A student picks up a coin from the sidewalk and puts it in her pocket. Later that day she
takes an exam on which she scores an A. She then carries her “lucky coin” to her next
exam. This is an example of magical thinking.
The society with one of the greatest number of gods is the Ifugao of the Philippines
with over:
a. 100 gods
b. 500 gods
c. 1200 gods
d. 2000 gods
Defining terms so they are observable and measurable is called a(n):
a. analytic definition
b. functional definition
c. anthropological definition
d. operant definition
The Holiness Church is separated from most other Christian sects by:
a. the handling of poisonous snakes
b. the drinking of poisoned beverage
c. speaking in tongues
d. all of the above
The analysis of myth in terms of binary opposites is an example of:
a. functional analysis
b. structural analysis
c. psychoanalytic analysis
d. evolutionary analysis
Which of the following is true about the myth of Genesis?
a. there are two separate versions of creation told
b. the stories reflect a patriarchal worldview
c. the text acts as a social charter
d. all of the above
In Hofriyat, zar possession functions to do all of the following except:
a. explain failure
b. provide an opportunity for social activity
c. enable the zar to communicate with the community
d. to provide supernatural power to be used in the attainment of wealth
The practice of justifying beliefs and actions by reference to religious texts held to be
inerrant is:
a. totalism
b. scripturalism
c. traditioning
d. agnosticism
John Frum is:
a. revered as a god in Vanuatu
b. the anthropologist who first studied the Trobriand Islanders
c. the founder of a high demand UFO religion
d. the leader of the tribal association in the Amazon
Among the Huichol the peyote cactus is thought to be the:
a. bride of the devil
b. sacrifice of the creator god
c. footprint of the sacred deer
d. food of the sun god
Societies characterized by low population density, no full-time specialists or social
stratification, whose food is obtained primarily from gathering, hunting, and fishing are:
a. foragers
b. pastoralists
c. horticulturalists
d. intensive agriculturalists
The Islamic calendar is:
a. lunar
b. solar
c. seasonal
d. a 260 day cycle
Some neuroscientists conclude that the brain is capable of creating religious
experiences. Which of the following is evidence for this conclusion?
a. People suffering from temporal lobe epilepsy often report intense religious
experiences as part of their attacks.
b. People who report having intense religious experiences often report having had brain
trauma or brain injury in childhood.
c. Brain scans of people in deep meditation show a decreased activity in the parietal
lobe of the brain, in an area responsible for giving us a sense of our orientation in space
and time.
d. All of the above.
The Ghost Dance of 1890:
a. was begun by a Paiute prophet Wovoka
b. promised the return of the ancestors and the disappearance of the dominant society
c. is an example of a nativistic movement
d. all of the above
An altered state of consciousness can be brought about through:
a. fasting
b. meditation
c. sleep deprivation
d. all of the above
Which of the following statements is true?
a. The symbolic nature of color is universal; white is worn by brides in all societies.
b. All societies recognize the same basic color categories.
c. Different colors are associated with different emotional states.
d. All of the above statements are true.
The operant definition of religion proposed in this textbook includes the following
characteristics:
a. a belief in anthropomorphic supernatural beings
b. a focus on the sacred supernatural
c. an articulation of a worldview and moral code through narratives
d. all of the above
An example of a symbol is:
a. black as the color of mourning
b. the swastika woven into Navaho rugs
c. the American flag
d. all of the above
Religiously based causes of illness include:
a. soul loss
b. witchcraft
c. spirit intrusion
d. all of the above
In the Holiness Church, an altered state of consciousness is interpreted as a physical
manifestation of:
a. demonic possession
b. possession by the Holy Ghost
c. the need for salvation
d. being chosen for an afterlife with God
Example of Dani spirits are:
a. ghosts
b. personal and clan guardian spirits
c. forest and swamp spirits
d. all of the above
Possession by jinn in Hofriyat usually involves:
a. women of childbearing age
b. politically prominent men
c. village priests
d. elder men and women
While English users distinguish 11 primary colors, the number of color terms found in
the Yoruba language is:
a. 3
b. 7
c. 10
d. 14
The Massacre at Wounded Knee was associated with the:
a. John Frum Cult
b. Vailala Madness
c. Ghost Dance
d. Santeria
An example of homeopathic magic is:
a. praying for a god’s blessing
b. Hopi villagers performing a kachina dance
c. imitating the mating and reproduction of an animal
d. reciting an evil spell over an enemy’s hair clippings
Protective rituals are often found in situations:
a. involving soul loss
b. that involve the quest for food
c. that are dangerous and unpredictable
d. that involve a person’s change in status
Magic ritual usually includes:
a. a spell
b. the manipulation of objects
c. special conditions for the performer of the ritual
d. all of the above
Myths differ from folktales in that:
a. myths are recounted in ritual and folktales are not
b. myths reflect the worldview and folktales do not
c. myths with the supernatural and folktales do not
d. all of the above
Examples of genital cutting performed on males include all of the following except:
a. circumcision
b. subincision
c. infibulations
d. none of the above; all are practiced on males
A shell trumpet and a flute are examples of a(n):
a. cordophone
b. aerophone
c. idiophone
d. membranophone
Haitians do not use the term Vodou. Instead they refer to their religion as:
a. “serving the spirits”
b. “Haitian Catholicism”
c. “nature worship”
d. “healing”
An apocalypse is:
a. the catastrophic destruction of the world
b. the origin of the world through birth
c. a god who gave is known for trickery and deceit
d. a type of hero myth
An anthropologist travels to the Fore of New Guinea and produces an ethnography. This
ethnography is a(n):
a. comparison of Fore society with other New Guinea societies
b. a description of Fore society and culture
c. analysis of the Fore language
d. analysis of the biological and genetic characteristics of the Fore people
One of the universal characteristics of witchcraft is that:
a. witches are always female
b. witches achieve their evil ends through magical techniques
c. witches achieve their evil power through a pact or relationship with a supernatural
power
d. none of the above
The cross was an early symbol of Christianity and appears in First Century Christian
art.
Human universals refer to biological characteristics of human beings that reflect a
common biology.
The way in which God is portrayed changes over time in the Tanakh.
Among the Azande witchcraft is basically evil, but it is good when it is directed at
enemies.
The Fore believe that kuru is caused by sorcery based on homeopathic magic.
Altered states of consciousness are experienced in the way in which the culture
interprets it. For example, it might be interpreted as spirit possession.
The Branch Davidians were more of a political than a religious group.
Foragers practice simple farming with hand tools, are seminomadic, and lack full-time
specialists.
The ability to enter an altered state of consciousness is central to the role of shaman.
The Four Noble Truths of Buddhism state that life is imperfect and inevitable involves
suffering.
In the Navaho Creation Story, the first humans were created by the two Holy People.
The Azande confirm the identity of a witch through autopsy after the witch has died or
through autopsy of a blood relative of the same sex.
Culture is based upon the use of symbols or shared understanding about the meaning of
things.
In Haitian Vodou, the identification of the Yoruba deity Legba as St. Peter is an example
of syncretism.
The Azande utilize medicines that are objects in which supernatural power resides.
In the Zulu male puberty ceremony the boy is taken to the river and bathed. His old
cloths are destroyed and he puts on new clothes and is presented to the community. This
phase of a rite of passage is known as separation.
The story of Snow White is not a religious story because it does not involve the sacred
supernatural and is not the basis of ritual.
The hajj is a pilgrimage that is a central part of the Islamic religion.
An important method of field study in anthropology is participant observation.
Reincarnation means that souls are reborn as animals.