Chapter 1: Anthropology and Human Diversity

MULTIPLE CHOICE
1. The critical factor that distinguishes anthropology from other fields of study is:
a. Its emphasis on rigorous experimentation and analysis of data.
b. Its exclusive focus on non-Western cultures.
c. Its use of theories of biological evolution to explain human behavior.
d. Its interest in describing humankind throughout time and in all parts of the world.
e. Its focus on the discovery of a single human nature.
ANS: D
MSC: Pickup

DIF:

Conceptual

REF: 3

OBJ: 1

2. One of the most critical goals of cultural anthropology as an academic discipline is to:
a. Describe, analyze, and explain different cultures.
b. Increase the level of culture in particular human societies.
c. Place large numbers of cultural anthropologists in political offices.
d. Determine the direction of human evolution.
e. Preserve world heritage for future generations.
ANS: A
MSC: Pickup

DIF:

Conceptual

REF: 3

OBJ: 1

3. To say that anthropology is holistic means that anthropologists are particularly interested in:
a. Objects and acts regarded as holy by various peoples.
b. The whole personality of any particular individual.
c. The integration of biological, sociocultural, and environmental factors in explaining
human behavior.
d. Studying every culture in the world.
e. The efforts to find holes in particular theories.
ANS: C
MSC: Pickup

DIF:

Applied

REF: 4

OBJ: 1

4. Which of the following correctly identifies the sub-disciplines of anthropology?

a. Archaeology, Anthropometry, Cultural Anthropology, Paleontology, and Cultural
Relativity.
b. Archaeology, Cultural Anthropology, Cognitive Anthropology, Ethno-history, and
Linguistics.
c. Archaeology, Ethno-history, Anthropometry, Structural Anthropology, and Cultural
Anthropology.
d. Archaeology, Cultural Anthropology, Physical Anthropology, Applied
Anthropology and Linguistics.
e. Archaeology, Phonology, Medical Anthropology, Development Studies, and
Cultural Anthropology.
ANS: D
MSC: Pickup

DIF:

Factual

REF: 4

OBJ: 2

5. Anthropologists say that human adaptation is biocultural. Which of the following best
represents what is meant by this statement?
a. Human adaptation is both biological and cultural, and anthropologists cannot
distinguish between the meanings of these concepts.
b. Human adaptation involves both biological and cultural dimensions and each
influences the other.
c. Human adaptation is unique among all animals because it is based exclusively on
physiological adaptations.
d. Human adaptation is the same as that of all animal because culture plays a role in
the adaptation of all forms of life.
e. Human adaptation is based exclusively on culture. Biology is subsumed within the
cultural dimension and does not exert an independent influence on humans.
ANS: B
MSC: New

DIF:

Conceptual

REF: 4

OBJ: 2

6. Which of the following studies how languages are related to each other?
a. Biological anthropology
b. Human variation
c. Historical linguistics
d. Paleo-linguistics
e. Cultural linguistics
ANS: C
MSC: New

DIF:

Factual

REF: 5

OBJ: 2

7. Archaeologists are principally interested in:

a. Excavating sites and developing museums to preserve ancient landforms.
b. Collecting artifacts made by ancient peoples.
c. Tracing the course of human evolution through an examination of the fossilized
remains.
d. Understanding and reconstructing the cultures of past societies.
e. Tracing the early development of Western civilization.
ANS: D
MSC: Pickup

DIF:

Factual

REF: 6

OBJ: 2

8. A primary contribution of urban archaeologists is the development of:

a. New architecture based on traditional designs.
b. New methods of city governance.
c. New knowledge about people who resided at the site.
d. New insights into agriculture.
e. New information about traditional Native American lifestyles.
ANS: C
MSC: Pickup

DIF:

Applied

REF: 7

OBJ: 2

9. All of the following statements about the understanding of culture in anthropology are
correct except:
a. Culture is biologically and genetically transmitted from person to person.

b. Culture is the way of life of a particular human society.

c. Culture is the learned behaviors and symbols that allow people to live in groups.
d. Culture is the primary way that human adapt to their environments.
ANS: A
MSC: New

DIF:

