Anthro Final Exam- long answer questions

What are the three fastest growing internet language groups today?

Arabic, Malay, portuguese

5 examples of forms of verbal arts

Songs, narratives, dramas, riddles, word games, compliments, insults, etc.

Provide two examples of conspicuous consumption in your society.

luxury cars, luxury brands, real estate, Expensive technology

How do the Kurds fit in the terms nation and state?

Nation is a group of people who share a common identity, culture, territory, history, and language. A state is a political institution to manage and defend a complex and is a socially stratified organization occupying a defined territory.

The Kurds are a nation (share an identity, culture, history, language) but are split between formal states.

Two examples of how McDonald’s has adopted to different cultures around the world.

In India, they have lamb and chicken patties instead of beef because most don’t eat the sacred cows.

In Saudi Arabia, there are different lines for men and women because the two aren’t supposed to intermingle.

Discuss where and by whom many of the soccer balls children play with in the US and Europe are made.

Hand-stitched by children in India.

What 2 cultural adjustments did Marcos Zapata make the “the Last Supper” in order for fellow Andean Indians coming to the church would understand its significance?

He added roasted guinea pig on a platter (instead of lamb) because it’s a sacred animal, and chichi- a sacred beer- instead of red wine.

Why can “the Tower of Babel” theory be considered a myth?

In Christianity, the Tower of Babel is about people trying to get to God by building a tower, so God punished them by making them talk in different tongues to send them back.

Gluckman’s Theory of Gossip

• Gossip functions to build group solidarity

  • tells us how to behave, sanctions behavior

Paine’s theory of gossip

Gossip is used to advance personal agenda

Brennais Theory of gossip

• Gossip is a figure of speech

• begins with Bole construction

  • “You’ll never believe what I heard…”

Bole Construction

Separates the teller from the gossip. Indicates that gossip is about to be told.

What is the “central maxim” for ethical anthropological research?

You must do everything in your power to ensure the privacy, dignity, and safety of the people in your research.

What are 2 suggestions for “new, improved” values that might help our species to thrive in the future?

• view humanity as part of the world instead of the master of it.

• take social responsibility to respect other ethnic groups and collective stewardship of the Earth

When and where did the first cities appear?

4,500-6,000 years ago in Mesopotamia, Egypt, and the Indu valley

What are three of the problems associated with the first civilization that are still with us?

• waste disposal

• pollution related health problems

• crowding

• warfare

• social inequities

What are three changes in the environment during the Mesolithic era that necessitated changes in human habitat and cultural practices?

• rising sea level from melting glaciers

• tundras replaces with hardwood forests

  • animals became more solitary instead of in herds, or the herd animals moved elsewhere

• plant food and fish became more abundant

What are three domesticates of the New World?

• Maize

• Beans

• Rice

• Turkeys

• Squash

• Etc.

What are three diseases humans have acquired from domesticated animals?

• measles

• tuberculosis

• small pox

• influenza

• whooping cough

What evidence exists for the appearance of humans in this hemisphere (New World) earlier than 13,000 years ago?

Objects, likely artifacts, were found in Monteverde, Chile, that are dated to about 14,500 years ago.

What are three improvements in hunting techniques in the Upper Paleolithic?

• poison

• net hunting

• bow & arrow

• atlatl

Why are the fossil footprints at Laetoli, Tanzania important? How were these dated? What date is associated with them?

They confirm that the austrolopethecus aforensis was fully bipedal by that time. The ash was dated to 3.6 MYA through potassium argon dating.

What is the oldest evidence for deliberate and controlled use of fire? (Site, date, evidence)

• Kao Poh Nam, Thailand

• 700,000 years ago

• Circular arrangement of charred basalt rocks, which were carried in from another area.

Why is Shanidar Cave in Iraq important to help us understand Neandertal symbolic life?

There may have been funeral rituals because, through palynology analysis they found that flowers were places around the necks of the bodies.

Understand how humans evolve through time.

• natural selection, etc.

According to Anabel Ford, what is “action archaeology”? How is her work at El Pilar an example of this?

Action Archaeology is a conservation model that draws on lessons learned from recent and distant past to benefit contemporary communities. Ford looked at how Mayans used forest farming, and brought it back to the current community.

Why do looters of an archaeological site “steal” besides the artifacts themselves?

They steal all of the information that could’ve been collected from the artifacts.

What are 3 things that an examination of human skeletal material can provide?

Knowledge about ancient peoples’

• Diets/nutrition

• gender roles

• mortality/health status

• social status

When did mammals first appear on earth?

200-245 million years ago

What date does the “molecular clock” provide for the split of humans, chimp, and gorilla?

5 million years ago

How might your cell phone be connected to the suffering of thousands of people, including children in the world?

In Congo, coltan -used in the production of cell phones- mining is done by children in mines in awful conditions.

How do chimpanzees and humans compare on the genetic level?

We share at least 98% identical genes. Chimps have an additional chromosome.

Discuss abnormal hemoglobin as an adaption to the parts of the world in which the malarial parasite flourished.

Abnormal hemoglobin cant carry viruses

Briefly discuss 2 examples of Kanzi’s communication abilities.

• Communicates by pointing to photos, lexigrams

• can understand human language and reply through lexigrams

• his mother taught him, he watched her use lexigrams

Controversy surrounds primate communication research because it challenges notions of human uniqueness. Provide 3 examples of ape communication abilities revealed through research.

• apes can understand language well, and may used rudimentary grammar

• can make up their own sentences

• can ask questions

• can distinguish naming vs asking

• can tell lies

• can teach language to each other

• can our preform college students on computer game, memorizing

What did Jill Pruetz and her colleagues document in Senegal?

There’s habitual hunting groups of male AND female chimps using spears.

Three principles of Darwinian evolution

• There’s a random distribution of traits in a population

• those best adapted within their environment using said trait will survive, live longer, and reproduce.

• As they reproduce, their offspring will carry that trait (in random fashion, recessive.)