Anthropology 120 Exam 1. Chap 3+4 Questions with
Complete Solutions
1. The author suggests that anthropology is unique among other disciplines such as economics or
history because the anthropological perspective begins with
a. statistics. c. people.
b. trends. d. records. - Correct Answer c. people.
2. Making the strange seem more familiar is an overarching goal of
a. key interviews.
b. structured surveys.
c. ethnographic fieldwork.
d. experimental hypotheses. - Correct Answer c. ethnographic fieldwork.
3. Anthropologists conducting fieldwork may experience a particular kind of disorientation from the
strangeness they discover, something that is often attributable to problems with
a. ethnographic dissonance.
b. culture shock.
c. anthropological competence.
d. fieldwork block. - Correct Answer b. culture shock.
4. In studying the very poor, our understanding of their lives may be difficult. As Nancy Scheper-
Hughes discovered, one of the more useful ways to decode radically different cultures is through a
careful examination of
a. relationships.
b. language.
c. patterns.
d. poverty. - Correct Answer c. patterns.
5. The author writes that the roots of cultural anthropology and ethnographic fieldwork lie in
a. biological models.
b. philosophical debates.
c. laboratory experiments.
,d. late nineteenth-century globalization. - Correct Answer d. late nineteenth-century globalization.
6. The key difference between Henry Lewis Morgan and Edward Burnett Tylor, two early
anthropologists, is that Tylor conducted his research
a. through careful examination of older literature and maps.
b. by publishing a large number of books that were widely read.
c. by applying statistical methods to the accounts of others.
d. in his favorite armchair. - Correct Answer d. in his favorite armchair.
7. Franz Boas (1858-1942) is credited with developing the concept of cultural relativism. At that time,
this approach was quite radical because it called for a perspective of culture that considered each
culture
a. as a variation of unilineal evolution.
b. in an ethnocentric manner.
c. on its own unique merits.
d. exclusively through comparative ethnology. - Correct Answer c. on its own unique merits.
8. Franz Boas's attempts to document Native American cultures that were devastated by the
westward expansion of settlers is called salvage ethnography and involves
a. collecting material goods and conducting some interviews.
b. rapid assessment of local conditions.
c. forced enculturation.
d. collecting only material goods that were considered trash. - Correct Answer a. collecting material
goods and conducting some interviews.
9. Bronislaw Malinowski was a strong proponent of the idea that ethnographers must
a. clearly document the economic system of the people being studied.
b. completely understand the local population by learning the local language.
c. carefully document the geographical setting of the people being studied.
d. clearly document the demographics of the people being studied. - Correct Answer b. completely
understand the local population by learning the local language.
10. ________ is fundamental to all research conducted by contemporary cultural anthropologists.
, a. Participant observation
b. Archival research
c. Statistical analysis
d. Synchronic study - Correct Answer a. Participant observation
11. Edward Evan Evans-Pritchard's approach to anthropology has been criticized for being ahistorical,
and one of the major shortcomings of his work was due to
a. the people he studied being part of a larger preexisting colonial system.
b. his tendency to conduct experiments on people while in the field.
c. his failure to consider the impact of his work on the tribes he studied.
d. his lack of understanding of the forces of evolution. - Correct Answer a. the people he studied
being part of a larger preexisting colonial system.
12. Margaret Mead's talent for blending fieldwork with dynamic writing about gender roles provided
her with the authority and opportunity to become an important ________ anthropologist.
a. synchronic
b. experimental
c. evolutionary
d. public - Correct Answer d. public
13. Lewis Henry Morgan
a. conducted a restudy of the Trobriand Islands.
b. became an expert on Native Americans.
c. studied the effects of colonialism in Puerto Rico.
d. examined sexuality in Samoa. - Correct Answer b. became an expert on Native Americans.
14. Margaret Mead
a. conducted a restudy of the Trobriand Islands.
b. became an expert on Native Americans.
c. studied the effects of colonialism in Puerto Rico.
d. examined sexuality in Samoa. - Correct Answer d. examined sexuality in Samoa.
