Question 1

How does a big man increase his status?

Accepted Answer

A)  Big men are village heads who are trying to turn their achieved status into something more permanent; the standard way of doing this is through conspicuous symbolic displays of wealth. 
B)  The term big man refers to the liminal state a Kapauku youth enters before marriage; he accumulates wealth as a way of funding the wedding and paying the bride price. 
C)  Big men are typically war leaders and as such must have a standing supply of "grievance gifts" to compensate the families of warriors who die under their command. 
D)  The primary means of becoming a big man is the wearing of a tonowi shell necklace, which is imported from the coast and is therefore quite expensive by Kapauku standards. 
E)  Big men do not keep the wealth they accumulate; instead, they redistribute it to create and maintain alliances with political supporters. 
A)  Big men are village heads who are trying to turn their achieved status into something more permanent; the standard way of doing this is through conspicuous symbolic displays of wealth. 
B)  The term big man refers to the liminal state a Kapauku youth enters before marriage; he accumulates wealth as a way of funding the wedding and paying the bride price. 
C)  Big men are typically war leaders and as such must have a standing supply of "grievance gifts" to compensate the families of warriors who die under their command. 
D)  The primary means of becoming a big man is the wearing of a tonowi shell necklace, which is imported from the coast and is therefore quite expensive by Kapauku standards. 
E)  Big men do not keep the wealth they accumulate; instead, they redistribute it to create and maintain alliances with political supporters.

Question 2

States are complex systems of sociopolitical organization that aim to control and administer everything from conflict resolution to fiscal systems to population movements.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 3

Noting that chiefdoms created the megalithic cultures of Europe, such as the one that built Stonehenge, Kottak reminds us that

Accepted Answer

A)  chiefdoms that failed to become states did not have enough stone. 
B)  chiefdoms and states can fall as well as rise. 
C)  all chiefdoms end up becoming states. 
D)  all powerful chiefdoms required elaborate stonework to be recognized by competing groups. 
E)  chiefdoms have been among the rarest forms of social organization throughout human history. 
A)  chiefdoms that failed to become states did not have enough stone. 
B)  chiefdoms and states can fall as well as rise. 
C)  all chiefdoms end up becoming states. 
D)  all powerful chiefdoms required elaborate stonework to be recognized by competing groups. 
E)  chiefdoms have been among the rarest forms of social organization throughout human history.

Question 4

The efficacy of social control depends on how clearly people envision the sanctions that an antisocial act might trigger.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 5

In chiefdoms, chiefs occupy formal offices and administer or regulate a series of villages.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 6

In chiefdoms, individuals are ranked according to seniority, but everyone is believed to have descended from a common set of ancestors.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 7

The elites of archaic states restricted access to sumptuary goods.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 8

As illustrated by a comparison between the Basseri and Qashqai, two Iranian nomadic tribes, illustrates how as regulatory problems increase,

Accepted Answer

A)  pastoralists are less likely to interact with other populations in the same space and time. 
B)  rules regarding crime and punishment become more severe. 
C)  political hierarchies become more complex. 
D)  age sets begin to disintegrate. 
E)  silence becomes the best strategy to avoid conflict. 
A)  pastoralists are less likely to interact with other populations in the same space and time. 
B)  rules regarding crime and punishment become more severe. 
C)  political hierarchies become more complex. 
D)  age sets begin to disintegrate. 
E)  silence becomes the best strategy to avoid conflict.

Question 9

In the pre-Civil War southern United States, gatherings of five or more slaves were forbidden unless a white person was present, because

Accepted Answer

A)  resistance was most likely to be expressed openly when black slaves were provoked by the presence of white persons. 
B)  resistance is most likely to be expressed openly when people are allowed to assemble. 
C)  white persons were curious about the use of the story of Moses that was popular among slaves at the time. 
D)  some whites were eager to join the black slaves in their plans, some successful, in establishing free communities in isolated areas. 
E)  these whites were actually covert anthropologists eager to study social relations during these politically difficult times. 
A)  resistance was most likely to be expressed openly when black slaves were provoked by the presence of white persons. 
B)  resistance is most likely to be expressed openly when people are allowed to assemble. 
C)  white persons were curious about the use of the story of Moses that was popular among slaves at the time. 
D)  some whites were eager to join the black slaves in their plans, some successful, in establishing free communities in isolated areas. 
E)  these whites were actually covert anthropologists eager to study social relations during these politically difficult times.

Question 10

How do chiefdoms differ from states?

Accepted Answer

A)  Chiefdoms are based on differential access. 
B)  Chiefdoms lack socioeconomic stratification and stratum endogamy. 
C)  Chiefdoms lack ascribed statuses. 
D)  Chiefdoms have permanent political regulation. 
E)  Chiefdoms have full-time religious specialists. 
A)  Chiefdoms are based on differential access. 
B)  Chiefdoms lack socioeconomic stratification and stratum endogamy. 
C)  Chiefdoms lack ascribed statuses. 
D)  Chiefdoms have permanent political regulation. 
E)  Chiefdoms have full-time religious specialists.

Question 11

Population control in states refers to the police and military.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 12

In the context of tribal societies, what is a "big man"?

