Chapter 1 Anthropology and the Study of Culture
MULTIPLE CHOICE
1. Anthropology is usually divided into four fields, but some people claim that a fifth, known as __________, should
be included.
A) interpretivist anthropology
B) functionalist anthropology
C) applied anthropology
D) theoretical anthropology
2. Biological anthropologists focus on __________.
A) the impact of colonialism on different cultures
B) cross-cultural patterns of contemporary human politics
C) human evolution and contemporary human variation
D) how culture is passed on from one generation to the next
3. Which subfield of archaeology provides insights into social change in Britain in the nineteenth and twentieth
centuries?
A) archaeology of contemporary life
B) prehistoric archaeology
C) underwater archaeology
D) industrial archaeology
4. The field of anthropology that studies human language and communication is called __________.
A) biological anthropology
B) communication science
C) linguistic anthropology
D) applied anthropology
5. The Garbage Project has practical relevance because it provides information on __________.
A) how rural areas differ from urban areas
B) how long it has taken for garbage from prehistoric times to decompose
C) recent consumption patterns
D) how the poor of the world are creating the least garbage
6. What example of an applied use of biological anthropology is listed in the text?
A) cultural resource management
B) forensic anthropology
C) specialized testing for bilingual students
D) poverty reduction programs
7. Paul Farmer has done most of his work in __________.
A) Mexico
B) Haiti
C) Guatemala
D) Puerto Rico
8. A cultural relativist would view contemporary Nacirema culture as __________.
A) materialistic, aggressive, and without much worth
B) just as interesting and worthy of study as any other
C) more ethical than most others
D) adaptively superior to any other
9. The functionalist approach says that __________.
A) powerful structures shape culture
B) culture is like a biological organism with interacting parts
C) culture should be studied on the basis of how people make a living
D) cultures evolve from primitive to more advanced, or civilized
10. The French anthropologist Claude Lévi-Strauss is associated with the theoretical perspective known as
__________.
A) functionalism
B) holism
C) French structuralism
D) cultural relativism
11. A major theoretical debate exists in cultural anthropology today between __________.
A) applied anthropologists and archaeologists
B) cultural materialists and interpretivist anthropologists
C) ecological anthropologists and economic anthropologists
D) psychological anthropologists and medical anthropologists
12. The cultural materialist perspective uses a three-level model of culture that includes __________.
A) infrastructure, structure, and superstructure
B) class, “race,” and gender
C) ethnicity, age, and class
D) structure, agency, and change
13. The cultural materialist interpretation of the Hindu belief in sacred cows addresses __________.
A) their ritual purity
B) their role in social relationships
C) their economic value
D) their symbolic value
14. The theoretical approach, which is the view that powerful structures such as economics, politics, and media
shape cultures and create entrenched systems of inequality and oppression, is referred to in the textbook as
__________.
A) the infrastructure
B) cultural determinism
C) cultural imperialism
D) structurism
15. Which of the following phrases is from the definition of culture used in the text?
A) “that complex whole”
B) “total socially acquired life-way”
C) “patterned repetitive ways of thinking, feeling, and acting”
D) “learned and shared behavior and beliefs”
16. Among Tejano immigrants in the United States, making tamales symbolizes __________.
A) a connection with the homeland in Mexico
B) the triumph of culture over nature
C) the importance of corn in Tejano culture
D) a woman’s role as a “good wife”
17. A recent mental health disorder in Japan related to sleep is __________.
A) insomnia
B) nightmares about work
C) falling asleep during the day
D) sleeping sickness
18. Culture __________.
A) is more developed in contemporary North America than in contemporary China
B) first emerged among humans around 10,000 years ago
C) is predominantly transferred through genes
D) shapes natural, biological functions
19. The increased spread of international ties and spread of Western capitalism worldwide is referred to as
__________.
A) internationalization
B) capitalization
C) globalization
D) holism
20. The opening of a Western-style clothing retail store in a previously isolated area has resulted in the popularity of
blue jeans among local youth. Many of the wearers have replicated local fabric designs in paint on the jeans. What
model of cultural interaction does this scenario best represent?
A) clash of civilizations
B) Westernization
C) ethnocentrism
D) localization
21. People who have a longstanding connection with their home territory predating colonialism are referred to as
__________.
A) ethnic groups
B) indigenous people
C) local groups
D) racial groups
22. San peoples of Southern Africa fought a long legal battle to gain profits from __________.
A) diamond mines on their land
B) oil deposits on their land
C) a new diet pill
D) documentaries of their lifestyle
23. A study of landowners in a culture could be described as being focused on a microculture based on what factor?
A) class
B) ethnicity
C) gender
D) institution
24. The tendency to apply one’s own cultural values in judging the behavior and beliefs of people raised in other
cultures is known as __________.
A) cultural relativism
B) cultural universalism
C) ethnocentrism
D) egocentrism
25. The main goal of cultural anthropology is to __________.
A) understand why people behave and think the way they do
B) predict culture change
C) understand the evolution of culture from nonhuman primates to human primates
D) learn how to make positive changes to cultures
TRUE/FALSE
26. Cultural anthropology studies effects of biological heredity on human behavior.
27. Most North American anthropologists agree that general anthropology consists of five fields.
28. Two theoretical trends were influenced by postmodernism: structurism and functionalism.
29. Cultural constructionism is a theoretical position that stands in opposition to cultural relativism.
30. Cultural materialists attempt to learn about culture by examining the material aspects of it, such as the
environment and how people make a living within a particular environment.
31. Basic natural functions—such as eating, drinking, sleeping, and eliminating—are done and thought about the
same way everywhere, as opposed to cultural functions such as language.
32. The American Anthropological Association’s 2014 involvement in the Ebola outbreak in West Africa is an
example of anthropology applied to an institutional microculture.
33. Both globalization and localization can be seen in the spread of McDonald’s restaurants.
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34. The four models of cultural interaction are: clash of civilizations, McDonaldization, hybridization, and
localization.
35. A study of middle schools in the southwestern Rocky Mountain region of the United States found that Mexican
immigrant girls are marginalized, in part because they are not interested in or good at sports.
ESSAY
36. What is applied anthropology and what are two examples of it?
37. State the overall goal(s) of cultural anthropology and provide two examples of how cultural anthropologists have
contributed to achieving the goal(s).
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38. Describe one way cultural anthropology has changed since the late nineteenth century.
39. Describe the cultural materialist perspective and an example of the perspective applied to a cultural practice.
40. What does the theory of agency emphasize? Why is it contrasted with structurism? How does it address the issue
of poverty?
41. Describe and contrast two ways anthropologists have approached the definition of culture.
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42. Using examples from the text, describe two ways that culture shapes a “natural” human function.
43. Define the concept of holism and provide a cultural example.
44. What is a microculture and what are three examples of how microcultures can be formed?
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45. Describe the difference between absolute cultural relativism and critical cultural relativism. Choose an issue and
consider it from each of the two perspectives.