Practice Quiz for
Characteristics of Culture

No. of Questions= 13

INSTRUCTIONS: To answer a question, click the button in front of your choice. A response will appear in the window below the question to let you know if you are correct. Be sure to read the feedback. It is designed to help you learn the material. You can also learn by reading the feedback for incorrect answers.

1 Which of the following statements is true concerning human evolution?
a) The first humans evolved in the cold temperate regions of the world because of the need to develop culture for survival in those areas.
b) Culture is necessary for survival in the complex industrialized nations, but it is not in small societies that live by hunting and gathering wild foods.
c) Culture is an adaptive mechanism for humans.
2 Compared to what it was before the end of the last ice age (about 10,000 years ago), the rate of human culture change is now _______________ .
a) faster
b) slower
c) about the same
3 Which of the following statements is true?
a) The fact that cultural evolution can occur faster than biological evolution has altered the effect of natural selection on humans.
b) People are pre-adapted by their genes to acquire particular cultures.
c) none of the above
4 All human cultures evolve over time. Which of the following things is most responsible for this?
a) culture is an adaptive mechanism
b) culture is instinctive
c) culture is cumulative
5 Approximately 8,000-10,000 years ago, our ancestors invented agriculture. Which of the following things was a consequence of this development?
a) a more controllable and dependable food supply
b) the creation of villages, towns, and ultimately cities
c) the emergence of new kinds of political systems.
d) all of the above
6 Which of the following is a likely consequence of cultural evolution?
a) culture loss
b) better health
c) greater intelligence
d) all of the above
7 Culture change occurs as a result of ________________ .
a) diffusion
b) invention
c) both of the above
d) neither of the above
8 Ethnocentrism refers to the fact that _________________ .
a) some cultures are actually better than others
b) people usually believe that their way of life is superior, and they are somewhat condescending or even hostile toward other cultures
c) the technologically simpler societies usually feel that their cultures are inferior
9 When anthropologists study other societies, they need to suspend their own culture-based judgments. What is this kind of approach called?
a) cultural relativity
b) ethnocentric
c) diffusion
10 The Masai people live in ______________ .
a) South America
b) Australia
c) Africa
11 Which of the following statements is true?
a) People usually are unconscious of their culture in their daily lives.
b) There are always a few people in small-scale societies who know all of their culture.
c) In most societies, boys and girls are taught the same things about their culture.
12 Which of the following statements is true?
a) The range of permissible ways of dressing and acting as a man or woman are relatively unlimited in traditional Moslem societies.
b) It is likely that there still are some societies existing in total cultural isolation from the outside world.
c) Cultures usually allow a range of permissible behavior patterns.
13 The break-up of the former empire of the Soviet Union into largely ethnic based nations is an example of ___________ .
a) globalism
b) tribalism
c) none of the above

 


 

   Return to Menu      Next Topic   

This page was last updated onTuesday, June 28, 2005.
Copyright © 2002-2005 by Dennis O'Neil. All rights reserved.