ANTH Social Organization and Kinship 2

Question 1

What term describes a form of exchange in which goods and services are given to a leader who then redistributes them to the community?

Accepted Answer

Redistribution

Answer

Redistribution involves the collection of goods or labor by a central authority (chief, state) who then reallocates them to the broader group.

Question 2

In Claude Lévi-Strauss's alliance theory, the most fundamental rule structuring human societies is:

Accepted Answer

The incest taboo

Answer

Lévi-Strauss argued that the incest taboo is the universal rule that forces people to seek mates outside their immediate family, creating the foundation for social alliances through marriage.

Question 3

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?

Accepted Answer

Bridewealth (brideservice)

Answer

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.

Question 4

What is a 'moiety' in anthropological kinship and social organization?

Accepted Answer

A division of society into two descent groups that stand in reciprocal relationship to each other

Answer

A moiety is one of two complementary halves of a society, often based on descent, that exchange marriage partners and ritual services with each other.

Question 5

Bronisław Malinowski's fieldwork on the Kula Ring in the Trobriand Islands documented what type of exchange system?

Accepted Answer

Ceremonial exchange of valuables circulating around a ring of islands

Answer

The Kula Ring is a system of ceremonial exchange in which shell necklaces and armbands circulate in opposite directions among Melanesian islanders, creating long-term social alliances.

ANTH (Anthropology) Practice Test

ANTH (Anthropology) Practice Test

ANTH Social Organization and Kinship 2