APY1501 EXAM
PACK 2024
QUESTIONS WITH WELL
OUTLINED ANSWERS
,2 APY1501 The Anthropological Study of Culture in a multicultural context
QUESTION 1
Select the option that CORRECTLY completes the following statement:
Sociocultural anthropologists focus on the ___.
1. relation between language and the other aspects of the life of a society.
2. lifestyles of the rich diversity of societies as they are found worldwide.
3. influence of biological and hereditary characteristics on behaviour of members of a society.
4. material remains of societies which are collected during excavation of sites where people
once lived.
Answer: The correct answer is 2
Refer: APY1501 Study Guide, pg. 49
Reasoning: Anthropology’s has “four fields” of study (biological/physical anthropology,
archaeology, linguistic and sociocultural anthropology) that is closely related.
Anthropologists from all four fields study notions of the body – each in a different
context:
1. Sociocultural anthropologists, for example, examine how culture affects
societal and individual bodily ideas, ideals and practices. They provide
ethnographic records of how various sociocultural groups value appearance-
related practices. Option 2 refers to this field.
2. Biological/physical anthropologists classify human diversity related to body
size, shape, composition and appearance. They investigate how
geographical, social, economic and other aspects affect physical
development, health and well-being. Option 3 refers to this field.
3. Linguistic anthropologists research how the body communicates; how
messages are sent within a particular social context and how a language
shapes bodily concepts – for example, male and female bodies. Option 1
refers to this field.
4. Archaeologists record physical variations, modification and adornment
practices over time through examining material remains. Option 4 refers to
this field.
QUESTION 2
Select the option that CORRECTLY completes the following statement:
Archaeology as a subfield of anthropology studies ___.
1. past living conditions and changes that occurred in human populations during prehistoric
times.
2. the development of human beings from very early times.
3. the physical adaptation of human populations to their environment.
4. fossil remains of prehistoric human-like beings which have been preserved in the earth’s
crust.
Answer: The correct answer is 1
Refer: APY1501 Study Guide, pg. 9
,3 APY1501 The Anthropological Study of Culture in a multicultural context
Reasoning: Archaeology, which is derived from the Greek arkhaios (ancient) and logos (study),
studies the past living conditions and changes that occurred in human populations
during prehistoric times.
QUESTION 3
Select the option that CORRECTLY completes the following statement:
An holistic approach to the study of culture means that anthropologists ___.
1. attempt to obtain an overall impression of the development of culture.
2. draw generalisations about the human condition.
3. study the cultural systems of societies within a global cultural pattern.
4. study all facets of human life, including the environmental factors to which people must
adapt for survival.
Answer: The correct answer is 4
Refer: APY1501 Study Guide, pg. 10
Reasoning: The notion of holism is based on the expectation that each patterned element or
system is dependent upon or linked to some other elements within a specific time,
situation and locality.
Anthropologists study not only varieties of people, but also many aspects of human
experience. For example, when describing a group of people, an anthropologist
might discuss the history of the area in which the people live, the physical
environment, the organisation of family life, the general features of their language,
the group’s settlement patterns, political and economic systems, religion and styles
of art and dress (Ember et al 2005:2). In other words, anthropologists take the
whole context of a particular group of people into account in an attempt to get “the
big picture”.
QUESTION 4
Select the option that CORRECTLY completes the following statement:
If an excessively cultural relativistic approach is followed in anthropology ___.
1. cultural practices that have a harmful impact on a society may not be questioned.
2. the researcher might adopt an ethnocentric approach to the study of people.
3. statistical data relevant to an investigation might be misinterpreted.
4. the researcher’s beliefs may influence the results of his/her investigation.