Conceptual

REF: 7

OBJ: 2

10. What is ethnography?

a. It is the reconstruction of past cultures based on material remains.
b. It is the scientific study of the concept of culture and adaptation.
c. It is the process of doing qualitative, fieldwork-based research.
d. It is the protection and exhibition of cultural resources.
e. It is the process of seeking laws and general principles that govern cultural
phenomena.
ANS: C
MSC: New

DIF:

Factual

REF: 7

OBJ: 2

11. An emic approach to the study of culture is one that emphasizes:

a. The description of a culture from the point of view of a member of the culture.
b. The comparison of similar parts of different cultures.
c. The study of the ecological adaptation of a culture.
d. Ethnocentrism and cultural relativism.
e. The search for general laws or principles that can be applied to all human cultures.
ANS: A
MSC: Pickup

DIF:

Factual

REF: 8

OBJ: 2

12. Which of the following problems would an applied anthropologist be most likely to study?
a. The ways in which families are organized to carry out the basic tasks of farming in
agricultural societies.
b. The ways in which health care delivery to American minority communities might
be improved.
c. The ways in which a society's religious beliefs relate to its artwork.
d. The relationship between the language members of a culture speak and the ways in
which they understand the world.
e. The percentage of goods and practices in a culture that have their origins in a
different culture.
ANS: B
MSC: Pickup

DIF:

Applied

REF: 9

OBJ: 3

13. A critical insight of medical anthropology is that:

a. Disease and medicine never exist independently from culture.
b. Diseases are universal, biological entities and have little relation to culture.
c. There is a single, universal medical model that is applicable to all cultures.
d. Although diseases may have different names and different treatments in different
cultures, the same diseases are present in all cultures.
e. Traditional cultures have a greater number of diseases that modern medicine
considers psychological than does modern culture.

ANS: A
MSC: Pickup

DIF:

Conceptual

REF: 8

OBJ: 3

14. Psychiatry has been a frequent subject of medical anthropology. One critical finding is:
a. The Freudian model of psychoanalysis is appropriate to all cultures universally.
b. People in all cultures experience universal psycho-sexual stages of development.
c. Schizophrenics are considered ill in Western cultures but are considered religiously
enlightened in other cultures.
d. Doctors are most frequently trained to treat mental disease as a result of either
biological dysfunction or psychosocial factors but not both.
e. Mental illness is always caused by social factors, but because of the influence of
drug companies, doctors are reluctant to believe this finding.
ANS: D
MSC: Pickup

DIF:

Applied

REF: 9

OBJ: 3

15. One important use of applied archaeology mentioned in the text is:
a. To settle border disputes between modern nations.
b. To prove the fundamental truths of evolution.
c. To demonstrate the ancient presence of humans in the Americas and in China.
d. To demonstrate that no Europeans were present in North America before
Columbus.
e. To increase agricultural yields by revitalizing ancient irrigation techniques.
ANS: E
MSC: Pickup

DIF:

Factual

REF: 10

OBJ: 3

16. Indigenous peoples involve all of the following except:

a. Members of a society that have occupied a region for a long time.
b. Members of groups recognized as original inhabitants.
c. Members of any group who dress as indigenous peoples and participate in native
pow-wows.
d. Members of a group that is recognized as very ancient to a region.
e. Members of a group that continues to live in a traditional manner.
ANS: C
MSC: New

DIF:

Factual

REF: 10

OBJ: 3

17. Which of the following best illustrates why applied anthropology is important today?
a. It helps us understand which cultures are superior.
b. It contributes to our understanding of the evolution of human beings.
c. It provides new forms of technology and new ways of coordinating populations.
d. It creates the basis for world peace.
e. It opens up new perspectives and insights in understanding our human differences.
ANS: E
MSC: New

DIF:

Conceptual

REF: 11

18. Ethnocentrism is the tendency for:

a. Every society to view itself as superior to others.
b. Every society to want to exploit the wealth of other societies.