Complete Solutions
1. The author suggests that anthropology is unique among other disciplines such as economics or
history because the anthropological perspective begins with
a. statistics. c. people.
b. trends. d. records. - Correct Answer c. people.
2. Making the strange seem more familiar is an overarching goal of
a. key interviews.
b. structured surveys.
c. ethnographic fieldwork.
d. experimental hypotheses. - Correct Answer c. ethnographic fieldwork.
3. Anthropologists conducting fieldwork may experience a particular kind of disorientation from the
strangeness they discover, something that is often attributable to problems with
a. ethnographic dissonance.
b. culture shock.
c. anthropological competence.
d. fieldwork block. - Correct Answer b. culture shock.
4. In studying the very poor, our understanding of their lives may be difficult. As Nancy Scheper-
Hughes discovered, one of the more useful ways to decode radically different cultures is through a
careful examination of
a. relationships.
b. language.
c. patterns.
d. poverty. - Correct Answer c. patterns.
5. The author writes that the roots of cultural anthropology and ethnographic fieldwork lie in
a. biological models.
b. philosophical debates.
c. laboratory experiments.
,d. late nineteenth-century globalization. - Correct Answer d. late nineteenth-century globalization.
6. The key difference between Henry Lewis Morgan and Edward Burnett Tylor, two early
anthropologists, is that Tylor conducted his research
a. through careful examination of older literature and maps.
b. by publishing a large number of books that were widely read.
c. by applying statistical methods to the accounts of others.
d. in his favorite armchair. - Correct Answer d. in his favorite armchair.
7. Franz Boas (1858-1942) is credited with developing the concept of cultural relativism. At that time,
this approach was quite radical because it called for a perspective of culture that considered each
culture
a. as a variation of unilineal evolution.
b. in an ethnocentric manner.
c. on its own unique merits.
d. exclusively through comparative ethnology. - Correct Answer c. on its own unique merits.
8. Franz Boas's attempts to document Native American cultures that were devastated by the
westward expansion of settlers is called salvage ethnography and involves
a. collecting material goods and conducting some interviews.
b. rapid assessment of local conditions.
c. forced enculturation.
d. collecting only material goods that were considered trash. - Correct Answer a. collecting material
goods and conducting some interviews.
9. Bronislaw Malinowski was a strong proponent of the idea that ethnographers must
a. clearly document the economic system of the people being studied.
b. completely understand the local population by learning the local language.
c. carefully document the geographical setting of the people being studied.
d. clearly document the demographics of the people being studied. - Correct Answer b. completely
understand the local population by learning the local language.
10. ________ is fundamental to all research conducted by contemporary cultural anthropologists.
, a. Participant observation
b. Archival research
c. Statistical analysis
d. Synchronic study - Correct Answer a. Participant observation
11. Edward Evan Evans-Pritchard's approach to anthropology has been criticized for being ahistorical,
and one of the major shortcomings of his work was due to
a. the people he studied being part of a larger preexisting colonial system.
b. his tendency to conduct experiments on people while in the field.
c. his failure to consider the impact of his work on the tribes he studied.
d. his lack of understanding of the forces of evolution. - Correct Answer a. the people he studied
being part of a larger preexisting colonial system.
12. Margaret Mead's talent for blending fieldwork with dynamic writing about gender roles provided
her with the authority and opportunity to become an important ________ anthropologist.
a. synchronic
b. experimental
c. evolutionary
d. public - Correct Answer d. public
13. Lewis Henry Morgan
a. conducted a restudy of the Trobriand Islands.
b. became an expert on Native Americans.
c. studied the effects of colonialism in Puerto Rico.
d. examined sexuality in Samoa. - Correct Answer b. became an expert on Native Americans.
14. Margaret Mead
a. conducted a restudy of the Trobriand Islands.
b. became an expert on Native Americans.
c. studied the effects of colonialism in Puerto Rico.
d. examined sexuality in Samoa. - Correct Answer d. examined sexuality in Samoa.