Answer: The correct answer is 1
Refer: APY1501 Study Guide, pg. 22
Reasoning: Counteracting ethnocentrism is the notion of cultural relativism. This suggests that
behaviour in a specific sociocultural system should not be judged by the values and
norms of another system. In other words, a group, community or society’s
behaviour, ideas, beliefs and customs should be studied and understood within their
own context and judged as equally valid. If taken to the extreme, cultural relativism
can, however, also be problematic. It could imply that there is no such thing as a
universal human morality. If a person adopts this view, then, for example,
s/he has to accept the practice of female genital mutilation; clitoridectomy (the
removal of a girl’s clitoris), which is still carried out in parts of Africa and the Middle
, 4 APY1501 The Anthropological Study of Culture in a multicultural context
East. One would have to find acceptable the atrocities committed by the South
African police forces during apartheid, the extermination of minority groups such as
Jews, gypsies and homosexuals in Nazi Germany during World War II, the cultural
cleansing of the Sinhala Buddhist by Islamic extremists in Sri Lanka, the killing of
albinos for their body parts in East Africa, the mass extermination of people and
“ethnic cleansing” that has occurred in several countries in the last decade. There is
also, of course, the issue of human rights violations, crimes against humanity and
the unequal rights for many minority groups, which are still denied in many
countries of the world.
QUESTION 5
Which one of the following best illustrates how an application of the concept of cultural relativism
influences the work of anthropologists?
An anthropologist ___.
1. determines which one of two cultural groups has developed a more effective approach to
combating crime.
2. compares the social structure and social behaviour of different social groups.
3. interprets the behaviour of people in terms of the sociocultural context in which the
behaviour is found.
4. demonstrates how a social group’s culture has been influenced by other social groups with
which it has been in contact.
Answer: The correct answer is 3
Refer: APY1501 Study Guide, pg. 22
Reasoning: Counteracting ethnocentrism is the notion of cultural relativism. This suggests that
behaviour in a specific sociocultural system should not be judged by the values and
norms of another system. In other words, a group, community or society’s
behaviour, ideas, beliefs and customs should be studied and understood within their
own context and judged as equally valid.
QUESTION 6
Which one of the following combinations pertaining to anthropological method and explanation has
been linked CORRECTLY?
1. Participant observation Immersion of the researcher in the daily lives of the people being
studied
2. Genealogical method Tracing social and friendship relations within a community
3. In-depth interviewing Gathering information mainly through quantitative strategies
4. Social network analysis Questioning informants about relatives to reconstruct family
histories
Answer: The correct answer is 1
Refer: APY1501 Study Guide, pp. 23, 26
Reasoning: • Participant observation is fieldwork done by an anthropologist, who studies
the way of life of a group of people by sharing in and observing their
activities.
PACK 2024
QUESTIONS WITH WELL
OUTLINED ANSWERS
,2 APY1501 The Anthropological Study of Culture in a multicultural context
QUESTION 1
Select the option that CORRECTLY completes the following statement:
Sociocultural anthropologists focus on the ___.
1. relation between language and the other aspects of the life of a society.
2. lifestyles of the rich diversity of societies as they are found worldwide.
3. influence of biological and hereditary characteristics on behaviour of members of a society.
4. material remains of societies which are collected during excavation of sites where people
once lived.
Answer: The correct answer is 2
Refer: APY1501 Study Guide, pg. 49
Reasoning: Anthropology’s has “four fields” of study (biological/physical anthropology,
archaeology, linguistic and sociocultural anthropology) that is closely related.
Anthropologists from all four fields study notions of the body – each in a different
context:
1. Sociocultural anthropologists, for example, examine how culture affects
societal and individual bodily ideas, ideals and practices. They provide
ethnographic records of how various sociocultural groups value appearance-
related practices. Option 2 refers to this field.
2. Biological/physical anthropologists classify human diversity related to body
size, shape, composition and appearance. They investigate how
geographical, social, economic and other aspects affect physical
development, health and well-being. Option 3 refers to this field.
3. Linguistic anthropologists research how the body communicates; how
messages are sent within a particular social context and how a language
shapes bodily concepts – for example, male and female bodies. Option 1
refers to this field.
4. Archaeologists record physical variations, modification and adornment
practices over time through examining material remains. Option 4 refers to
this field.
QUESTION 2
Select the option that CORRECTLY completes the following statement:
Archaeology as a subfield of anthropology studies ___.
1. past living conditions and changes that occurred in human populations during prehistoric
times.
2. the development of human beings from very early times.
3. the physical adaptation of human populations to their environment.
4. fossil remains of prehistoric human-like beings which have been preserved in the earth’s
crust.
Answer: The correct answer is 1
Refer: APY1501 Study Guide, pg. 9
,3 APY1501 The Anthropological Study of Culture in a multicultural context
Reasoning: Archaeology, which is derived from the Greek arkhaios (ancient) and logos (study),
studies the past living conditions and changes that occurred in human populations
during prehistoric times.
