act performed mainly to benefit the performer
C) an act that leads to one's death
D) an act performed for the benefit of another

Question 22

In the "nature vs. nurture" debate, the position that emphasizes the "nature"
Part is formally called:

A) biological determinism
B) cultural determinism
C) cultural relativity
D) sociobiology

Question 23

In the "nature vs. nurture" debate, the position that emphasizes the "nurture"
Part is formally called:

A) biological determinism
B) cultural determinism
C) cultural relativity
D) sociobiology

Question 24

Kin selection refers to:

A) the conscious choosing of mates
B) instinctive behaviors that help one choose the best mate
C) passing on of one's genes by aiding the survival and reproduction of close kin
D) deciding whether a society is bilateral or unilineal

Question 25

Which of the following is NOT a synonym for a fairly new area of evolutionary biology?

A) sociobiology
B) evolutionary psychology
C) behavior ecology
D) ethnographic analogy

Question 26

The premise of sociobiology with regard to humans is that:

A) human behaviors all have a biological basis
B) only human social behaviors have a biological basis
C) some behavioral themes evolved because they had a reproductive advantage
D) we are aware of the reproductive consequences of all our cultural choices

Question 27

What is the nature of the disagreements among anthropologists regarding the analysis of cultural systems?

Question 28

What is Mary Douglas's approach to the analysis of cultural phenomena? How does she apply this to the biblical dietary laws?

Question 29

What is Marvin Harris's approach to the analysis of cultural phenomena? How does she apply this to the biblical dietary laws?

Question 30

How does the text explain the biblical dietary laws by combining the views of Mary Douglas and Marvin Harris?

Question 31

How does the text answer the question as to whether, in cultural systems, behaviors guide ideas or ideas guide behaviors?

Question 32

What does the text say about the reason for the ritual warfare cycle among the Dani?

Question 33

Why was the discovery of secular war among the Dani important in constructing an explanation for their ritual warfare cycle?

Question 34

In what way is the text's analysis of Dani warfare a good example of the holism of anthropology? Be specific.

Question 35

Explain the relationship between kuru and cannibalism among the Fore.

Question 36

What role did cannibalism play in Fore culture? Why was it practiced mostly by women?

Question 37

How is the kuru story a good example of anthropology's holistic approach? Be specific.

Question 38

Describe the debate involved in "nature vs. nurture"
or biological vs. cultural determinism.

Question 39

Evaluate the biological determinism school of thought with regard to human behavior.

Question 40

Evaluate the cultural determinism school of thought with regard to human behavior.

Question 41

What is kin selection? Give an example not discussed in the text.

Question 42

What is the general focus of sociobiology (also known as evolutionary psychology and behavioral ecology)? How is this applied to human behaviors?

Question 43

How does the text suggest that extreme versions of biological and cultural determinism might be reconciled?

Question 44

How might the altruistic acts of M. L. Skutnik, Joe Delaney, and the three men aboard United flight 93 be explained?