Q&A Hero

Q: What does it mean to say that "tattoos are read" for meaning?

Q: Why have the basic working-class American tattoo designs (such as "Mother" or "Donna" inscribed alongside a heart), been relegated to the bottom rung of today's tattoo hierarchy?

Q: What types of symbolic expression are used in visual art? Name and discuss two types, and give examples of each.

Q: What different approaches do anthropologists use in order to study art?

Q: What is art?

Q: Art often plays a role in indigenous rights efforts.

Q: Oral tradition helps Aborigines claim extensive indigenous land ownership.

Q: Jennifer Neptune worked with the Penobscot Indians to recover an earlier type of hunting tool tradition.

Q: Music plays an important role in cultural preservation.

Q: The "coffin plane" now in the Smithsonian Museum in Washington, D.C., made only one independent flight before being stored as an art form.

Q: Zale Seck is a West African artist from Senegal whose paintings express political and social themes significant in our contemporary global world.

Q: Ethnomusicology began in the early 20th century.

Q: In all cultures, the words of songs constitute a type of poetry.

Q: The significance of tales to anthropologists is partly in their distribution across cultures.

Q: To some extent, in literate societies, the function of legends has been taken over by history.

Q: The word "myth," as used by anthropologists, means something that is widely believed to be true but probably is not.

Q: The word "folklore" is used today to distinguish between folk art and fine art.

Q: Huichol Indians use the roots of the Chama cactus for their trances.

Q: The interpretive approach indicates that shamanism has played a significant historical role in the rock art throughout eastern and northern Africa.

Q: In the process of construal, the brain tries to make sense of entopic images.

Q: The interpretative approach can be used to better understand the meaning of rock paintings in southern Africa.

Q: An art form that has developed recently is tattooing. It involves the puncturing and coloring of human skin with symbolic designs.

Q: Some form of visual art is a part of every historically known human culture.

Q: Originally, the objects from the tomb of Tut-ankh-amen were made for public display.

Q: Art is universal to human societies.

Q: Maori rugby teams play a haka before each match. What is this? a. Traditional war dance and song b. The national anthem of New Zealand c. A dice game using bones d. Scrimmage with other players e. A traditional waltz between men

Q: Among Australian aborigines, the ancestors' tracks on the earth are known in song as a. dreamlines. b. songlines. c. little songs. d. journey songs. e. echoes.

Q: Jennifer Neptune was asked by a Native American elder to make a reproduction of a clothes item from the late 18th century seen in a photograph of material artifacts from his tribe. This work allowed the current tribal members to appreciate the rich cultural past of their own tribe. What was this item that she reproduced? a. Pants (leggings) b. Hat c. Skirt d. Collar e. Waistcoat

Q: Which Native American group did Jennifer Neptune study and assist? a. Navajo b. Gros Ventre c. Assiniboine d. Penobscot e. Cherokee

Q: During the Washington Peace March in the "60s, thousands of people sang the song, "We Shall Overcome." This song expressed a feeling of common purpose to counteract repression and reform society. It created a sense of unity among the diverse members of the crowd. This example illustrates which of the following functions of music? a. Geographical distribution b. Polyrhythms and scale c. Mythological features d. Social functions e. Economic functions

Q: Master Ghanaian carpenter Paa Joe is most known for a. temple altars. b. coffins. c. statues. d. wooden utensils. e. axes and other tools.

Q: All of the following are functions of art except: a. art is a tremendous asset for the few societies that have it. b. art can be used to change people's perceptions. c. art is employed to express political themes. d. art displays social status and spiritual identity. e. art offers insights into a culture's worldview.

Q: In Western music, the distance between the basic tone and the first overtone is called a(n) a. tone. b. pentatone. c. octave. d. scale. e. pentatonic scale.

Q: What is the effect of religion today on global capitalism?

Q: Describe the role of religion in culture stability and culture change. Use current examples to show how religion can be a force for conservatism as well as for change.