OBJ: 3

c. Every individual to consider him/herself the equal of others.

d. Every individual to want to see another's point of view.
e. Every society to value the group above the individual.
ANS: A
MSC: Pickup

DIF:

Applied

REF: 12

OBJ: 4

19. One critical difference between Western ethnocentrism and the ethnocentrism of many other
peoples is:
a. Westerners are more ethnocentric than others.
b. Westerners are less ethnocentric than others.
c. Westerners have more often been in a position to impose their view of culture than
have others.
d. Western notions of ethnocentrism include religious superiority while others did not.
e. Western notions of ethnocentrism were justified while others were not.
ANS: C
MSC: Pickup

DIF:

Conceptual

REF: 12

OBJ: 4

20. A positive value of ethnocentrism for a society is that it:

a. Decreases the chance of war.
b. Helps members of a society bond together as a social unit.
c. Increases an individual's ability to act independently of others.
d. Results in a higher standard of living because of an emphasis on progress.
e. Increases equality between males and females within a society.
ANS: B
MSC: Pickup

DIF:

Applied

REF: 12

OBJ: 4

21. Cultural relativism requires that:

a. All cultures be seen as equally good.
b. All cultures be seen as equally self-serving.
c. All cultures be measured against our own.
d. An individual must give up his/her culture in order to understand another culture.
e. Values and customs be understood in terms of the culture of which they are a part.
ANS: E
MSC: Pickup

DIF:

Factual

REF: 12

OBJ: 4

22. When ethnocentrism becomes very marked and begins to target a specific ethnic group, it
can lead to:
a. Bureaucratization.
b. Racism.
c. Cultural relativism.
d. Moral superiority.
ANS: B
MSC: New

DIF:

Applied

REF: 13

OBJ: 4

23. In Anthropology, the concept of race:

a. Has been found to be inadequate for scientifically meaningful classification of

b.
c.
d.
e.

humans.
Has great scientific utility but no political implication.
Is agreed on by both biological and cultural anthropologists to be very useful in
analyzing human behavior.
Is outmoded as there are no patterned biological differences in the human species.
Is no different from racism.

ANS: A
MSC: Pickup

DIF:

Factual

REF: 13

OBJ: 5

24. Biopsychological equality is the notion that:

a. Every person has equal intelligence.
b. All human groups have equal biological and mental capabilities.
c. From a biological and psychological perspective humans are, for all practical
purposes, the same as other primates.
d. There should be political programs to assure equal rights of all people.
e. Human culture is rooted in human biology.
ANS: B
MSC: Pickup

DIF:

Factual

REF: 13

OBJ: 5

25. Traits such as skin color, hair color and texture, and nose shape are often chosen to
determine race because:
a. They are easily visible.
b. They are the most important to human cultures.
c. They determine physical attractiveness and hence mating behavior.
d. They have greater biological importance than other traits (regardless of their other
cultural importance).
e. They occur in more consistent, predictable ways than other traits.
ANS: A
MSC: Pickup

DIF:

Conceptual

REF: 14

OBJ: 5

26. Genetic studies indicate:

a. Individual differences are greater than the sum of differences between groups.
b. Racial differences can be substantiated genetically.
c. Traits such as skin color are reliable means of classifying people.
d. Race is a biological construct and is useful only in science.
e. It is possible to determine how closely two individuals are related based on
observable features.
ANS: A
MSC: Pickup

DIF:

Applied

REF: 14

OBJ: 5

27. How has anthropological fieldwork in non-Western areas most changed since the mid1900s?
a. Today, anthropologists work among people who are very likely to read their works
and comment on them.
b. Today, anthropologists work primarily in colonial areas, where the native
population benefits from scientific study.
c. Today, anthropologists no longer seek permission to do fieldwork in isolated

geographical areas.
d. Today, anthropologists serve in local governments and can return favors to
populations who participate in their research.
e. Today, anthropologists no longer do long-term fieldwork as they did years ago.
ANS: A
MSC: New

DIF:

Conceptual

REF: 15

OBJ: 5

28. All of the following were considered the highest risk field dangers in a 1990 study of
anthropologists except:
a. Tuberculosis.
b. Vehicle crashes.
c. Malaria.
d. Hepatitis.
ANS: A
MSC: New

DIF:

Factual

REF: 16

OBJ: 6

29. New international conditions have created problems and opportunities for anthropologists
working in the field. What are some of the challenges that J. Christopher Kovats-Bernat
associates with doing ethnography of violence?
a. There is often unstable political organization, difficult and dangerous physical
conditions, and difficulties in making ethical decisions.
b. Informants do not want to work with the anthropologist because of lack of
anonymity and the anthropologist cannot live in a central location.
c. Social conditions are difficult, the anthropologist faces challenges in breaking local
laws, and newspapers will not publish personal interest stories.
d. It is difficult to study violence because it is infrequent and cannot be controlled.
Also, the anthropologist frequently cannot get official permission to work in areas
of violence.
e. Violence is a cultural concept and anthropologists find it difficult to define this
term. The ethnography of violence, according to Kovats-Bernat, is an
ethnocentric concept.
ANS: A
MSC: New

