Q&A Hero

Q: Evidence of artistic expression: a. Was first found in the early 18th century. b. Was first discovered only in the form of cave paintings. c. Was found at the dawn of the modern human species. d. Was first found 400,000 years ago. e. Was found for the first time with the emergence of state societies.

Q: Define world music and give examples.

Q: What is bhangra, and how does it express world music?

Q: Among the Toraja, what is the tongkonan?

Q: Who is Maria Martinez?

Q: How were gender roles depicted in Orientalist art?

Q: Define world art and give examples.

Q: Orientalism is often described as a European intellectual movement. What is it?

Q: Discuss the art of Fritz Scholder as a marker of personal identity.

Q: What is henna, and how is it used as an art form in Morocco?

Q: What are ledger drawings?

Q: Why did indigenous peoples oppose the use of the term "primitive" for their art in museums?

Q: How has religious belief and practice changed in the United States since 1940?

Q: Name three symbols significant to the Rastafarian movement.

Q: Describe three characteristics of fundamentalism.

Q: Under what conditions do we expect to find the emergence of syncretic religions?

Q: What is a millenarian movement?

Q: Compare and contrast witchcraft and sorcery.

Q: What is pharmacopoeia?

Q: What do we call a cleric whose authority is based on his or her ability to achieve direct contact with the supernatural?

Q: What was the role of the spirit in the vision quest?

Q: Define divination.

Q: Europeans saw the Melanesian cargo cults as irrational. But anthropologists studying them in the 1950s argued that they were rational responses. What evidence did they cite for this?

Q: When someone uses the fingernails of a victim to work a spell, what kind of magic is he using?

Q: In anthropology, what are the characteristics of prayer?

Q: Describe the three stages of a rite of passage.

Q: Define a rite of passage and give two examples.

Q: Why is liminality considered part of anti-structure?

Q: How are monotheism and polytheism alike and different?

Q: Why do Fulani of Mali insult their children?

Q: What are the six characteristics of religion?

Q: Define religion.

Q: About 10 percent of the U.S. population belongs to non-Judeo-Christian religions.

Q: In all religions, most fundamentalist belief calls for society to return to an earlier time that believers understand as more holy than the current era.

Q: The rituals of the Native American Church are based on the revival of a peyote religion that was common throughout North America in the 17th and 18th centuries.

Q: Some followers of the Ghost Dance religion believed that specially painted shirts would protect them from bullets.

Q: Return to Africa is a central theme of Rastafarian theology.

Q: Religious change is likely to occur when societies are stable and people have the time to think of new forms of religious worship.

Q: Modern-day Wiccans often believe that everything they do, good or bad, returns to them three-fold.

Q: There is no scientific evidence that one individual can kill another through the use of sorcery.

Q: Priests are generally associated with gods believed to have great power.

Q: In vision quest, many Native American groups used strong emotional impulse, fasting, isolation, self-mutilation, as well as other techniques.

Q: Members of Melanesian cargo cults believe that the material wealth of whites was the result of their secret magical knowledge.

Q: Liminal is a state that occurs to the individual at the conclusion of a ritual sequence.

Q: Totemism is a type of religion that is practiced by Native Americans.

Q: Military basic training is a good example of a rite of intensification.

Q: Most adults in any society can be considered liminal.

Q: Trickster spirits are interested in their own benefit rather than that of the people who believe in them.

Q: Religious symbols generally have a single meaning for all members of a religion.

Q: Some population experts believe that people have large families because they cannot conceptualize the number of children they have.

Q: People are likely to use magic where the outcome of events is known in advance and they are sure of the success of their efforts.

Q: A cosmology includes a set of principles of belief about the nature of life and death.

Q: In general, the American reaction to the increasing religious diversity of the United States has been: a. Tolerance. b. An increase in acts of violence against non-Christians. c. An increase in missionary activity, both in the United States and abroad. d. A movement to impose religious quotas on new immigrants. e. Calls for increased separation of church and state.

