ANTHROPOLOGY 110 MIDTERM 1 EXAM
Final Examination Questions & Answers with Verified Solutions
2026/2027
1. What are the four traditional subfields of American anthropology established by Franz
Boas?
A. Sociology, Psychology, History, and Philosophy
B. Cultural Anthropology, Archaeology, Biological (Physical) Anthropology, and
Linguistic Anthropology
C. Paleontology, Primatology, Geology, and Ethnography
D. Forensic Anthropology, Medical Anthropology, Applied Anthropology, and Genetics
Rationale: Franz Boas structured American anthropology as a "four-field" discipline incorporating cultural,
archaeological, biological, and linguistic approaches.
2. What defines the "holistic approach" in anthropology?
A. Studying human biology, culture, history, and language as interconnected parts of
a whole across time and space.
B. Focusing exclusively on modern urban industrial societies.
C. Analyzing human DNA sequences without considering social environments.
D. Restricting research strictly to published written historical documents.
Rationale: Holism is the fundamental anthropological perspective that sees human existence as an
integrated system of biology, environment, history, and culture.
3. What is "ethnography"?
A. A statistical survey conducted via phone or online questionnaires.
B. A detailed, qualitative written account of a specific culture based on first-hand,
long-term fieldwork.
C. Excavating ancient stone tools from archaeological sites.
D. Laboratory genetic analysis of human blood samples.
Rationale: An ethnography is both the primary research process (fieldwork) and the resulting written
description of a community's way of life.
, 4. How does "ethnology" differ from "ethnography"?
A. Ethnography describes a single specific culture, while ethnology cross-culturally
compares and analyzes multiple ethnographic datasets.
B. Ethnography studies ancient human fossils, while ethnology studies modern languages.
C. Ethnology uses quantitative laboratory methods, while ethnography uses satellite
mapping.
D. There is no difference; the two terms are completely identical in meaning.
Rationale: Ethnography is single-culture descriptive research; ethnology uses comparative cross-cultural
data to build general theories about human behavior.
5. What primary research method is considered the hallmark of cultural anthropology
fieldwork?
A. Double-blind clinical drug testing
B. Long-term participant observation
C. Satellite remote sensing mapping
D. Archival census tallying
Rationale: Participant observation requires anthropologists to live within a community, participating in
daily routines while observing behaviors to gain an insider perspective.
6. How is "culture" defined in anthropology?
A. High art, classical music, and literature enjoyed by elite social classes.
B. The learned, shared, and transmitted system of knowledge, beliefs, values,
customs, and behaviors that structure human life.
C. Biological instincts inherited genetically from parents at birth.
D. Formal laws enacted by government parliaments.
Rationale: Anthropologists define culture broadly as all learned behaviors, symbols, beliefs, and practices
shared by members of a social group.
7. What is "enculturation"?
A. The process by which an individual learns and internalizes their culture from
childhood through social interaction.
Final Examination Questions & Answers with Verified Solutions
2026/2027
1. What are the four traditional subfields of American anthropology established by Franz
Boas?
A. Sociology, Psychology, History, and Philosophy
B. Cultural Anthropology, Archaeology, Biological (Physical) Anthropology, and
Linguistic Anthropology
C. Paleontology, Primatology, Geology, and Ethnography
D. Forensic Anthropology, Medical Anthropology, Applied Anthropology, and Genetics
Rationale: Franz Boas structured American anthropology as a "four-field" discipline incorporating cultural,
archaeological, biological, and linguistic approaches.
2. What defines the "holistic approach" in anthropology?
A. Studying human biology, culture, history, and language as interconnected parts of
a whole across time and space.
B. Focusing exclusively on modern urban industrial societies.
C. Analyzing human DNA sequences without considering social environments.
D. Restricting research strictly to published written historical documents.
Rationale: Holism is the fundamental anthropological perspective that sees human existence as an
integrated system of biology, environment, history, and culture.
3. What is "ethnography"?
A. A statistical survey conducted via phone or online questionnaires.
B. A detailed, qualitative written account of a specific culture based on first-hand,
long-term fieldwork.
C. Excavating ancient stone tools from archaeological sites.
D. Laboratory genetic analysis of human blood samples.
Rationale: An ethnography is both the primary research process (fieldwork) and the resulting written
description of a community's way of life.
, 4. How does "ethnology" differ from "ethnography"?
A. Ethnography describes a single specific culture, while ethnology cross-culturally
compares and analyzes multiple ethnographic datasets.
B. Ethnography studies ancient human fossils, while ethnology studies modern languages.
C. Ethnology uses quantitative laboratory methods, while ethnography uses satellite
mapping.
D. There is no difference; the two terms are completely identical in meaning.
Rationale: Ethnography is single-culture descriptive research; ethnology uses comparative cross-cultural
data to build general theories about human behavior.
5. What primary research method is considered the hallmark of cultural anthropology
fieldwork?
A. Double-blind clinical drug testing
B. Long-term participant observation
C. Satellite remote sensing mapping
D. Archival census tallying
Rationale: Participant observation requires anthropologists to live within a community, participating in
daily routines while observing behaviors to gain an insider perspective.
6. How is "culture" defined in anthropology?
A. High art, classical music, and literature enjoyed by elite social classes.
B. The learned, shared, and transmitted system of knowledge, beliefs, values,
customs, and behaviors that structure human life.
C. Biological instincts inherited genetically from parents at birth.
D. Formal laws enacted by government parliaments.
Rationale: Anthropologists define culture broadly as all learned behaviors, symbols, beliefs, and practices
shared by members of a social group.
7. What is "enculturation"?
A. The process by which an individual learns and internalizes their culture from
childhood through social interaction.
