Test Bank For Asking Questions About Cultural Anthropology
Concise Introduction 2nd Edition By Robert L. Welsch , Luis A.
Vivanco 9780190878078 ALL Chapters .
What is anthropology? - ANSWER: A comparative study of humankind. The study of human societies
and cultures and their development
What does it mean to say that anthropology is holistic? - ANSWER: Anthropologists study the entire
range of humans' biological, social, political, economic, and religious behavior as well as the
relationships among the different aspects of human behavior in the past and present.
What are the main subfields of anthropology? - ANSWER: Cultural anthropology, linguistic
anthropology, archaeology, biological (physical) anthropology, and applied anthropology.
How did anthropology begin? - ANSWER: During the nineteenth century, the rise of industrialization,
the influence of evolutionary theory, and colonial contact with less-industrialized cultures led to the
discipline of understanding how cultures operate and interact
What is the anthropological position on race? - ANSWER: Race is not a valid scientific category but
rather is a social and cultural construct.
Give a definition of culture. - ANSWER: The learned, symbolic, at least partially adaptive, and ever-
changing patterns of behavior and meaning shared by members of a group. Human are vitally
dependent on culture for their existence.
Describe the importance of symbols in culture. - ANSWER: Humans understand the world by
classifying it and using symbols to give it meaning. Different cultures use different systems of
classification. People use symbols to give meaning to their lives. Anthropologists analyze and interpret
symbols and rituals to understand cultural meanings.
In what ways are cultures like biological organisms, and what are the problems with this organic
analogy? - ANSWER: Cultures are systems of related elements working together. However, unlike
biological organisms, cultural systems include contradictions that lead to conflict.
What are norms and values? Do people within a culture agrees on them? - ANSWER: Shared ideas
about the way things ought to be done. Values are shared ideas about what is true, right, and
beautiful. Typically, people within a culture do not fully agree on norms and values. Some amount of
conflict is the rule, not the exception.
Are cultures typically static, or do they change? - ANSWER: All cultures change. Many factors
determine the acceptance or rejection of a culture change.
What role does anthropology play in coping with cultural differences? - ANSWER: Culture makes
humans unique, but the vast differences between human cultures make cultural understandings a
challenge. Anthropology supplies tools to meet that challenge.
Ethnocentrism - ANSWER: Judging other cultures from the perspective on one's own culture. The
notion that one's own culture is more beautiful, rational, and nearer to perfection than any other.
Racism - ANSWER: The belief that some human populations are superior to others because of
inherited, genetically transmitted characteristics.
Cultural Realitivsm - ANSWER: The idea that cultures should be analysed with reference to their own
histories and values rather than according to the values of another culture.
, Ethnography - ANSWER: The major research tools of cultural anthropology, including both fieldwork
among people in a society and the written results of such fieldwork.
Participant Observations - ANSWER: The fieldwork technique that involves gathering cultural data by
observing people's behavior and participating in their lives.
Consultant/Informant/Interlocutor/Respondent/Partner - ANSWER: A person from whom
anthropologists gather data.
Ethnology - ANSWER: The attempt to find general principles or laws that govern cultural phenomena
through the comparison of cultures.
Human Relations Area Files - ANSWER: An ethnographic datatbase that includes cultural descriptions
of more than 300 societies
Postmodernism - ANSWER: A theoretical position in anthropology that focuses on issues of power and
voice. They hold that anthropological accounts are partial truths reflecting the backgrounds, training,
and social positions of their authors.
Collabroative Ethnography - ANSWER: pulls together threads of collaboration between ethnographers
and their consultants that have found their way into ethnographic field methods and writing - pulls
together threads of collaboration between ethnographers and their consultants that have found their
way into ethnographic field methods and writing
Emic perspective - ANSWER: an insider's view of his or her culture
Ethic perspective - ANSWER: An outsider observer's view on culture
What distinguishes ethnographic fieldwork from other types of social research? - ANSWER:
ethnographic fieldworks requires anthropologists to live in the community of the people they are
studying for an extended period of time. Fieldeork provides rich and nuanced insights of the cultural
logic of social life and cultural practices because the reserach gets a chnace to what people do , not
just what they say
How do anthropologist actually do ethnographic fieldwork? - ANSWER: Becoming involved in peoples
live's through participant observation, asking question through interviews and taking notes
Other cultural methods anthropologists use - ANSWER: Anthropologist draw on the comprative
method, the genealogical method, life histories, ethnohistory, rapid appraisals, action research,
anthroplogy at a distance and, the analysis of seondary materials
Unique ethical dilemmas faced by anthropologist - ANSWER: Their primary ethical obligation is to
protect the interest of informants. In the past few decdades anthropologist have increasingly
attempted to help their stuy communities by assisting with locally defined goals or standing up for the
rights of individuals in thse communities>
Language - ANSWER: A system of communication consisting of sounds, words, and grammar
Proto-language - ANSWER: the common ancestor of a family of modern languages
Cognate words - ANSWER: words in two or more languages that may sound somewhat different todsy
but would have changed systematically fomr the same word.