Q: The number of Americans who say they attend church regularly has: a. Remained about the same since 1940. b. Fallen steadily since 1940. c. Increased substantially since 1940. d. Declined, compared to the number of Europeans who say they attend church regularly. e. Has increased since 1940 among the old but declined during the same period among the young.

Q: One thing that all fundamentalist groups seem to have in common is: a. Women play major roles in their organization. b. Their members view the world as a cosmic struggle of good against evil. c. A disproportionate number of their members believe that the ends justify the means. d. They have restrictions on what kinds of foods they can eat. e. They seek political power but do not form political parties.

Q: For Rastas, the use of I-centered words emphasizes: a. The importance of the individual in the world. b. The importance of vision as the most important of the senses. c. The personal nature of meaning in Reggae. d. The radical equality of all people. e. Their history of protest against the Jamaican government.

Q: Which of the following is a Rastafari belief? a. The spirit of the Lord is contained in all mind-altering drugs. b. Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the law. c. Handling snakes can prove that you are one of God's chosen people. d. Earth is a prison planet but will be liberated when most people's consciousness is raised sufficiently. e. Haile Selassie, the former emperor of Ethiopia is the messiah.

Q: The Peyote Road refers to: a. Interstate Highway 35, because it leads to the Texas counties where peyote grows. b. The rejection of "white values" by Native Americans. c. The code of living by which a Native American Church member guides his life. d. Living outside the law. e. The spiritual path that Ghost Dancers believed would lead to the disappearance of the Whites and the return of the Buffalo.

Q: Why was the Ghost Dance prophesy particularly appealing to the Sioux? a. The prophet was a Sioux. b. It promised them great rewards but did not require them to do very much. c. It clearly promised them equality with whites. d. It combined elements of both traditional and modern religion. e. Conditions on the Sioux reservation were particularly bad.

Q: One of the key beliefs of the Ghost Dance movement was: a. The ancestors would return on an immense train. b. A dance had the power to turn those who did it into spirits of immense power. c. Native Americans could live in peace and harmony with all people. d. If Native Americans would use only traditional weapons, they could drive the Whites from their land. e. At the end of time, white people would turn black and black people would turn white.

Q: A nativistic religious movement is: a. An attempt by an economically powerful group to maintain its control of society. b. A religious movement that looks to the re-establishment of a past golden age. c. A series of rituals designed to determine who is and who is not a true member of a group. d. An ecclesiastical movement to convert nonbelievers. e. An attempt by the state to impose state religion on its citizens.

Q: The people most likely to be attracted to a prophecy are those who: a. Have power in society and can make the most of it. b. Have the leisure time to pursue the learning that goes with prophecy. c. Are looking to avoid taking responsibility for their actions. d. Are women between the ages of 17 and 27. e. Are most dissatisfied with the way they believe the world is.

Q: The belief systems of modern Wiccans and neopagans are derived largely from: a. Records made during the inquisition. b. Traditions passed in secret since before Christianity appeared in Europe. c. The writings of 19th and 20th century European authors. d. Traditional practices shown to be successful in curing disease. e. Traditional African and Asian religions.

Q: The anthropologist Walter Cannon argued that sorcery: a. Could kill people through an "extreme stress reaction." b. Backed the power of the wealthy in society. c. Was an entirely anti-social force that societies must strive to eliminate. d. Could not be effectively differentiated from witchcraft. e. Was present in Africa but not in Europe or Asia.

Q: People in many societies, including the Azande of East Africa, believe in a magical witchcraft substance that is: a. Controlled by the most powerful people in society. b. Hidden under the central shrine of the community. c. Part of the bodies of those who are witches. d. Available to those who seek with a pure heart. e. Can never be found by those who actively seek it.