QUESTION 3
Select the option that CORRECTLY completes the following statement:
An holistic approach to the study of culture means that anthropologists ___.
1. attempt to obtain an overall impression of the development of culture.
2. draw generalisations about the human condition.
3. study the cultural systems of societies within a global cultural pattern.
4. study all facets of human life, including the environmental factors to which people must
adapt for survival.
Answer: The correct answer is 4
Refer: APY1501 Study Guide, pg. 10
Reasoning: The notion of holism is based on the expectation that each patterned element or
system is dependent upon or linked to some other elements within a specific time,
situation and locality.
Anthropologists study not only varieties of people, but also many aspects of human
experience. For example, when describing a group of people, an anthropologist
might discuss the history of the area in which the people live, the physical
environment, the organisation of family life, the general features of their language,
the group’s settlement patterns, political and economic systems, religion and styles
of art and dress (Ember et al 2005:2). In other words, anthropologists take the
whole context of a particular group of people into account in an attempt to get “the
big picture”.
QUESTION 4
Select the option that CORRECTLY completes the following statement:
If an excessively cultural relativistic approach is followed in anthropology ___.
1. cultural practices that have a harmful impact on a society may not be questioned.
2. the researcher might adopt an ethnocentric approach to the study of people.
3. statistical data relevant to an investigation might be misinterpreted.
4. the researcher’s beliefs may influence the results of his/her investigation.
Answer: The correct answer is 1
Refer: APY1501 Study Guide, pg. 22
Reasoning: Counteracting ethnocentrism is the notion of cultural relativism. This suggests that
behaviour in a specific sociocultural system should not be judged by the values and
norms of another system. In other words, a group, community or society’s
behaviour, ideas, beliefs and customs should be studied and understood within their
own context and judged as equally valid. If taken to the extreme, cultural relativism
can, however, also be problematic. It could imply that there is no such thing as a
universal human morality. If a person adopts this view, then, for example,
s/he has to accept the practice of female genital mutilation; clitoridectomy (the
removal of a girl’s clitoris), which is still carried out in parts of Africa and the Middle
, 4 APY1501 The Anthropological Study of Culture in a multicultural context
East. One would have to find acceptable the atrocities committed by the South
African police forces during apartheid, the extermination of minority groups such as
Jews, gypsies and homosexuals in Nazi Germany during World War II, the cultural
cleansing of the Sinhala Buddhist by Islamic extremists in Sri Lanka, the killing of
albinos for their body parts in East Africa, the mass extermination of people and
“ethnic cleansing” that has occurred in several countries in the last decade. There is
also, of course, the issue of human rights violations, crimes against humanity and
the unequal rights for many minority groups, which are still denied in many
countries of the world.
QUESTION 5
Which one of the following best illustrates how an application of the concept of cultural relativism
influences the work of anthropologists?
An anthropologist ___.
1. determines which one of two cultural groups has developed a more effective approach to
combating crime.
2. compares the social structure and social behaviour of different social groups.
3. interprets the behaviour of people in terms of the sociocultural context in which the
behaviour is found.
4. demonstrates how a social group’s culture has been influenced by other social groups with
which it has been in contact.
Answer: The correct answer is 3
Refer: APY1501 Study Guide, pg. 22
Reasoning: Counteracting ethnocentrism is the notion of cultural relativism. This suggests that
behaviour in a specific sociocultural system should not be judged by the values and
norms of another system. In other words, a group, community or society’s
behaviour, ideas, beliefs and customs should be studied and understood within their
own context and judged as equally valid.
QUESTION 6
Which one of the following combinations pertaining to anthropological method and explanation has
been linked CORRECTLY?
1. Participant observation Immersion of the researcher in the daily lives of the people being
studied
2. Genealogical method Tracing social and friendship relations within a community
3. In-depth interviewing Gathering information mainly through quantitative strategies
4. Social network analysis Questioning informants about relatives to reconstruct family
histories
Answer: The correct answer is 1
Refer: APY1501 Study Guide, pp. 23, 26
Reasoning: • Participant observation is fieldwork done by an anthropologist, who studies
the way of life of a group of people by sharing in and observing their
activities.