Descriptive linguistics - ANSWER: The systematic analysis and description of a language's sound
system and grammar - linguist ditinguish three types of structure in language
Concise Introduction 2nd Edition By Robert L. Welsch , Luis A.
Vivanco 9780190878078 ALL Chapters .
What is anthropology? - ANSWER: A comparative study of humankind. The study of human societies
and cultures and their development
What does it mean to say that anthropology is holistic? - ANSWER: Anthropologists study the entire
range of humans' biological, social, political, economic, and religious behavior as well as the
relationships among the different aspects of human behavior in the past and present.
What are the main subfields of anthropology? - ANSWER: Cultural anthropology, linguistic
anthropology, archaeology, biological (physical) anthropology, and applied anthropology.
How did anthropology begin? - ANSWER: During the nineteenth century, the rise of industrialization,
the influence of evolutionary theory, and colonial contact with less-industrialized cultures led to the
discipline of understanding how cultures operate and interact
What is the anthropological position on race? - ANSWER: Race is not a valid scientific category but
rather is a social and cultural construct.
Give a definition of culture. - ANSWER: The learned, symbolic, at least partially adaptive, and ever-
changing patterns of behavior and meaning shared by members of a group. Human are vitally
dependent on culture for their existence.
Describe the importance of symbols in culture. - ANSWER: Humans understand the world by
classifying it and using symbols to give it meaning. Different cultures use different systems of
classification. People use symbols to give meaning to their lives. Anthropologists analyze and interpret
symbols and rituals to understand cultural meanings.
In what ways are cultures like biological organisms, and what are the problems with this organic
analogy? - ANSWER: Cultures are systems of related elements working together. However, unlike
biological organisms, cultural systems include contradictions that lead to conflict.
What are norms and values? Do people within a culture agrees on them? - ANSWER: Shared ideas
about the way things ought to be done. Values are shared ideas about what is true, right, and
beautiful. Typically, people within a culture do not fully agree on norms and values. Some amount of
conflict is the rule, not the exception.
Are cultures typically static, or do they change? - ANSWER: All cultures change. Many factors
determine the acceptance or rejection of a culture change.
What role does anthropology play in coping with cultural differences? - ANSWER: Culture makes
humans unique, but the vast differences between human cultures make cultural understandings a
challenge. Anthropology supplies tools to meet that challenge.
Ethnocentrism - ANSWER: Judging other cultures from the perspective on one's own culture. The
notion that one's own culture is more beautiful, rational, and nearer to perfection than any other.
Racism - ANSWER: The belief that some human populations are superior to others because of
inherited, genetically transmitted characteristics.
Cultural Realitivsm - ANSWER: The idea that cultures should be analysed with reference to their own
histories and values rather than according to the values of another culture.
, Ethnography - ANSWER: The major research tools of cultural anthropology, including both fieldwork
among people in a society and the written results of such fieldwork.
Participant Observations - ANSWER: The fieldwork technique that involves gathering cultural data by
observing people's behavior and participating in their lives.
Consultant/Informant/Interlocutor/Respondent/Partner - ANSWER: A person from whom
anthropologists gather data.
Ethnology - ANSWER: The attempt to find general principles or laws that govern cultural phenomena
through the comparison of cultures.
Human Relations Area Files - ANSWER: An ethnographic datatbase that includes cultural descriptions
of more than 300 societies
Postmodernism - ANSWER: A theoretical position in anthropology that focuses on issues of power and
voice. They hold that anthropological accounts are partial truths reflecting the backgrounds, training,
and social positions of their authors.
Collabroative Ethnography - ANSWER: pulls together threads of collaboration between ethnographers
and their consultants that have found their way into ethnographic field methods and writing - pulls
together threads of collaboration between ethnographers and their consultants that have found their
way into ethnographic field methods and writing
Emic perspective - ANSWER: an insider's view of his or her culture
Ethic perspective - ANSWER: An outsider observer's view on culture
What distinguishes ethnographic fieldwork from other types of social research? - ANSWER:
ethnographic fieldworks requires anthropologists to live in the community of the people they are
studying for an extended period of time. Fieldeork provides rich and nuanced insights of the cultural
logic of social life and cultural practices because the reserach gets a chnace to what people do , not
just what they say
How do anthropologist actually do ethnographic fieldwork? - ANSWER: Becoming involved in peoples
live's through participant observation, asking question through interviews and taking notes
Other cultural methods anthropologists use - ANSWER: Anthropologist draw on the comprative
method, the genealogical method, life histories, ethnohistory, rapid appraisals, action research,
anthroplogy at a distance and, the analysis of seondary materials
Unique ethical dilemmas faced by anthropologist - ANSWER: Their primary ethical obligation is to
protect the interest of informants. In the past few decdades anthropologist have increasingly
attempted to help their stuy communities by assisting with locally defined goals or standing up for the
rights of individuals in thse communities>
Language - ANSWER: A system of communication consisting of sounds, words, and grammar
Proto-language - ANSWER: the common ancestor of a family of modern languages
Cognate words - ANSWER: words in two or more languages that may sound somewhat different todsy
but would have changed systematically fomr the same word.
Descriptive linguistics - ANSWER: The systematic analysis and description of a language's sound
system and grammar - linguist ditinguish three types of structure in language