Q: Which of the following correctly describes the Classical Mayan priesthood? a. They spent their time in prayer and meditation. b. Their key role was as healers of the sick. c. They took vows of poverty and chastity. d. They were not considered to be particularly important by the aristocracy. e. They used drugs and pain rituals to reach ecstatic states.

Q: In anthropology, the term "priest" refers to: a. Anyone who considers themselves a true believer in any religion. b. A member of the Catholic clergy. c. A religious leader who claims to be able to personally converse with God. d. Someone who has made a life-long study of religion. e. A person formally elected, appointed, or hired to a full-time religious office.

Q: Among the Netsilik Inuit, a tupiliq is: a. A shaman. b. A chief. c. A stone used for meditation. d. An evil spirit. e. A symbol that represents the group.

Q: The vision quest generally includes: a. The use of hallucinogenic drugs. b. Physical suffering. c. A long voyage in the company of an elder. d. A belief that only the faithful will be saved. e. Electric shock.

Q: Which of the following is necessary for an individual to become a shaman? a. The ability to experience direct contact with the supernatural. b. A period of training and a certification by an official institution. c. A parent or family member who is already a shaman. d. An ability to cure people both in- and outside of the cultural group. e. An ability to play-act and lie convincingly.

Q: The central tenant of prosperity theology is: a. By giving everything to the poor, Christians will achieve great rewards in heaven. b. Money is the root of all evil. c. God wants Christians to be wealthy. d. Christians should earn money through hard work but should give at least 10 percent of their wealth to the poor. e. The personal wealth of Christians does not matter since true wealth and prosperity lies in the church.

Q: Anthropological analyses of cargo cults have pointed out that: a. The cults have often been effective in allowing natives to gain access to cargo. b. The cults are largely based in the experience of people in World War II. c. The cults are an example of the lack of direct connection between religious belief and ordinary reality. d. The cults have been used to create a hierarchy that has subordinated natives to colonial authorities. e. Although the cults were promoted by colonial officials, they were rarely in the best interest of believers.

Q: A sorcerer who manipulates the fingernails of an intended victim to cause harm to that person is using: a. Mythological magic. b. Contagious magic. c. Ecological magic. d. Psychological reductionism. e. Superstitious magic.

Q: The purpose of divination is to: a. Get in contact with the divine. b. Find water. c. Prove that God exists. d. Find something hidden. e. Cast a spell on an enemy.

Q: A material function of sacrificing cattle as part of a religious festival suggests that: a. Cattle stand for the deviant members of society and killing them purifies society. b. Communal feasts are an effective way of distributing meat in societies without refrigeration. c. Meat is not an important resource in societies that practice such sacrifice. d. People who sacrifice animals have little understanding of ecology or proper animal husbandry. e. Only weak, sick, and elderly beasts are actually killed, thus proper management techniques are enshrined in religious ritual.

Q: A critical hallmark of prayer is: a. That it be done with reverence. b. That it be addressed to an all-powerful god. c. That its results depend on the will of the spirit world. d. That it be spoken aloud. e. That it be accompanied by some physical gesture (such as kneeling, bowing the head, clasping the hands and so on).

Q: Which of the following is an example of a rite of intensification? a. Going to a college football game. b. Getting a driving license. c. Getting married. d. Taking a mid-term exam. e. Going to see a professor during office hours.

Q: Which of the following is an example of a rite of passage? a. Going to a college football game b. Taking a mid-term exam. c. Going to see a professor during office hours. d. Getting married. e. Traveling across the country to visit a relative.

Q: A primary function of rites of intensification is to: a. Help an individual through a personal crisis. b. Help a young man in his search for a guardian spirit. c. Regulate male-female conflict within a society. d. Reinforce the values and norms of the community and strengthen group identity. e. Restrain the ghosts of dead people from taking revenge on the living.

Q: The anthropologist Victor Turner described communitas as: a. A state of equality and oneness. b. The sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of the heartless world. c. The result of overly rigid social controls. d. The result of the desire for increased structure in society. e. The search for life after death.