ANTHROPOLOGY CHAPTER 10 EXAM
Final Examination Questions & Answers with Verified Solutions
2026/2027
1. What is the primary focus of Chapter 10 in cultural anthropology regarding social
stratification and identity?
A. Prehistoric stone tool classification techniques
B. The cultural construction of class, status inequality, and social mobility
C. Primate vocalization patterns in rainforest reserves
D. The history of European currency unions
Rationale: Chapter 10 examines social inequality, class systems, socio-economic status, privilege, and
the mechanisms through which social hierarchies are maintained or challenged.
2. How does Max Weber define "status" or "status prestige" in his classic model of social
stratification?
A. The social respect, honor, and esteem accorded to individuals or groups by others
in a society
B. The total sum of monetary assets held in commercial banks
C. The ability to exercise direct physical force over subordinates
D. The legal voting rights granted by state constitutions
Rationale: Max Weber identified three dimensions of stratification: wealth (economic), power (political),
and status/prestige (social respect and reputation).
3. What is "cultural capital" as conceptualized by French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu?
A. The total revenue generated by national museum systems
B. The knowledge, tastes, habits, manners, credentials, and social skills that grant
individuals higher status and economic advantage
C. Foreign direct investment provided to developing nations
D. The physical architecture of national historic monuments
Rationale: Bourdieu showed that non-economic assets—like speech accent, etiquette, educational
credentials, and artistic tastes—act as "cultural capital" that reproduces class advantage.
, 4. What is "social mobility"?
A. The movement of individuals, families, or groups up or down the social and
economic ladder within a stratification system
B. Migrating across international borders for employment
C. The physical movement of nomadic pastoralists across grazing lands
D. Commuting long distances between suburban homes and urban workplaces
Rationale: Social mobility assesses whether individuals can change their socioeconomic position relative
to their parents (intergenerational) or during their own lifetime (intragenerational).
5. What is an "ascribed status"?
A. A social position earned through personal effort, education, and skill
B. A social position assigned at birth or involuntarily later in life based on traits like
age, gender, or lineage
C. A temporary political office won through democratic elections
D. An academic degree awarded by a university
Rationale: Ascribed status is assigned automatically without regard to individual effort (e.g., biological
sex, birth caste, royal lineage), contrasting with achieved status.
6. What is an "achieved status"?
A. A social position acquired through personal effort, choices, skills, and
accomplishments
B. A social status assigned involuntarily at birth based on family background
C. An unchangeable caste hierarchy enforced by religious law
D. Biological traits inherited through parental DNA
Rationale: Achieved status is earned through individual actions and talents, such as becoming a
physician, athlete, teacher, or elected official.
7. How does a "caste system" differ from an "open class system"?
A. Caste systems allow high rates of social mobility through education
B. Caste systems are closed stratification systems where social position is ascribed
at birth and enforced by endogamy
Final Examination Questions & Answers with Verified Solutions
2026/2027
1. What is the primary focus of Chapter 10 in cultural anthropology regarding social
stratification and identity?
A. Prehistoric stone tool classification techniques
B. The cultural construction of class, status inequality, and social mobility
C. Primate vocalization patterns in rainforest reserves
D. The history of European currency unions
Rationale: Chapter 10 examines social inequality, class systems, socio-economic status, privilege, and
the mechanisms through which social hierarchies are maintained or challenged.
2. How does Max Weber define "status" or "status prestige" in his classic model of social
stratification?
A. The social respect, honor, and esteem accorded to individuals or groups by others
in a society
B. The total sum of monetary assets held in commercial banks
C. The ability to exercise direct physical force over subordinates
D. The legal voting rights granted by state constitutions
Rationale: Max Weber identified three dimensions of stratification: wealth (economic), power (political),
and status/prestige (social respect and reputation).
3. What is "cultural capital" as conceptualized by French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu?
A. The total revenue generated by national museum systems
B. The knowledge, tastes, habits, manners, credentials, and social skills that grant
individuals higher status and economic advantage
C. Foreign direct investment provided to developing nations
D. The physical architecture of national historic monuments
Rationale: Bourdieu showed that non-economic assets—like speech accent, etiquette, educational
credentials, and artistic tastes—act as "cultural capital" that reproduces class advantage.
, 4. What is "social mobility"?
A. The movement of individuals, families, or groups up or down the social and
economic ladder within a stratification system
B. Migrating across international borders for employment
C. The physical movement of nomadic pastoralists across grazing lands
D. Commuting long distances between suburban homes and urban workplaces
Rationale: Social mobility assesses whether individuals can change their socioeconomic position relative
to their parents (intergenerational) or during their own lifetime (intragenerational).
5. What is an "ascribed status"?
A. A social position earned through personal effort, education, and skill
B. A social position assigned at birth or involuntarily later in life based on traits like
age, gender, or lineage
C. A temporary political office won through democratic elections
D. An academic degree awarded by a university
Rationale: Ascribed status is assigned automatically without regard to individual effort (e.g., biological
sex, birth caste, royal lineage), contrasting with achieved status.
6. What is an "achieved status"?
A. A social position acquired through personal effort, choices, skills, and
accomplishments
B. A social status assigned involuntarily at birth based on family background
C. An unchangeable caste hierarchy enforced by religious law
D. Biological traits inherited through parental DNA
Rationale: Achieved status is earned through individual actions and talents, such as becoming a
physician, athlete, teacher, or elected official.
7. How does a "caste system" differ from an "open class system"?
A. Caste systems allow high rates of social mobility through education
B. Caste systems are closed stratification systems where social position is ascribed
at birth and enforced by endogamy