Q: Pilgrimage is an important part of many religious traditions. Why do you think pilgrimage is used as a fundamental way to practice religion?

Q: Explain the function of sacred places in religion. Use specific examples to illustrate your answer.

Q: Consider each of the three major types of ritual, and give examples of how these are practiced in the United States.

Q: Discuss the role of religion in cultural change, paying particular attention to the role of globalization.

Q: Mark Juergensmeyer, in his book called The New Cold War? Religious Nationalism Confronts the Secular State, argues that so-called "fundamentalist" religious movements in various parts of the world present a serious and persisting challenge to the Western notion of separation of church and state. How can we account for the many religious revitalizations linked to political movements happening today worldwide?

Q: Bronislaw Malinowski, in his classic essay, "Magic, Science and Religion," claimed that each of magic, science, and religion were each a viable mode of cognition and that most societies exhibit all of them in variable proportions. In what ways does magical thinking persist in contemporary North America?

Q: What is the role of ritual in religious belief systems?

Q: Discuss the importance of the Shamanic Complex. How does community contribute to illness and healing? What is the social role of healing outside of the patient and the healer, whether it be a Western doctor or shaman?

Q: Why do some cultures have shamans? How does one become a shaman? How can the widespread occurrence of shamanism be explained?

Q: Define and explain the role of a priest or priestess in religion and how he/she is different from or similar to a shaman.

Q: Identify and explain the functions of religious specialists from culture to culture.

Q: Discuss the role of ancestral spirits in the patrilineal society of traditional China. What aspects of this type of religious practice can you find in other societies? Can you make any associations with your own society?

Q: Explain the function of religion in society from an anthropological perspective.

Q: Eighty-four percent of the world's population identities itself as religious and/or spiritual. Why do you think this percentage is so high? Why is religion so important to people?

Q: How does a society's worldview shape its experience of reality?

Q: What does it mean to be an "Islamic financier"?

Q: What is syncretism? Describe a syncretic religion.

Q: What is a revitalization movement? Give examples of contemporary revitalization movements.

Q: How is pilgrimage "devotion in motion"?

Q: Who are the Navajo skin-walkers?

Q: Give four examples of divination.

Q: Distinguish between imitative and contagious magic, giving examples of each.

Q: What are the three stages in a rite of passage, as defined by Van Gennep?

Q: How are girls initiated into Mende society?

Q: How does healing occur among the Ju/"hoansi?

Q: Describe the work of the Foundation for Shamanic Studies.

Q: Distinguish between priests and shamans.

Q: How can karma "change your sex"? Discuss the example of the Chan monastics.

Q: What is mana, and how is it used religiously?

Q: Distinguish between animism and animatism.

Q: What are the three categories of supernatural beings?

Q: Give an example of a pantheon.

Q: What are the cultural purposes of religion and spirituality?

Q: Distinguish between religion and spirituality.

Q: What is a worldview, and how does it relate to the anthropological study of religion?

Q: Muslim beliefs have an effect on Islamic banking.

Q: The African continent is 25% Christian.

Q: One of the largest desecrations of religious sites occurred during the Cultural Revolution of the 1960s in China.

Q: One of the largest pilgrimages in the world is the hajj, a Hindu pilgrimage to a sacred temple.

Q: People often turn to pilgrimages in the hope of reaching a specific goal, such as the healing of physical, emotional, or social ills.

Q: Witchcraft accusations serve as a mechanism of social control.

Q: After a devastating tornado, a church met to pray for strength and unity during the crisis. This is an example of a rite of purification.

Q: Some societies have more taboos than others.

Q: A sick person who is given a medical explanation for his disease (for example, that he has tuberculosis) may still prefer to explain his illness as the result of witchcraft because it explains why he, and not someone else, got the disease.

Q: The Ju/"hoansi believe that illness is caused by invisible arrows shot by spirits.