CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2023 STUDY
GUIDE COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW WITH
SOLVED QUESTIONS 2026
◉Although rap music originated in the United States, it is now popular
all over the world. Which of the following mechanisms of cultural
change is responsible for this?
A. acculturation
B. enculturation
C. independent invention D. colonization
E. diffusion . Answer: Diffusion
◉Anthropologist Clifford Geertz defined culture as ideas based on
cultural learning and symbols. For anthropologist Leslie White, culture
originated when our ancestors acquired the ability to use symbols. What
is a symbol?
A. a distinctive or unique cultural trait, pattern, or integration that can be
translated into other cultures
B. any element within a culture that distinguishes it from other cultures,
precisely because it is difficult to translate
C. something verbal or nonverbal within a particular language or culture
that comes to stand for something else, with no necessary or natural
connection to the thing for which it stands
,D. a linguistic sign within a particular language that comes to stand for
something else in another language
E. something verbal or nonverbal with a non-arbitrary association with
what it symbolizes . Answer: something verbal or nonverbal within a
particular language or culture that comes to stand for something else,
with no necessary or natural
◉Anthropologists' early interest in Native North Americans
A. is unique to European anthropology.
B. was more important than interest in the relation between biology and
culture in the development of U.S. four-field anthropology.
C. proved early on that culture is a function of race.
D. is an important historical reason for the development of four-field
anthropology in the U.S.
E. was replaced in the 1930s by the two-field approach. . Answer: is an
important historical reason for the development of four-field
anthropology in the U.S.
◉Applied anthropology is
A. the purely academic dimension of anthropology.
B. the term used for all anthropological research programs.
C. the use of anthropological data, perspectives, theory, and methods to
identify, assess, and solve contemporary problems.
D. rarely possible, as anthropological studies are not practical in the
"real world."
, E. not guided by anthropological theory. . Answer: the use of
anthropological data, perspectives, theory, and methods to identify,
assess, and solve contemporary problems.
◉As humans organize their lives and adapt to different environments,
our abilities to learn, think symbolically, use language, and employ tools
and other products
A. rest on certain features of human biology that make culture itself a
biological phenomenon.
B. have made some human groups more cultured than others.
C. prove that only fully developed adults have the capacity for culture;
children lack the capacity for culture until they mature.
D. rest on certain features of human biology that make culture, which is
not itself biological, possible.
E. are shared with other animals capable of organized group life—such
as baboons, wolves, and even ants. . Answer: rest on certain features of
human biology that make culture, which is not itself biological, possible.
◉Based on his observation that contact between neighboring tribes had
existed since humanity's beginnings and covered enormous areas, Franz
Boas argued
A. against treating cultures as isolated phenomena.
B. that even the earliest foragers engaged in warfare.
C. that language must have originated among the Neandertals.
GUIDE COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW WITH
SOLVED QUESTIONS 2026
◉Although rap music originated in the United States, it is now popular
all over the world. Which of the following mechanisms of cultural
change is responsible for this?
A. acculturation
B. enculturation
C. independent invention D. colonization
E. diffusion . Answer: Diffusion
◉Anthropologist Clifford Geertz defined culture as ideas based on
cultural learning and symbols. For anthropologist Leslie White, culture
originated when our ancestors acquired the ability to use symbols. What
is a symbol?
A. a distinctive or unique cultural trait, pattern, or integration that can be
translated into other cultures
B. any element within a culture that distinguishes it from other cultures,
precisely because it is difficult to translate
C. something verbal or nonverbal within a particular language or culture
that comes to stand for something else, with no necessary or natural
connection to the thing for which it stands
,D. a linguistic sign within a particular language that comes to stand for
something else in another language
E. something verbal or nonverbal with a non-arbitrary association with
what it symbolizes . Answer: something verbal or nonverbal within a
particular language or culture that comes to stand for something else,
with no necessary or natural
◉Anthropologists' early interest in Native North Americans
A. is unique to European anthropology.
B. was more important than interest in the relation between biology and
culture in the development of U.S. four-field anthropology.
C. proved early on that culture is a function of race.
D. is an important historical reason for the development of four-field
anthropology in the U.S.
E. was replaced in the 1930s by the two-field approach. . Answer: is an
important historical reason for the development of four-field
anthropology in the U.S.
◉Applied anthropology is
A. the purely academic dimension of anthropology.
B. the term used for all anthropological research programs.
C. the use of anthropological data, perspectives, theory, and methods to
identify, assess, and solve contemporary problems.
D. rarely possible, as anthropological studies are not practical in the
"real world."
, E. not guided by anthropological theory. . Answer: the use of
anthropological data, perspectives, theory, and methods to identify,
assess, and solve contemporary problems.
◉As humans organize their lives and adapt to different environments,
our abilities to learn, think symbolically, use language, and employ tools
and other products
A. rest on certain features of human biology that make culture itself a
biological phenomenon.
B. have made some human groups more cultured than others.
C. prove that only fully developed adults have the capacity for culture;
children lack the capacity for culture until they mature.
D. rest on certain features of human biology that make culture, which is
not itself biological, possible.
E. are shared with other animals capable of organized group life—such
as baboons, wolves, and even ants. . Answer: rest on certain features of
human biology that make culture, which is not itself biological, possible.
◉Based on his observation that contact between neighboring tribes had
existed since humanity's beginnings and covered enormous areas, Franz
Boas argued
A. against treating cultures as isolated phenomena.
B. that even the earliest foragers engaged in warfare.
C. that language must have originated among the Neandertals.
