Magic refers to the:
a. belief in a generalized supernatural power
b. belief in an ancestor that has been transformed into a god
c. use of ritual to cause injury or death
d. use of ritual to control events through supernatural mechanisms
The Fore believe that kuru is caused by the:
a. breaking of a taboo
b. displeasure of an ancestral spirit
c. transmission of a microorganism
d. activities of a sorcerer doing evil magic
Physical alterations of the human body function to:
a. separate humans from nonhuman animals
b. identify particular affiliations with certain groups
c. mark completion of some type of ritual, including initiation rituals
d. all of the above
Characteristic of Siberian Shamanism is the use of:
a. hand held drums
b. hallucinogenic snuff
c. dancing
d. self-inflicted pain
Christian groups descended from the Millerism movement of the early Nineteenth
Century believed that:
a. life on earth was created by extraterrestrial aliens
b. people die and are reborn in other people or animals
c. after death people travel to a special place and become gods
d. the world as we know it will come to an end at some date in the future
A belief in souls is probably found in all societies. This belief is likely derived from the
experience of:
a. dreams
b. hallucinations
c. fainting
d. all of the above
Liminality refers to a set of features that characterize a person in which phase of a rite
of passage:
a. transition
b. separation
c. peripheralization
d. incorporation
The term witchcraft has several meanings. Which of the following is not an example of
witchcraft?
a. a sorcerer using evil magic to kill a member of his or her own community
b. a 17th century heretic being executed by the church for hearsay
c. a person accused of willing death in another person
d. all of the above are examples of witchcraft
Pharanoic circumcision is a type of genital alteration performed on females in many
societies in North and East Africa.
Self-inflicted pain leading to a sacrifice of blood characterizes the ritual of the:
a. Huichol
b. Maya
c. Yoruba
d. Nuer
A study of a people’s religious beliefs and rituals would be a part of the study of:
a. cultural anthropology
b. linguistics
c. archaeology
d. physical anthropology
The term synesthesia refers to:
a. hypersuggestibility
b. fear of losing self-control
c. one form of sensory experience is translated into another
d. distortion of time
A god who gave humans important things by accident or through deception is known as
a(n):
a. trickster
b. hero
c. deceit god
d. creator god
A god who withdraws from active interactions with the world is a(n)
a. otiose god
b. attribute god
c. trickster god
d. creator god
Which of the following statements about Islam is false?:
a. Islam accepts Jesus and Moses as prophets of God.
b. The prophet Mohammad was visited by an angel who gave him the command to
recite.
c. Muslims have a duty to create a society that is just and equitable.
d. The God of Islam is more personal and approachable than the God of Judaism.
An offering is:
a. an economic exchange designed to influence the supernatural
b. the destruction of something of value
c. the killing of an animal
d. all of the above
The interpretative approach, in which religion is described as a cluster of symbols that
together make up a whole, was developed by:
a. Sigmund Freud
b. Melford Spiro
c. Clifford Geertz
d. James Frazer
Supernatural beings with humanlike qualities are said to be:
a. anthropocentric
b. hominoid
c. heliocentric
d. anthropomorphic
Neurologist Oliver Sachs believes that the visions described by Hildegard of Bingen are
likely to be associated with:
a. fasting
b. use of hallucinogenic drugs
c. migraines
d. self-inflicted pain
Rituals that reinforce community standards of behavior and community cohesiveness
are:
a. rites of passage
b. social rites of intensification
c. revitalization rituals
d. salvation rituals
The first use of the term culture in anthropology appeared in 1871 in a book written by:
a. James Frazer
b. Robert Edgerton
c. Edward Tylor
d. Melford Spiro
Kuru, a disease found among the Fore, is caused by:
a. microscopic particles transmitted through cannibalism
b. a parasite transmitted through poorly-cooked pork
c. a hereditary factor passed on through the mother to her children
d. toxins introduced by Indonesian mining operations
A deliberate attempt to bring about change in a culture characterizes:
a. rites of passage
b. revitalization movements
c. rites of intensification
d. Neo-Pagan movements
Magic that is worked for antisocial and evil ends is known as:
a. witchcraft
b. sorcery
c. oneiromancy
d. necromancy
The Celtic revival in Ireland is an example of a:
a. revivalistic movement
b. millenarian movement
c. nativistic movement
d. messianic movement
Robin Horton proposed that which of the following is a variable that explains variation
in the nature of gods in different societies?:
a. how often people in that society encounter other people and the world outside their
own community
b. the degree to which an individual’s status in the society is ascribed or achieved
c. the severity of childrearing practices in regards to feeding and toilet training
d. both a and b are true
An example of a nativistic movement is:
a. the Branch Davidians
b. Santeria
c. the Vailala Madness
d. Wicca
An important goddess found in Hinduism is:
a. Isis
b. Kali
c. Ishtar
d. all of the above
A case of witchcraft among the Azande is confirmed by the:
a. prince
b. shaman
c. poison oracle
d. priest
In contrast to the Gwari of West Africa, Nupe witches are always female. It appears to
be due to the fact that:
a. Nupe wives engage in activities that their husbands cannot control
b. political power is vested in female chiefs who rule through their husbands and
brothers
c. women sexuality and fertility is viewed as dangerous and powerful
d. the Nupe were influenced by Christian missionaries at the time of Witchcraze in
Europe
Magic-like rituals are an important part of the behavior of athletes in athletic
competition. Certain ritual behaviors, such as wearing the same clothing or washing
one’s hands after a losing inning, are:
a. learned and passed down in particular baseball teams
b. adopted because the player associated certain activities with success
c. purchased from magical specialists
d. none of the above
In the Holiness Church the observed altered state of consciousness is most similar to
which of the following behaviors found in tribal cultures:
a. spirit possession
b. divination
c. healing
d. shamanism
According to the Murngin of Australian, after death a person’s spirit will:
a. travel to the land of the dead across the sea
b. return to the ancestral clan water hole
c. remain for a time in the land of the living as a ghost
d. disappear forever
Closely related to tattooing is scaring. Scarification is known as:
a. corseting
b. cicatrization
c. infibulation
d. nullification
The feeling of being at one with the universe or supernatural beings is called a(n):
a. nirvana
b. sympathetic state
c. unitary state
d. entoptic phenomena
Shamans can only be found in small-scale societies.
Magic involves the manipulation of words and objects so as to compel a deity to bring
about the desired result.
The unit of time we call a week is an arbitrary unit. The number of days that make up a
week varies among the world’s societies.
The Golden Bough is an example of an origin story.
Priests are usually associated with some sacred space, such as a temple or shrine.
The term ethnocannibalistic anthropophagers refers to societies who eat the bodies of
one’s own group.
A presentiment is a feeling that something is about to happen.
Shamans in Korea are usually women who have experienced some type of
psychological stress in their lives.
The Navaho phrase “to walk in beauty” refers to the accumulation of material goods.
All societies have clearly understood terms to label the domain of culture we call
religion.
Sand paintings are an important element in Navaho therapy rituals.
Types of music, such as religious music, evoke the same emotions in all societies.
Since the Navaho witch is a personification of evil, witchcraft serves to culturally
define immoral and antisocial behavior.
Supernatural figures such as vampires and zombies reflect our contemporary fears and
anxieties.
The division of Dani spirits into categories represents a fundamental classification
scheme found in their religion and well-known by the elders.
An example of an archetype is the hero.