Question 1

What term refers to one of two descent groups in a given population?

Accepted Answer

A)  levirate 
B)  sororate 
C)  moiety 
D)  patriline 
E)  matriline 
A)  levirate 
B)  sororate 
C)  moiety 
D)  patriline 
E)  matriline C

Question 2

With polyandry, a woman takes more than one husband.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False  True

Question 3

To understand royal endogamy, it is useful to distinguish between the manifest and latent functions of customs and behavior. The manifest function of a custom refers to the reasons people in a society give it. Its latent function is

Accepted Answer

A)  the genetically motivated reason for the custom. 
B)  a subconscious effect that the custom has on society members' identification with that belief. 
C)  the socially constructed perspective of why the custom exists. 
D)  an effect the custom has on the society that its members don't mention or recognize. 
E)  the emic effect the custom has on the society, recognized only by anthropologists. 
A)  the genetically motivated reason for the custom. 
B)  a subconscious effect that the custom has on society members' identification with that belief. 
C)  the socially constructed perspective of why the custom exists. 
D)  an effect the custom has on the society that its members don't mention or recognize. 
E)  the emic effect the custom has on the society, recognized only by anthropologists. D

Question 4

This chapter includes several examples linking marriage practices with issues about property and inheritance. Describe these examples. Based on what you have learned so far about marriage, kinship, adaptive strategies, and political systems, can you suggest ways in which anthropologists could help explain relationships involving property?

Accepted Answer

In this chapter, the examples linking ma

Question 5

Does the practice of paying a dowry necessarily imply gender inequality?

Accepted Answer

The practice of paying a dowry, which in

Question 6

How do the rules of endogamy function in society?

Accepted Answer

A)  They prove that the incest taboo is not the cultural universal it was once thought to be. 
B)  They encourage the extension of affinal bonds to an ever-widening circle of people. 
C)  They tend to maintain social distinctions between groups. 
D)  They expand the gene pool. 
E)  They extend kin ties across classes. 
A)  They prove that the incest taboo is not the cultural universal it was once thought to be. 
B)  They encourage the extension of affinal bonds to an ever-widening circle of people. 
C)  They tend to maintain social distinctions between groups. 
D)  They expand the gene pool. 
E)  They extend kin ties across classes.

Question 7

A lobola, a substantial marital gift from the husband and his kin to the wife and her kin among the BaThonga of Mozambique, is

Accepted Answer

A)  a form of bride theft. 
B)  only given for elopements. 
C)  the same as a dowry. 
D)  widespread in patrilineal societies. 
E)  widespread in matrilineal societies. 
A)  a form of bride theft. 
B)  only given for elopements. 
C)  the same as a dowry. 
D)  widespread in patrilineal societies. 
E)  widespread in matrilineal societies.

Question 8

Cross-culturally, divorce is known only in industrialized societies where a high percentage of women are gainfully employed.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 9

Exogamy is the practice of seeking out a mate within one's own social group.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 10

What is the name of the custom by which a widower marries the sister of his deceased wife?

Accepted Answer

A)  sororate marriage 
B)  serial polyandry 
C)  filial marriage 
D)  levirate marriage 
E)  fraternal marriage 
A)  sororate marriage 
B)  serial polyandry 
C)  filial marriage 
D)  levirate marriage 
E)  fraternal marriage

Question 11

Cultures have different definitions and expectations of relationships that are biologically or genetically equivalent. In other words, kinship is socially constructed.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 12

Serial polygamy is the practice of having more than one wife, but never more than one at the same time.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 13

One theory regarding the universality of the incest taboo argues that by forcing people to marry outside their immediate kin group, peaceful alliances between people would extend to include a greater number of individuals.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 14

In the caste system of India, failure to adhere to class endogamy rules traditionally resulted in a ritually impure marriage.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 15

Same-sex marriages are not culturally viable institutions.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 16

A Nuer woman married to a woman can be the pater of a child she did not father. Native American berdaches, biological men who represent a third gender, sometimes assume the role of a wife when married to a man with whom they share the products of their labor. Cross-cultural examples such as these illustrate

Accepted Answer

A)  that the concepts of gender and marriage are more socially constructed in some societies than others. 
B)  how, if they were to be made legal, same-sex marriages could easily benefit from the same legal rights different-sex marriages already enjoy. 
C)  the rare social phenomenon of polyandry. 
D)  how same-sex marriages make good economic sense. 
E)  how Edmund Leach was wrong to suggest that all societies define marriage similarly. 
A)  that the concepts of gender and marriage are more socially constructed in some societies than others. 
B)  how, if they were to be made legal, same-sex marriages could easily benefit from the same legal rights different-sex marriages already enjoy. 
C)  the rare social phenomenon of polyandry. 
D)  how same-sex marriages make good economic sense. 
E)  how Edmund Leach was wrong to suggest that all societies define marriage similarly.

