Name: 
 

Chapter 1: The Nature of Anthropology


True/False
Indicate whether the statement is true or false.
 

 1. 
Culture is preserved and transmitted by language.
 

 2. 
Ethnographic research helped to prove that minority children are culturally deprived.
 

 3. 
The first responsibility of the anthropologist is to the people studied.
 

 4. 
Forensic anthropologists are particularly interested in the uses of anthropological research findings for purposes of rhetorical criticism.
 

 5. 
Forensic Anthropologist Owen Beattie's work helped discover the reasons behind the catastrophic failure of the Franklin Expedition.
 

 6. 
Anthropologists in Canada prefer to use the terms ‘Native American’ or ‘Indian’ to describe aboriginal peoples.
 

 7. 
Cultural Resource Management is the main type of archaeology conducted in Canada.
 

 8. 
Robert McGhee, curator of Arctic archaeology at the Canadian Museum of Civilization believes that artifacts are important and vital to have, it’s not as important to know where they came from or what they mean.
 

 9. 
Canadian Anthropologists often find themselves studying people they have already studied in previous settings.
 

 10. 
Biological Anthropology in Canada has its roots in the medical world.
 

Multiple Choice
Identify the choice that best completes the statement or answers the question.
 

 1. 
What is anthropology?
a.
The analysis of humankind from the subjective perspective of one group.
b.
The study of humankind everywhere, throughout time.
c.
The study of non-human primates through an analysis of their myth and folklore.
d.
The study of Western culture primarily through the analysis of its folklore.
e.
The study of the species Homo sapiens by analyzing its biological but not its cultural dimensions.
 

 2. 
Archaeology is
a.
part of linguistic anthropology.
b.
part of physical anthropology.
c.
part of cultural anthropology.
d.
a separate sub field of its own.
e.
not part of anthropology at all.
 

 3. 
How is anthropology different from other disciplines that study human beings?
a.
It was the first science to analyze human diversity and it synthesizes data from many fields in an effort to describe human behaviour as a whole.
b.
It requires more training.
c.
It was the first science to analyze human diversity.
d.
It synthesizes data from many fields in an effort to describe human behaviour as a whole.
e.
It has a greater attention to details.
 

 4. 
Which branch of anthropology is concerned with humans as biological organisms?
a.
Ethnology
b.
Archaeology
c.
Palaeontology
d.
Biological Anthropology
e.
Cultural Anthropology
 

 5. 
Culture-bound theories
a.
are based on comparison of cultures.
b.
are a valid tool for proper anthropological research.
c.
are theories developed by cultural anthropologists.
d.
are based on assumptions common to a particular culture rather than deriving from comparisons of many different cultures.
e.
are theories developed by sociologists.
 

 6. 
Some early Canadian ethnohistories have problems and limitations. These include:
a.
ignorance and personal biases in recording practices like the Sun Dance and potlatch.
b.
misinterpretations.
c.
distortions.
d.
all of these choices.
e.
none of these choices.
 

 7. 
Anthropology can be of service to other social sciences by supplying them with a rich body of data that can be applied to current issues because
a.
anthropological studies are not restricted to the study of recent Western peoples.
b.
anthropological studies are cross-cultural and evolutionary.
c.
none of these choices.
d.
all of these choices.
e.
anthropological studies provide alternative examples to culture-bound assumptions.
 

 8. 
What types of policies have been developed in Canada about archaeological sites and biological remains?
a.
governing aboriginal involvement
b.
concerning the handling of museum collections.
c.
control over access to sacred sites and places.
d.
accurate portrayal of cultural heritage.
e.
all of these choices.
 

 9. 
An archaeologist studies material remains to understand
a.
past species and predict future species.
b.
the formation of fossils.
c.
how oil is formed from ancient plants.
d.
language development.
e.
and explain human behaviour.
 

 10. 
Investigators of the Garbage Project in Tucson found
a.
what people say and what they do differ dramatically.
b.
what people say and what they do correlate.
c.
people do not drink alcohol.
d.
many packages of vitamins.
e.
few packages of hair colouring.
 

 11. 
____________ is the branch of cultural anthropology that studies human languages.
a.
Ethnography of speaking.
b.
Ethnography.
c.
Linguistic anthropology.
d.
Ethnolinguistics.
e.
Ethnology.
 

 12. 
Archaeologists are only interested in:
a.
ancient peoples.
b.
high-status sites with lots of material remains.
c.
written records and inscriptions.
d.
stone tools.
e.
none of these choices.
 

 13. 
Ethnographers
a.
always stay in their country of origin and interview immigrants from the country they wish to study.
b.
all of these choices.
c.
none of these choices.
d.
go to a study country and live life as if they were natives.
e.
live among the people they study whenever possible and practice participant observation.
 

 14. 
Besides being interested in descriptions of particular cultures, the ethnologist is interested in
a.
cross-cultural comparisons.
b.
promoting Western ways.
c.
teaching food foragers how to use timesaving gadgets.
d.
destroying particular cultures to improve them.
e.
descriptions of non-human societies.
 

 15. 
What is the goal of science?
a.
To eliminate the need to use the imagination.
b.
To discover the universal principles that govern the workings of the visible world.
c.
To develop explanations of the world that are testable and correctable.
d.
All of these choices.
e.
To discover the universal principles that govern the workings of the visible world and to develop explanations of the world that are testable and correctable.
 

