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Chapter 1: Religion in Prehistoric and Primal Cultures
Fill in the Blank
1. In the context of religion, _________refers to religion in an original state.
2. Upper Paleolithic burial customs included covering the bones of the deceased in red ochre.
The red ochre may have symbolized the _________.
3. __________ refers to an endeavor to control or bend the powers of the world to one’s will.
4. According to the Cherokee conceptual system, _________ upset the harmony among living
things.
5. A mural in the cavern of Les Trois shows a masked man, with a long beard and human feet,
who is arrayed in reindeer antlers, the ears of a stag, the paw of a bear, and the tail of a horse.
This figure most likely represents the __________.
6. A “rite of passage” is an example of a ritual that is _________ in character.
7. An amulet worn to ward off evil is an example of a _________.
8. Two possible motives for engaging in purification rituals are _________ and _________.
9. The two Dieri murdus are _________ and __________.
10. The BaVenda believed that all deaths, except those of very old people, were due to
Multiple Choice
11. Which of the following would be found in a Neanderthal grave?
a. copper tools
b. food offerings
c. medicines
d. written records
12. How did the myth of the Mother Goddess change during the Neolithic Age?
a. expanded to include birthing
b. expanded to include protection of vegetation
c. expanded to include regeneration
d. expanded to include protection of animals
13. What animal did the Neanderthals revere?
a. the cave bear
b. the domesticated dog
c. the eagle
d. the mammoth
14. Which of the following statements correctly characterizes the relationship of the
Neanderthals to the species Homo sapiens?
a. Homo sapiens was a separate species that replaced the Neanderthals.
b. The Neanderthals blended into the species Homo sapiens.
c. The Neanderthals were a separate species that replaced Homo sapiens.
d. The Neanderthals were Homo sapiens.
15. In what way did the Cro-Magnons make use of the horse?
a. as food
b. as a pack animal
c. as transportation
d. to show wealth
16. Which of the following was not a source of food during the Middle Stone Age?
a. berries
b. fish
c. grains
d. kiln baked bread
17. In what way are myths a necessity in primal cultures?
a. They allow individuals to develop an identity outside the group.
b. They are vital for the maintenance of the patterns of group life.
c. They provide a factual record of the daily life of a tribe.
d. They provide instructions for hunting.
18. In the Dieri culture, the __________ are the highly regarded spirits of the legendary heroes.
a. kutchi
b. medicine men
c. Mura-muras
d. pinya
19. The BaVenda believed that the soul was a combination of ________ and _________.
a. breath, shadow
b. light, dark
c. male, female
d. sun, moon
20. The BaVenda believed in a monothesitic diety associated with the _________.
a. creation of the world
b. power of the shaman
c. preservation of the soul
d. rise of the sun each day
21. To the BaVenda, any thunderous noise was thought to be whose voice?
a. Muloi
b. Mungoma
c. Ngana
d. Raluvhimba
22. Studies of the Neanderthal found that not all bodies were buried intact and some long bones
were split open to the marrow. What does this suggest?
a. Bodies were dismembered and buried in more than one grave.
b. Bodies were dug up and eaten by wild animals.
c. Certain body parts were kept and used in ancestor worship.
d. Human cadavers were a source of food.
23. The Cro-Magnon burial sites were quite similar to the burial sites of _________.
a. BaVenda
b. Dieri
c. mesolithic nomadic hunters
d. Neaderthals
24. What do the relics of the Middle Stone Age suggest?
a. a shift to patriarchy
b. an awe of nature
c. ritualistic cannibalism
d. the shift from village to nomadic life
25. During the Middle Stone Age the power of new inventions is shown by the use of axes and
spears as _________?
a. currency
b. fetishes
c. taboos
d. weapons
26. Which of the following developments did not occur during the Neolithic Age?
a. active tilling of the soil
b. advances in the art of pottery
c. domestication of animals
d. use of fish hooks and nets to catch fish
27. The Pantheon of the Neolithic Age reflects a society dominated by the _________.
a. female
b. male
c. mother
d. mystical
28. Among the Dieri, __________ plays a powerful role in establishing lines of relatedness
crossing and crisscrossing the tribal barriers.
a. fetishism
b. murduism
c. kutchism
d. totemism
29. It was believed that the Dieri medicane man could surreptiously abstract an individual’s
_________ to be used as a magical infusion.
a. blood
b. body fat
c. bone marrow
d. breath
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30. The use of a chisel-shaped piece of wood to knock out a Dieri boy’s two front teeth was part
of what ritual?
a. burial ritual
b. cleansing ritual
c. marriage rite
d. puberty rite
31. The Cherokee stories begin with stories having this theme.
a. categories of living things
b. creation of the world
c. kinship with living things
d. shaping of the world
32. In the Cherokee conceptual system, animals are subdivided into various groups. Which of the
following is NOT one of those groups?
a. four footed animals
b. hoofed animals
c. those that fly
d. verminous animals
33. In the Cherokee conceptual system, why would a man attempting to win the affections of a
potential lover appeal to the moon?
a. The moon was considered to be male.
b. The moon was thought to influence women.
c. The moon was thought to help with lost causes.
d. The moon would cast a romantic light on the man.
34. The Cherokee believed that eating the new corn without first completing the proper rites
would result in what illness or problem?
a. dementia
b. intestinal worms
c. loss of fertility
d. rheumatism
35. Henri Frankfort suggested that _________ is/are distinguishable from legend, saga, fable,
and fairy tale.
a. magic
b. religion
c. spirit stories
d. true myth
