Anthropological Explanations MCQs

Anthropological Explanations MCQs

Our experts have gathered these Anthropological Explanations MCQs through research, and we hope that you will be able to see how much knowledge base you have for the subject of Anthropological Explanations by answering these 20 multiple-choice questions.
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1: Nineteen century imperialism both inspired and was justified by which of the following anthropological perspectives?

A.   Multilineal evolution

B.   Unlineal evolution

C.   Bimodal evolution

D.   Systemic evolution

2: Feminist anthropologist, Sherry Ortner, argued that the binary opposition of male and female is universally associated with the binary opposition of culture and nature. Her approach is consistent with which of the following anthropological perspectives?

A.   Structural functionalism

B.   Structuralism

C.   Biocultural

D.   Materialism

3: As a result of the postmodern critique in anthropology, anthropologists today recognize that perfect objectivity is impossible. Therefore, anthropologists no longer attempt to engage in scientific inquiry.

A.   True

B.   False

4: In the United States, some people go to great lengths to style and care for their hair. At the same time, hair in bathtub drain is widely considered dirty and disgusting. Which anthropological perspective would be most likely to investigate this pattern of thinking about pollution and hair?

A.   Materialist

B.   Biocultural

C.   Multilinear evolution

D.   Symbolic

5: According to Marx, all social and cultural transformations since the Industrial Revolution could be interpreted as a result of ______.

A.   Widespread adoption of novel technologies

B.   Increasing standard of living for all

C.   Higher levels of education attainment

D.   Class conflict

6: Structural Functionalism focuses on how institutions operate together to promote the stability of ______. Psychological functionalism focuses on how culture works to promote the psychological stability and well-being of ______.

A.   The individual; the society

B.   The society; the individual

C.   The culture; the society

D.   The individual; the family

7: In cultural materialism, the “infrastructure” refers to which of the following?

A.   The domestic economy

B.   The political economy

C.   The production system

D.   Religious practices

8: The co-evolution of dairy farming and the spread of lactose tolerance demonstrates which of the following?

A.   The primacy of the superstructure in society

B.   Gene-culture coevolution

C.   Essentialism

D.   Innate superiority of pastoralist peoples

9: Cultural relativism is a method that grew out of which of the following theoretical perspectives?

A.   Unilineal evolution

B.   Multilineal evolution

C.   Cultural universalism

D.   Historical particularism

10: Like unilineal evolutionary theory, ______ sometimes incorrectly assumed the innate inferiority of non-Western peoples.

A.   Diffusionism

B.   Structuralism

C.   Materialism

D.   Innovationism

11: Cultural Ecology is the systematic study of the relationships between the environment and_____

A.   Individual

B.   Society

C.   Both a and b

D.   History

12: Cultural Materialism is a research strategy that focuses on _____ factors as key determinants in sociocultural evolution.

A.   Technology

B.   Environment

C.   Economic

D.   All of these

13: The spread of cultural traits from one society to another is known as_____

A.   Diffusionism

B.   Functionalism

C.   Modernism

D.   Both a and b

14: Dual-Inheritance Theory investigates the role of _____ in producing human evolution.

A.   Genetics

B.   Culture

C.   Evolution

D.   Both a and b

15: An anthropological perspective based on the assumption that society consists of institutions that serve vital purposes for people is known as_____

A.   Diffusionism

B.   Functionalism

C.   Modernism

D.   Postmodernism

16: Historical Particularism is an approach to studying human societies in which each society has to be understood as not a unique product of its own history.

A.   True

B.   False

17: Multilineal Evolution is the view that societies and cultures have evolved and are evolving in many different directions.

A.   True

B.   False

18: Postmodernism is a viewpoint that is critical of modern _____ perspectives.

A.   Scientific

B.   Philosophical

C.   Political

D.   Both a and b

19: Symbolic Anthropology is the study of culture through the interpretation of a society’s _____ and ethos.

A.   Symbols

B.   Values

C.   Beliefs

D.   All of these

20: Unilineal Evolution is the belief, widespread during the _____ century, that societies were evolving in a single direction toward complexity and industrial progress.

A.   17th

B.   18th

C.   19th

D.   20th