 16. 
Canadian applied anthropologists have played a large role in Canadian anthropology because:
a.
They have worked as a liaison between the government and First Nations  peoples.
b.
They have worked with native healers to reconcile traditional medical practices and modern medicine.
c.
They have been instrumental in providing background information for Native land claims.
d.
Their work as agents for the government to keep tabs on possible agitators.
e.
All of these choices except their work as agents for the government to keep tabs on possible agitators.
 

 17. 
Which of the following exemplifies the concept of a "hypothesis?"
a.
The light bulb failed to light because it was not screwed in tightly.
b.
The light bulb failed to light because the power to the building was off.
c.
The light bulb failed to light because it was poorly made.
d.
The light bulb failed to light because the filament was broken.
e.
All of these choices.
 

 18. 
A theory may be defined as
a.
a tentative explanation of the relation between certain phenomena.
b.
an explanation of natural phenomena, supported by a reliable body of data.
c.
a belief that has no basis in fact.
d.
a hypothesis.
e.
what is true rather than probable.
 

 19. 
Ethnohistories
a.
can aid in understanding the phenomenon of change.
b.
are cross-cultural comparisons.
c.
can be practical applied purposes such as resolving legal cases concerning land claims of Native Americans.
d.
provide a means of testing and confirming hypotheses about culture.
e.
all of these choices.
 

 20. 
Why is anthropology often called the most human of the sciences?
a.
Because it has developed a systemic, cross-cultural approach to understanding human behaviour.
b.
All of these choices.
c.
Because it tackles culture as a human experience or system of meaning in which the anthropologist must involve him/herself in order to develop adequate explanations of what is being observed.
d.
Because it takes human beings as its subject matter ("the study of humankind").
e.
Because it develops hypotheses and theories about the organization of language, values, and art in culture.
 

 21. 
Canadian prehistoric anthropologists use the term “pre-contact” instead of prehistoric when describing the ancestors of contemporary aboriginal cultures because:
a.
The ancestors of contemporary First Nations people did not have history
b.
They can’t discover anything about a culture because they don’t have written records
c.
Contact with European peoples is the most important thing, the people were backwards before then
d.
All of these choices.
e.
None of these choices.
 

 22. 
_______________, a Canadian forensic anthropologist, supervised removal of the remains of a 15th century hunter from a national park in British Colombia.
a.
Linda Fedigan
b.
Harry Hawthorn
c.
Owen Beattie
d.
James A. Tait
e.
None of these choices.
 

 23. 
Who does the anthropologist have obligations to?
a.
The profession of anthropology, other anthropologists who have studied your community, and the community you studied.
b.
The profession of anthropology, the people who funded the study, and the people studied.
c.
The people who funded the study, the anthropologist's government, and the people who were studied.
d.
The anthropologist's students, parents, and the people studied.
e.
The anthropologist's family, government, and people studied.
 

 24. 
How can anthropology provide basic skills for survival in the modern world?
a.
It gives us a greater sensitivity to cultural differences.
b.
It teaches us how to hunt game if we are ever lost in the wilderness.
c.
It makes us less provincial.
d.
It enables us to see that we are part of a global community rather than the center of the universe.
e.
All of these choices except it teaches us how to hunt game if we are ever lost in the wilderness.
 

 25. 
What can a forensic anthropologist tell from skeletal remains?
a.
population affiliation
b.
stature
c.
age
d.
all of these choices
e.
sex
 

 26. 
Recent studies examining housework have shown that:
a.
We spend less time doing housework than Aboriginal Australian women
b.
American women in the 1920s benefited from labour-saving devices
c.
Even with all the purchase of labour-saving devices, Canadian women who do not work outside the home spend about 55 hours a week doing housework
d.
The increase in household appliance consumer goods has resulted in a steady increase in leisure time
e.
None of these choices.
 

Matching
 
 
Match the term with the statement below.
a.
anthropology
b.
biological anthropology
c.
forensic anthropology     
d.
cultural anthropology     
e.
applied anthropology
 

 1. 

 field of applied physical anthropology that specializes in the identification of human skeletal remains for legal purposes
 

 2. 

 the systematic study of humans as organisms
 

 3. 

 the study of humankind in all times and places
 

 4. 

 the branch of anthropology that focuses on humans as a culture-making species
 

 5. 

 the use of anthropological knowledge and methods to solve practical problems, often for a specific client
 
 
Match the name in Column I with the description in Column II.
a.
Sir Daniel Wilson
b.
Owen Beattie
c.
James A. Teit
d.
Horatio Hale
e.
Birute Galdikas
 

 6. 

 a primatologist at Simon Fraser University who studies orangutans.
 

 7. 

 documented the lives of the Nlaka’pamax First Nations of south central British Colombia
 

 8. 

 introduced the term ‘prehistoric’ to the scientific community and taught the first Canadian anthropology course at the University of Toronto.
 

 9. 

 was the first ethnographer to discover the missing link between Siouan language and the Tutelos of Ontario. 
 

 10. 

 a forensic anthropologist who analysed the remains of the crew of the Franklin expedition.
 



 
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