DIF:

Applied

REF: 17

OBJ: 6

30. Anthropologist J. Christopher Kovats-Bernat argues that when an anthropologist pursues

studies of ethnography of violence, the anthropologist and informant must have what type
of relationship between them?
a. Autonomy.
b. Self-preservation.
c. Respect.
d. Mutual advantage.
e. Mutual responsibility.
ANS: E
MSC: New

DIF:

Conceptual

REF: 17

31. Within the discipline of anthropology, globalization has:

a. Decreased the need for anthropologists.

OBJ: 6

b. Tended to increase the political involvement of some anthropologists.

c. Enabled anthropologists to use technology to do fieldwork without leaving their
offices.
d. Allowed anthropologists to become members of native cultures to a greater extent
than before.
e. Made it easier for anthologists to publish their findings.
ANS: B
MSC: Pickup

DIF:

Factual

REF: 19

OBJ: 6

32. All of the following are ways that globalization has affected anthropology except:
a. Anthropologists have become increasingly more politically engaged with
indigenous peoples.
b. Anthropologists have become more active in social action to defend minority
populations.
c. Anthropologists today are more focused on studying relationships and exchanges
between populations.
d. Studies today are more holistic and tend to focus on the particular and specific
characteristics of the societies in which the anthropologist is researching.
e. Anthropologists frequently collaborate with those they study in order to better
represent the culture and its changes.
ANS: D
MSC: New

DIF:

Applied

REF: 19

OBJ: 6

33. Your textbook argues that jobs for anthropologists are:

a. Far more plentiful than jobs for sociologists or English majors.
b. Easily available for those with a BA in the field.
c. About the same as those available to students in other Liberal Arts disciplines.
d. Expected to greatly increase in number in the next five to ten years.
e. Rare and generally only available to those with Masters degrees and PhDs.
ANS: C
MSC: Pickup

DIF:

Factual

REF: 19

OBJ: 7

34. During the late 20th century:

a. The United States has become an increasingly dominant force culturally and
socially in the world.
b. Members of minority groups in the United States have moved to stronger economic
and political positions.
c. The world has become more and more a domain of nationalist strongholds.
d. White, Protestant, Northern European males have begun to have more power and
exert a more dominant force in national decision-making.
e. Immigrants are less connected with their homelands of origin, leaving them eager
to assimilate into United States culture.
ANS: B
MSC: Pickup

DIF:

Applied

35. Your textbook argues that multiculturalism:

a. Should be embraced by all Americans.

REF: 20

OBJ: 7

b.
c.
d.
e.

Should be resisted by all who fear the passing of the American Way of Life.
Is inevitable in an increasingly globalized world.
Exposes a fundamental truth about the nature of human societies and cultures.
Is dangerous to every culture but is also ultimately unstoppable.

ANS: C
MSC: Pickup

DIF:

Factual

REF: 21

OBJ: 7

36. Which of the following statements is correct?

a. There is no such thing as a cultural universal.
b. There are cultural universals, but there is no single explanation about how they
developed.
c. Anthropologists believe that cultural universals exist because at one time there was
a single human culture.
d. Periodically cultural universals occur, especially at points of evolution.
e. Human evolution could not occur without cultural universals.
ANS: B
MSC: Pickup

DIF:

Conceptual

REF: 21

OBJ: 7

37. What is hubris?

a. Excessive pride or confidence that leads to arrogance and insolence.
b. The belief that ones society is the most perfect currently existing society.
c. The belief that all cultures should be evaluated on their own merits rather than by a
universal yardstick.
d. Feelings of insecurity and inferiority caused by rapid culture change.
e. The belief that working hard will inevitably lead to success.
ANS: A
MSC: Pickup

DIF:

Factual

REF: 21

OBJ: 7

38. The current un-contacted population of the world is probably around:

a. Zero.
b. 1,000.
c. 10,000.
d. 100,000.
e. 1,000,000.
ANS: C
MSC: Pickup

DIF:

