Questions and Answers of Biological Anthropology

Explain what pastoralism is, and give an example.
Describe how horticulture works.
Analyze the key differences between horticulture and agriculture.
Discuss the characteristics of industrialism with examples.
Explain the relationship between climate change and food choice.
Does statelessness exist in wealthy countries such as the United States? How does the status of the "Dreamers" (people who entered the United States illegally as young children) compare with that of
What are the responsibilities of the governments toward the stateless? Do the United States and other powerful nations have responsibilities toward groups such as the Rohingya?Following the emergence
The United States and Canada are two of only 33 countries that have jus soli, the right to citizenship of any individual born on their soil. Why do you think this right is so limited, and do you
How does political organization relate to social differentiation?
What are the main characteristics of the various systems of social differentiation within egalitarian and rank societies?
What are stratified societies and what kinds of social systems are they identified with?
What are some of the functions of political organization and law? What are some of the means for achieving these aims?
What are the four major types of political organization identified by anthropologists, and what is the basis of this typology?
What are the differentiating characteristics of bands and tribes?
What are the differentiating characteristics of chiefdoms and states?
How is the connection between social stratification and the state illustrated in the ethnography of the Asante kingdom?
What are some of the economic, social, political, and cultural features of state societies?
What is a nation-state, and how is it an imagined community?
What are the characteristics of populism?
How does globalization both support and threaten the nationstate?
What is statelessness, and why is it a problem?
Distinguish between power, authority, and leadership and give some examples of each.
Anthropologists often say that all societies have politics but not all societies have government. What do they mean by this? Explain what politics means with and without government.
In this chapter, we explored the political difference between bands, tribes, chiefdoms, and states. If you imagined a society moving through these different political forms, what general trends would
What are some distinguishing characteristics of nationstates? Give some examples of state societies that are not nation-states and some that are. Explain why your examples are or are not
Carefully consider the relationship between globalization and the nation-state. In what ways did historic patterns of globalization play an important role in the creation of nation-states? To what
Compare and contrast different theories of social stratification.
Discuss the relationship between social stratification, wealth, power, and prestige.
Analyze social class differences in the United States by relating income inequality, class mobility, and class subcultures.
Summarize the features of the caste system in India and evaluate its relationship to religion, colonialism, and social mobility.
Describe platform capitalism and the gig economy and assess its relation to social stratification.
Have you ever worked in the gig economy? If so, what were the good and bad parts of your experience?In Ghost Work: How to Stop Silicon Valley From Building a New Global Underclass (2019),
Should we resign ourselves to the continued growth of the gig economy or fight for the right to full-time labor with benefits to and protections for workers?In Ghost Work: How to Stop Silicon Valley
What does the American Dream mean to you, and do you believe that you will achieve it? What are your reasons for your optimism or pessimism? What role is the gig economy likely to play in it?In Ghost
What contrasts does a global perspective highlight in terms of social stratification?
What are the differences between functionalist and conflict theories of social stratification?
Define the major dimensions of social stratification, and explain how they relate to other aspects of culture and society.
What are the main features of the class system in the United States?
What are some of the main features of economic inequality in the United States?
What are the main features of class mobility in the United States?
In what ways are classes subcultures?
How have anthropologists worked to help alleviate homelessness?
What are the main differences between a class system and a caste system?
What are the main characteristics of the Indian caste system, and how is it changing?
What is platform capitalism, and how has the gig economy impacted society?
Explain the ways that ideas of race are linked to culture and history.
Describe some of the history and current practice of race in the United States.
Summarize the race system of Brazil and compare it to that of the United States.
Analyze the nature of ethnicity and its relationship to the nation-state.
Distinguish critical aspects of ethnicity in the United States.
Relate race and ethnicity to politics, practices, and outcomes surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic.
How did the COVID-19 crisis affect you personally?In the United States, the effects of COVID-19 exposed racial and ethnic inequalities and, in some cases, exacerbated tensions. In the spring of 2020,
What approaches to controlling COVID-19 succeeded, and what approaches were ineffective?In the United States, the effects of COVID-19 exposed racial and ethnic inequalities and, in some cases,
In what ways can insights from anthropology be useful in understanding and controlling COVID-19 and similar epidemics in the future?In the United States, the effects of COVID-19 exposed racial and
How many biological races of humanity are there?
What are some key fallacies of attempts to divide people into biological races?
How did understandings of race develop in the United States?
How do life chances relate to race in the United States?
What is the purpose of the RACE project?
How is racial classification in Brazil different from racial classification in the United States?
What is ethnicity, and what role does it play in conflict?
How have minority ethnic groups been integrated into nation states?
How has immigration and ethnicity in the United States changed over the nation's history?
What particular issues have affected Muslim and Hispanic immigrants?
How did the COVID-19 pandemic expose social divisions?
Explain what a kinship system is and relate it to ideas about descent and group membership.
Summarize the main characteristics of patrilineal descent and evaluate its continuing importance.
Describe matrilineal descent and analyze its impact on gender relations.
List non-unilineal descent systems and compare them with unilineal descent systems.
Distinguish between the key characteristics used in the classification of kin and give examples of different kinship systems.
Assess the role of kinship in immigration and transmigration.
The Minangkabau, a rice-growing society in West Sumatra, Indonesia, is one of the few matrilineal Islamic societies in South Asia. In Minangkabau villages, kinship relations and families are
What are some important connections between kinship and transmigration?Kinship relations are an important factor in the migration of people across state borders-a significant dimension of
Discuss how your own kinship relations (or those of a recent immigrant or child of immigrants whom you know) function in both a global and a local context.Kinship relations are an important factor in
What does kinship system refer to and why is it important?
What are the functions of a kinship system?
What is a descent group, and what is the difference between unilineal and bilateral descent?
How are the contradictions between the prescriptions of kinship systems and the realities of life shown by Pine Tree Village, Korea?
What is a lineage, and how does it relate to a descent group?
What are the central dynamics that characterize patrilineal kinship systems?
How do the Nuer demonstrate both the dynamics of some kinds of patrilineality and the continuing relevance of anthropology?
What are the central dynamics that characterize matrilineal kinship systems?
How does Minangkabau matrilineal kinship illustrate female power in society?
What is double descent, and how does it function?
What is bilateral descent, and what are its central characteristics?
What are some of the principles used to categorize relatives in different systems of kinship terminology?
What are the six major types of kinship classification systems, and what do such systems reveal about a society?
What roles does kinship play in immigration and transmigration?
Anthropologists have long been interested in kinship, especially in societies without centralized government. Why should this be the case?
What are the advantages and disadvantages of social organization through unilineal or bilateral kinship? Are there particular circumstances in which societies organized by one might have an advantage
Describe the position of women in patrilineal and matrilineal families and the difference between a matrilineal society and a matriarchal society.
Assess the relationship between kinship terms and behavior. In our society, we extend kin terms to many who are not biological kin. For example, we may call a Catholic nun sister. What does it mean
Most Americans address their family members using the Inuit kinship system. Is this system adequate for a society with frequent divorce, remarriage, and both formal and informal adoption? Are any new
Define marriage and critical rules associated with it in different cultures.
Compare and contrast monogamy, polygyny, and polyandry and give examples of each.
Explain the differences between bride service, bride wealth, and dowry and the ways that societies that practice each are likely to differ.
Analyze the differences among nuclear, composite, and extended families and the societies in which they're found.
Compare some of the ways the societies provide care for their elderly members and critique the elder care practices of your society.
Although sese relationships are generally not made public unless they become stable, sese is a culturally regulated custom, the boundaries of which are clearly understood by all. There is no brute
What are the major functions of marriage and the family?

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