Accepted Answer

A)  someone who holds a permanent political office 
B)  a hereditary ruler 
C)  a person who creates his reputation through entrepreneurship and generosity to others 
D)  a leader who avoids excessive displays of generosity 
E)  a leader who has tremendous power because he is regarded as divine 
A)  someone who holds a permanent political office 
B)  a hereditary ruler 
C)  a person who creates his reputation through entrepreneurship and generosity to others 
D)  a leader who avoids excessive displays of generosity 
E)  a leader who has tremendous power because he is regarded as divine

Question 13

Contrast the Inuit and Yanomami with respect to their reasons for disputes, the effectiveness of their means of resolving disputes, and how they enforce decisions about resolving disputes.

Accepted Answer

The Inuit and Yanomami have different re

Question 14

Why is it important to remember that the chiefdom and the state, like many categories used by social scientists, are ideal types?

Accepted Answer

A)  They distinguish political and sociopolitical analyses among social scientists. 
B)  They are useless in sociopolitical analysis. 
C)  They represent social goals that politicians should strive to achieve. 
D)  They are labels that make social contrasts seem sharper than they really are. 
E)  They ensure that the field of anthropology remains more scientific. 
A)  They distinguish political and sociopolitical analyses among social scientists. 
B)  They are useless in sociopolitical analysis. 
C)  They represent social goals that politicians should strive to achieve. 
D)  They are labels that make social contrasts seem sharper than they really are. 
E)  They ensure that the field of anthropology remains more scientific.

Question 15

The key difference between a village head and a big man is that the big man has supporters in many villages, whereas the supporters of the village head are restricted to his respective village.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 16

In tribal societies, the village head leads by example and through persuasion; he lacks the ability to force people to do things.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 17

Age grades represent stages in one's life with specific tasks, obligations, and duties for the individuals in a given grade.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 18

A fiscal system includes the judges, laws, and courts that resolve conflicts.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 19

Modern foragers are not Stone Age relics, living fossils, lost tribes, or noble savages. Still, to the extent that foraging has been the basis of their subsistence, contemporary and recent hunter-gatherers

Accepted Answer

A)  are the closest we can come to studying true human nature. 
B)  illustrate links between a foraging economy and the emergence of social stratification. 
C)  suggest that the most basic motive driving human survival is the need for power. 
D)  can illustrate links between a foraging economy and other aspects of society and culture, such as their sociopolitical organization. 
E)  illustrate the social precursors to hegemony. 
A)  are the closest we can come to studying true human nature. 
B)  illustrate links between a foraging economy and the emergence of social stratification. 
C)  suggest that the most basic motive driving human survival is the need for power. 
D)  can illustrate links between a foraging economy and other aspects of society and culture, such as their sociopolitical organization. 
E)  illustrate the social precursors to hegemony.

Question 20

According to Pierre Bourdieu and Michel Foucault,

Accepted Answer

A)  it is easier and more effective to dominate people in their minds than to try to control their bodies. 
B)  if state institutions such as prisons and schools are able to control people's bodies, their minds will follow. 
C)  anthropologists have no business studying the process of how the dominant ideology becomes internalized, since this is the job of psychologists and political scientists. 
D)  overt violence is critical for a state to succeed in dominating its population. 
E)  anatomically modern humans have a ways to go in the process of evolution, since they are so easily tricked into believing that forms of state control are both natural and good. 
A)  it is easier and more effective to dominate people in their minds than to try to control their bodies. 
B)  if state institutions such as prisons and schools are able to control people's bodies, their minds will follow. 
C)  anthropologists have no business studying the process of how the dominant ideology becomes internalized, since this is the job of psychologists and political scientists. 
D)  overt violence is critical for a state to succeed in dominating its population. 
E)  anatomically modern humans have a ways to go in the process of evolution, since they are so easily tricked into believing that forms of state control are both natural and good.

Exam 17: Political Systems

How does a big man increase his status?

States are complex systems of sociopolitical organization that aim to control and administer everything from conflict resolution to fiscal systems to population movements.

Noting that chiefdoms created the megalithic cultures of Europe, such as the one that built Stonehenge, Kottak reminds us that

The efficacy of social control depends on how clearly people envision the sanctions that an antisocial act might trigger.

In chiefdoms, chiefs occupy formal offices and administer or regulate a series of villages.

In chiefdoms, individuals are ranked according to seniority, but everyone is believed to have descended from a common set of ancestors.

The elites of archaic states restricted access to sumptuary goods.

As illustrated by a comparison between the Basseri and Qashqai, two Iranian nomadic tribes, illustrates how as regulatory problems increase,

In the pre-Civil War southern United States, gatherings of five or more slaves were forbidden unless a white person was present, because

How do chiefdoms differ from states?

Population control in states refers to the police and military.

In the context of tribal societies, what is a "big man"?

Contrast the Inuit and Yanomami with respect to their reasons for disputes, the effectiveness of their means of resolving disputes, and how they enforce decisions about resolving disputes.

Why is it important to remember that the chiefdom and the state, like many categories used by social scientists, are ideal types?

The key difference between a village head and a big man is that the big man has supporters in many villages, whereas the supporters of the village head are restricted to his respective village.

In tribal societies, the village head leads by example and through persuasion; he lacks the ability to force people to do things.

Age grades represent stages in one's life with specific tasks, obligations, and duties for the individuals in a given grade.

A fiscal system includes the judges, laws, and courts that resolve conflicts.

Modern foragers are not Stone Age relics, living fossils, lost tribes, or noble savages. Still, to the extent that foraging has been the basis of their subsistence, contemporary and recent hunter-gatherers

According to Pierre Bourdieu and Michel Foucault,

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

Gender

Families, Kinship, and Descent

Marriage

Religion

Arts, Media, and Sports

The World System and Colonialism

Anthropologys Role in a Globalizing World

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