ANTH Environmental and Ecological Anthropology

Question 1

What subfield of anthropology examines the relationships between human cultures and their natural environments?

Accepted Answer

Ecological anthropology

Answer

Ecological anthropology studies how human groups adapt to their environments and how cultural practices relate to ecological conditions.

Question 2

Julian Steward's concept of 'cultural ecology' emphasized that:

Accepted Answer

The natural environment is a primary driver shaping core cultural features

Answer

Steward's cultural ecology argued that the environment shapes core cultural features (the cultural core) through the specific ways people exploit it for subsistence.

Question 3

What term describes the detailed, locally developed knowledge that indigenous peoples have about their local environment, species, and ecological processes?

Accepted Answer

Traditional ecological knowledge (TEK)

Answer

Traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) encompasses the cumulative body of knowledge, practices, and beliefs about relationships between living beings and their environment that evolved by indigenous peoples.

Question 4

The concept of a society's 'cultural niche construction' refers to:

Accepted Answer

How organisms, including humans, modify their environments to create ecological niches

Answer

Niche construction theory recognizes that organisms, especially humans, actively modify their environments in ways that then feed back to shape their own evolution and culture.

Question 5

What approach in environmental anthropology argues that local communities should be recognized as primary stewards of natural resources rather than states or corporations?

Accepted Answer

Environmental justice framework

Answer

The environmental justice framework examines how environmental burdens and benefits are distributed unequally across social groups and advocates for equitable resource governance.

ANTH (Anthropology) Practice Test

ANTH (Anthropology) Practice Test

ANTH Environmental and Ecological Anthropology