Factual

REF: 22

TRUE/FALSE
1. Anthropologists only study contemporary, living peoples.
ANS: F

REF: 1

MSC: New

2. Humans capacity for culture is based on our unique biology.

ANS: T

REF: 4

MSC: New

OBJ: 7

3. Language is a human symbol system for communication, but it is not considered a means of
cultural transmission.
ANS: F

REF: 5

MSC: New

4. Archaeologists infer culture from material remains of past societies.

ANS: T

REF: 6

MSC: Pickup

5. Culture is human behavior that is genetically transmitted.

ANS: F

REF: 7

MSC: New

6. A study that analyzes culture using Western scientific theories is called an etic ethnography.
ANS: T

REF: 8

MSC: New

7. Applied anthropologists are usually trained in one of the four primary subdisciplines.
ANS: T

REF: 9

MSC: New

8. Medical anthropologists work in other cultures but are rarely focused on healthcare in the
United States.
ANS: F

REF: 9

MSC: New

9. All humans live in cultures.

ANS: T

REF: 11

MSC: New

10. Ethnocentrism is always bad.

ANS: F

REF: 12

MSC: New

11. Cultural relativism is the perceptual bias that prevents us from seeing the logic in other
cultures.
ANS: F

REF: 12

MSC: Pickup

12. Anthropologists have never discovered a valid and consistent way of dividing humanity into
a fixed number of races.
ANS: T

REF: 13

MSC: Pickup

13. All human beings belong to a discrete number of races.

ANS: F

REF: 14

MSC: Pickup

14. Race is an important social fact but the big differences among human beings are the result of
culture.
ANS: T

REF: 15

MSC: Pickup

15. The American Anthropological Associations current Code of Ethics has worked well in
situations of violence and political danger.
ANS: F

REF: 17

MSC: New

16. Globalization has changed the ways that anthropologists work and write.
ANS: T

REF: 18

MSC: New

17. Today, in an effort to better understand the foundations of violence, anthropologists tend to
remain as politically and socially isolated as possible during fieldwork.
ANS: F

REF: 19

MSC: New

18. Anthropology degrees lead to about the same job prospects as other liberal arts degrees.
ANS: T

REF: 19

MSC: New

19. Members of the cultures that anthropologists study rarely have access to news of the outside
world.
ANS: F

REF: 21

MSC: Pickup

20. Anthropologists believe that there is no such thing as a cultural universal.

ANS: F

REF: 21

MSC: New

SHORT ANSWER
1. What distinguishes anthropology from other academic disciplines?
ANS:
Anthropology attempts to comprehend the entire human experience throughout time and
in all parts of the world.
REF: 3

MSC: New

2. What is the study of paleoanthropology?

ANS:
It is the study in which anthropologists trace the evolution of humankind in the fossil record.
It is part of Biological or Physical Anthropology.

REF: 4

MSC: New

3. What does it mean to say that we perform language?

ANS:
It means that each person changes and modifies the meanings of words to emphasize and
communicate something specific.
REF: 5

MSC: New

4. What do archaeologists study?

ANS:
Archaeologists study human culture through material remains or artifacts.
REF: 6

MSC: Pickup

5. Long-term fieldwork in cultural anthropology that involves living with and observing other
people is called __________.
ANS:
participant observation.
REF: 7

MSC: New

6. Distinguish between the emic and etic perspectives.

ANS:
Emic perspective seeks to understand a culture from the inside, the perspectives of the
individuals belonging to the culture; etic perspective explains a culture through rules or
principles that govern culture, the members of the culture are not necessarily aware of these
rules and principles.
REF: 7-8

MSC: Pickup

7. Besides providing social, cultural, and political perspectives on health, what else do medical
anthropologists do?
ANS:
They help bridge the gap between clients and medical care providers, they help articulate the
patients needs and experiences, and their results help a community to make positive
changes to their health programs.
REF: 8

MSC: New

8. How do anthropologists define indigenous persons?

ANS:

They are members of societies that have occupied a region for a long time and are
recognized as the original (or very ancient) inhabitants.
REF: 10

