ANTH Study Guide 2026
Everything you need to pass the ANTH exam in one place: the exam format, every topic to study, real practice questions with explanations, flashcards, and full-length practice tests. Free, no sign-up needed.
📋 ANTH Exam Format at a Glance
📚 ANTH Topics to Study (43)
✍️ Sample ANTH Questions & Answers
1. Elman Service's typology of political organization lists four levels in order of increasing complexity. Which is the correct sequence?
Service's evolutionary sequence moves from band (foragers) to tribe (horticulturalists/pastoralists) to chiefdom (ranked societies) to state (stratified, bureaucratic societies).
2. The discovery of Homo naledi remains in the Rising Star cave system is notable for what reason?
Homo naledi is known from many individuals recovered deep within the Rising Star cave.
3. A kinship system that traces descent through the mother's line is called:
In a matrilineal system, group membership and inheritance pass through the female line.
4. What term refers to the transfer of wealth or property from the groom's family to the bride's family at marriage, common in many African societies?
Bridewealth (also called bride price) involves the groom's family transferring goods, cattle, or money to the bride's family to legitimize the marriage and children.
5. The comparative study of two or more cultures to identify broad patterns is called:
Ethnology compares data from multiple societies to draw broader generalizations about human culture.
6. What is the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis?
The Sapir-Whorf hypothesis (linguistic relativity) proposes that language structure influences cognition and perception. The strong version claims language determines thought; the weak version claims it influences thought patterns.