ANTHROPOLOGY MIDTERM 2 EXAM
Final Examination Questions & Answers with Verified Solutions
2026/2027
1. In kinship analysis, what system traces descent exclusively through the paternal line
to determine lineage membership and inheritance?
A. Matrilineal descent
B. Patrilineal descent
C. Bilateral descent
D. Ambilineal descent
Rationale: Patrilineal descent traces kinship ties, inheritance, and social group affiliation exclusively
through male ancestors from father to children.
2. What marital residence pattern occurs when a newly married couple establishes a
completely independent household away from both sets of parents?
A. Patrilocal residence
B. Matrilocal residence
C. Neolocal residence
D. Avunculocal residence
Rationale: Neolocal residence involves establishing an independent domicile separate from either
spouse's natal family, typical of industrial nuclear family systems.
3. What is the practice of marrying outside of one's specific defined social, kinship, or
clan group called?
A. Exogamy
B. Endogamy
C. Polygyny
D. Hypergamy
Rationale: Exogamy mandates marrying outside a specific group (e.g. lineage or clan), fostering alliances
and social networks across communities.
, 4. In economic anthropology, what type of exchange involves giving goods without any
immediate expectation of return, typical among close kin?
A. Balanced reciprocity
B. Generalized reciprocity
C. Negative reciprocity
D. Market exchange
Rationale: Generalized reciprocity occurs between closely related individuals (like parents and children)
where gift-giving occurs without calculating immediate balance.
5. What form of economic redistribution was historically practiced by indigenous
Northwest Coast tribes, involving lavish feasts where chiefs gave away or destroyed
wealth to earn prestige?
A. Silent trade
B. Potlatch
C. Kula ring
D. Moka exchange
Rationale: The potlatch is a ceremonial feast among Pacific Northwest indigenous peoples where leaders
gain social standing by distributing resources to guests.
6. Which term describes a marital relationship where one woman is simultaneously
married to two or more husbands?
A. Polygyny
B. Polyandry
C. Monogamy
D. Sororate
Rationale: Polyandry is the marriage of one woman to multiple men, often practiced as fraternal polyandry
in high-altitude environments to prevent land division.
7. What is "bridewealth" (bride price) in marital exchange systems?
A. Payment of goods or livestock from the groom's family to the bride's family to
compensate for her lost labor and reproductive rights
B. Money provided by the bride's family to help establish the new household
C. A tax levied by local state governments on legal marriage certificates
Final Examination Questions & Answers with Verified Solutions
2026/2027
1. In kinship analysis, what system traces descent exclusively through the paternal line
to determine lineage membership and inheritance?
A. Matrilineal descent
B. Patrilineal descent
C. Bilateral descent
D. Ambilineal descent
Rationale: Patrilineal descent traces kinship ties, inheritance, and social group affiliation exclusively
through male ancestors from father to children.
2. What marital residence pattern occurs when a newly married couple establishes a
completely independent household away from both sets of parents?
A. Patrilocal residence
B. Matrilocal residence
C. Neolocal residence
D. Avunculocal residence
Rationale: Neolocal residence involves establishing an independent domicile separate from either
spouse's natal family, typical of industrial nuclear family systems.
3. What is the practice of marrying outside of one's specific defined social, kinship, or
clan group called?
A. Exogamy
B. Endogamy
C. Polygyny
D. Hypergamy
Rationale: Exogamy mandates marrying outside a specific group (e.g. lineage or clan), fostering alliances
and social networks across communities.
, 4. In economic anthropology, what type of exchange involves giving goods without any
immediate expectation of return, typical among close kin?
A. Balanced reciprocity
B. Generalized reciprocity
C. Negative reciprocity
D. Market exchange
Rationale: Generalized reciprocity occurs between closely related individuals (like parents and children)
where gift-giving occurs without calculating immediate balance.
5. What form of economic redistribution was historically practiced by indigenous
Northwest Coast tribes, involving lavish feasts where chiefs gave away or destroyed
wealth to earn prestige?
A. Silent trade
B. Potlatch
C. Kula ring
D. Moka exchange
Rationale: The potlatch is a ceremonial feast among Pacific Northwest indigenous peoples where leaders
gain social standing by distributing resources to guests.
6. Which term describes a marital relationship where one woman is simultaneously
married to two or more husbands?
A. Polygyny
B. Polyandry
C. Monogamy
D. Sororate
Rationale: Polyandry is the marriage of one woman to multiple men, often practiced as fraternal polyandry
in high-altitude environments to prevent land division.
7. What is "bridewealth" (bride price) in marital exchange systems?
A. Payment of goods or livestock from the groom's family to the bride's family to
compensate for her lost labor and reproductive rights
B. Money provided by the bride's family to help establish the new household
C. A tax levied by local state governments on legal marriage certificates
