MH Anthropology 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which anthropologist developed the concept of 'cultural relativism' as a methodological approach?
- Claude Lévi-Strauss
- Franz Boas (Correct answer)
- Bronisław Malinowski
- Edward Tylor
Correct answer: Franz Boas
Franz Boas championed cultural relativism, arguing that cultures must be understood on their own terms rather than ranked hierarchically.
Question 2: The 'Sapir-Whorf hypothesis' in linguistic anthropology proposes that:
- Language universals exist across all human cultures
- Language structure influences speakers' worldview and cognition (Correct answer)
- Grammar rules are innate biological endowments
- All human languages share a common ancestor
Correct answer: Language structure influences speakers' worldview and cognition
The Sapir-Whorf (linguistic relativity) hypothesis suggests that the language one speaks shapes how one perceives and thinks about the world.
Question 3: In Clifford Geertz's interpretive anthropology, 'thick description' refers to:
- Quantitative measurement of cultural behaviors
- Detailed contextual interpretation of cultural meaning (Correct answer)
- Long-term participant observation exceeding five years
- Biological descriptions of human physical traits
Correct answer: Detailed contextual interpretation of cultural meaning
Geertz's thick description involves recording not just observable behavior but the layered meanings, contexts, and intentions behind it.
Question 4: Which kinship system traces descent exclusively through the mother's line?
- Patrilineal
- Bilateral
- Ambilineal
- Matrilineal (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Matrilineal
Matrilineal descent systems trace lineage and inheritance through female ancestors, as seen in societies like the Minangkabau of Indonesia.
Question 5: The anthropological concept of 'liminality,' introduced by Arnold van Gennep, describes:
- The threshold transitional phase in rites of passage (Correct answer)
- Economic exchanges at cultural boundaries
- Territorial borders between tribal groups
- The process of language borrowing between cultures
Correct answer: The threshold transitional phase in rites of passage
Liminality is the ambiguous in-between state during a rite of passage when an individual has left one status but not yet entered another.
Question 6: What does 'enculturation' refer to in anthropological theory?
- The adoption of a foreign culture by an individual
- The process by which individuals learn their own culture (Correct answer)
- Cultural change resulting from contact between societies
- The blending of two distinct cultural traditions
Correct answer: The process by which individuals learn their own culture
Enculturation is the lifelong process through which individuals internalize the values, norms, and behaviors of their own culture.
Question 7: The 'potlatch' ceremony among Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest is primarily an example of:
- A harvest festival with religious significance
- A competitive gift-giving practice that confers prestige (Correct answer)
- A funerary ritual honoring deceased ancestors
- A trade fair for exchanging material goods
Correct answer: A competitive gift-giving practice that confers prestige
The potlatch involves hosting feasts and distributing wealth to demonstrate social status and generosity, a form of what Marcel Mauss called the 'gift economy.'
MH Anthropology 2
Which anthropologist developed the concept of 'cultural relativism' as a methodological approach?