Question 17

What is the term that anthropologists use to refer to the biological father of a child?

Accepted Answer

A)  pater 
B)  creator 
C)  moiety 
D)  genitor 
E)  provider 
A)  pater 
B)  creator 
C)  moiety 
D)  genitor 
E)  provider

Question 18

Why does exogamy, the practice of seeking a husband or wife outside one's own kin group, have adaptive value outside of biological concerns?

Accepted Answer

A)  It increases the likelihood that disadvantageous alleles will find phenotypic expression and thus be eliminated from the population. 
B)  Exogamy creates new social ties and alliances, providing access to more resources and social networks. 
C)  It impedes peaceful relations among social groups and therefore promotes population expansion. 
D)  It was an important causal factor in the origin of social stratification. 
E)  Exogamy is not adaptive; it is just a culture construction. 
A)  It increases the likelihood that disadvantageous alleles will find phenotypic expression and thus be eliminated from the population. 
B)  Exogamy creates new social ties and alliances, providing access to more resources and social networks. 
C)  It impedes peaceful relations among social groups and therefore promotes population expansion. 
D)  It was an important causal factor in the origin of social stratification. 
E)  Exogamy is not adaptive; it is just a culture construction.

Question 19

The incest taboo is a cultural universal, but

Accepted Answer

A)  not all cultures have one. 
B)  not all cultures define incest the same way. 
C)  not all cultures know about the consequences of incest. 
D)  some cultures have replaced it with the levirate. 
E)  some cultures practice gerontology anyway. 
A)  not all cultures have one. 
B)  not all cultures define incest the same way. 
C)  not all cultures know about the consequences of incest. 
D)  some cultures have replaced it with the levirate. 
E)  some cultures practice gerontology anyway.

Question 20

The biological degeneration explanation for the incest taboo has won over supporters because of universal concerns about biology.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Exam 20: Marriage

What term refers to one of two descent groups in a given population?

With polyandry, a woman takes more than one husband.

To understand royal endogamy, it is useful to distinguish between the manifest and latent functions of customs and behavior. The manifest function of a custom refers to the reasons people in a society give it. Its latent function is

Does the practice of paying a dowry necessarily imply gender inequality?

How do the rules of endogamy function in society?

A lobola, a substantial marital gift from the husband and his kin to the wife and her kin among the BaThonga of Mozambique, is

Cross-culturally, divorce is known only in industrialized societies where a high percentage of women are gainfully employed.

Exogamy is the practice of seeking out a mate within one's own social group.

What is the name of the custom by which a widower marries the sister of his deceased wife?

Cultures have different definitions and expectations of relationships that are biologically or genetically equivalent. In other words, kinship is socially constructed.

Serial polygamy is the practice of having more than one wife, but never more than one at the same time.

One theory regarding the universality of the incest taboo argues that by forcing people to marry outside their immediate kin group, peaceful alliances between people would extend to include a greater number of individuals.

In the caste system of India, failure to adhere to class endogamy rules traditionally resulted in a ritually impure marriage.

Same-sex marriages are not culturally viable institutions.

What is the term that anthropologists use to refer to the biological father of a child?

Why does exogamy, the practice of seeking a husband or wife outside one's own kin group, have adaptive value outside of biological concerns?

The incest taboo is a cultural universal, but

The biological degeneration explanation for the incest taboo has won over supporters because of universal concerns about biology.

What Is Anthropology

Culture

Applying Anthropology

Doing Archaeology and Biological Anthropology

Evolution and Genetics

Human Variation and Adaptation

The Primates

Early Hominins

Archaic Homo

The Origin and Spread of Modern Humans

The First Farmers

The First Cities and States

Method and Theory in Cultural Anthropology

Language and Communication

Ethnicity and Race

Making a Living

Political Systems

Gender

Families, Kinship, and Descent

Religion

Arts, Media, and Sports

The World System and Colonialism

Anthropologys Role in a Globalizing World

Filters