MSC: New

9. Why is work such as applied anthropology important in our world today?

ANS:
It helps us make better informed decisions, it opens up our eyes to new perspectives, and it
improves the lives of people facing difficult changes.
REF: 11

MSC: New

10. Define ethnocentrism and explain how it can be maladaptive.

ANS:
Ethnocentrism is judging other cultures by your own. It involves an attitude of cultural
superiority and looking at other cultures from the point of view of one's own culture. It is
often the source of racism.
REF: 12

MSC: New

11. How is cultural relativism different from ethnocentrism?

ANS:
While ethnocentrism is the belief that our own way of life is superior, cultural relativism
helps us to understand the logic other cultures; it increases our understanding of others and
is a fundamental anthropological research tool.
REF: 12

MSC: New

12. What are the three primary problems with the biological concept of race as a category of
human classification?
ANS:
There is an arbitrary selection of traits used to define races, an inability to describe intraspecies variation through racial categories, and repeated independent evolution of so-called
racial traits in a population with no genetic relationship.
REF: 14

MSC: New

13. Based on mathematical models of migration and genealogy, when do scientists believe that
all contemporary humans most recently shared a common ancestor?
ANS:
Humans shared a common ancestor between 3,000 and 4,000 years ago.
REF: 15

MSC: New

14. Why does the current Code of Ethics raise concerns for those anthropologists working under
conditions of violence?
ANS:
In these cases, an anthropologist often must work in a less visible and more coded manner.
Fieldnotes, for example, may need to be very protected and encrypted in order to protect not
only the informants, but also the anthropologist.
REF: 17

MSC: New

15. What does J. Christopher Kovats-Bernat mean by the concept of mutual responsibility
under ethnographic conditions of violence?
ANS:
He means that both the anthropologist and informant must protect and support each other in
order to do work under such challenging situations.
REF: 17

MSC: New

16. What are two ways that globalization has affected anthropology?
ANS:
It has made anthropologists more likely to be politically and socially engaged with those
they are studying and it has led to research that is more likely to focus on relationships and
exchanges between the informant communities and the rest of the world.
REF: 18-19

MSC: New

17. Why are anthropologists more politically and socially engaged today with the populations
they are studying?
ANS:
Because of globalization, anthropologists are finding that the populations with whom they
are working are facing increasing threats from disease, corporations, governments, and even
tourists.
REF: 19

MSC: New

18. How is anthropology different from other social science disciplines as far as occupational
skills today?
ANS:
It focuses on understanding other groups of people through culture, it gives us unique
insight in the plasticity of human nature, and it focuses on creating new and useful ways of
thinking about culture.
REF: 20-21

MSC: New

19. What is the importance of multiculturalism for anthropology?

ANS:
It is a growing characteristic of our globalized world today and it is necessary to understand
this concept in order to work effectively in the world today. Anthropology embraces this
concept as inevitable and practical for working with people today.
REF: 21

MSC: New

20. What is the current world population, and approximately how many people are considered
un-contacted by industrialized cultures?
ANS:
The world population is approximately 7 billion, and of those, only about 10,000 are
considered un-contacted.
REF: 22

MSC: New

ESSAY
1. Consider the ethnography of violence that you read about in this chapter. Why is violence
an important topic of study for todays anthropologists? How might ethical concerns be
addressed specifically for these situations?
ANS:
Answer not provided.
2. How can anthropology be used in our own society? Choose two social problems that you
believe are significant in our lives today and discuss ways that anthropology may contribute
to a better understanding of the issues and more effective ways of finding positive
resolution.
ANS:
Answer not provided.
3. Ethnocentrism and cultural relativism are two major ways of responding to cultural
differences. Explain each, pointing out their strengths and weaknesses with regard to
intercultural relationships. Give an example of each from your own cultural background,
discussing when you either exhibited or witnessed this response in an event around you.
Why do you believe it is important for anthropologists to practice cultural relativism?
ANS:
Answer not provided.
4. We have argued that race is culturally rather than biologically constructed. Enumerate and
explain the critical problems with the biological construction of race. Then, discuss how the
concept of cultural race (or social race) is used in our society today.
ANS:

Answer not provided.

5. What are two critical issues facing the discipline of anthropology today? Present and discuss
each using concepts and ideas that you have learned in Chapter 1.
ANS:
Answer not provided.