Anthropology 3618: Ancient Cultures of Middle America



Anthropology 4616: Culture and Personality

Midsemester Exam

Spring 2009

2 March 2009

You may have the entire class period for the exam.

Your exam must be turned in or uploaded to your WebDrop file

no later than 3:15 p.m.

This exam is available in electronic form

from the General Purpose Course WebDrop Folder at

If you are uploading a file to WebDrop call it something like

your emailname_CP_midterm

|do not use the characters " |' |# |: |

Upload all four of your questions in one file.

Do not upload them separately in four files.

This is an open-book exam. You may bring and use your texts, dictionary, thesaurus, a writing handbook, class handouts, notes, outlines, drafts, memos, and a Ouija board. You may also use references and materials from your other classes and the web, with the caveat, of course, that you properly cite any sources you use.

You may bring and use your laptop but you must upload your exam to your WebDrop folder at the end of the exam period . Please upload the entire exam as one file, including the optional take-home question if you choose to do that question.

NOTE: If you normally generate a .wps file (from the Microsoft Works word processor) please turn in your paper as a .rtf (Rich Text Format) document. ( It does not work simply to type in the .rtf extension on an existing .wps file. You must load the original document and then resave it as a .rtf file type.)

Answer FOUR (only 4) of the following questions. Keep in mind that there is more than one approach you can take in answering these questions.

Follow these guidelines:

( Organize your answer before you begin.

( Be sure to state:

1. What or who something is

2. Where it occurred or is located (if appropriate)

3. How it is important

4. When it occurred

5. Why it is important

( State YOUR position or approach clearly.

( Cite specific examples or references to support your statements.

( Mention problem areas or other relevant materials which you would like to consider further in a more thorough statement. That is, when you're finished with your answer, what major questions are still left unanswered?

( Summarize your argument or discussion.

( Wherever appropriate use materials from more than one region of the world.

( Remember that each of your responses should have a beginning, middle, and an end.

Note: Do not discuss any topic at length in more than one question.

1. From the CPforum:

In regards to Margaret Mead's work, what do you think could have been some other factors that affected the outcome between her findings in Samoa and what Freeman saw when he went; besides the fact that the girls she had spoken with were lying. (Think about time, gender, etc.)

2. From the CPforum:

In Chapter 5 of Human Behavior in Global Perspective, “Alternative Views on Human Competence: General Intelligence and Genetic Epistemology,” the question of whether some societies are more intelligent than others is explored. What conclusions can be drawn on this topic after reading chapter 5?

3. Why would William H. Rivers' work be considered a turning point in psychological anthropology? What aspects of his work, especially from the Torres Strait Expedition, do we still draw on today?

4. Chapter Three, “Human Development and Informal Education,” discusses” The Ecocultural Framework.” What is “The Ecocultural Framework” and why is it important to Culture and Personality studies?

5. In regards to toy construction (Chapter Three , “Human Development and Informal Education”), how are American people conditioned "to have" toys instead of "to toy”?

6. Optional Take-Home Question:

NOTE: Essentially you may make up ONE question total. You may either do that as a take-home and bring it to class with you, or you may do that in class the day of the exam. If you elect to do the optional take-home exam and bring it with you to class, then you must choose three (3) additional of the remaining questions presented on the actual exam, as they are presented on the exam.

If you do not like these questions, make up and answer a question of your own choice relating to a topic which you have not considered in your other answers and concerning a topic related to the materials covered in class up to the midterm exam. Answers should contain specific information supporting your position. Both your question and your answer will be evaluated. If you like these questions but simply prefer to make one of your own, go ahead.

If you elect to make up and answer a question, you may prepare your question and answer in advance and bring them with you to the exam. If you prepare your question and answer in advance you only need to answer three (3) midterm exam questions in class.

7. On Current Affairs:

You’ve heard it time and time again; anthropology focuses on the biological and cultural aspects of humans.

Recently, celebrating Valentine’s Day, National Geographic reported in on the cultural aspects of … kissing, in an article pointing out that, “Today more than 90 percent of human societies and several animals, including chimpanzees, use kisses to express themselves,” noting also, for example, that for ancient Greeks and Romans kissing “was to express deference and not romance.” So, basically, they say kissing is primarily cultural. Read the full story below, “Ancient Kissing Wasn't Just for Valentines, Expert Says,” by Christine Dell'Amore (National Geographic News, 13 February 2009). (The article can be found on-line at .)

Just three days later the same National Geographic News reporter, Christine Dell'Amore, tells us that kissing “may tell us if the person we're kissing is a genetically [emphasis added] appropriate choice to mate with.” (“Why Men Are Sloppy Kissers,” National Geographic News, 17 February 2009, reprinted below, and available on-line at ).

The 17 February 2009 National Geographic News article goes on to report:

“The idea adds to mounting research that shows humans are naturally drawn to certain people based on biological cues that run deeper than looks.”

“Using statistics from 40,000 people on the Internet dating site , [Helen] Fisher recently developed a personality test that measures four universal temperaments.”

“Each temperament type was linked to activity levels of the brain chemicals dopamine/norepinephrine, serotonin, testosterone, and estrogen/oxytocin.”

“Fisher found that a person's temperament guides which type of mate they select—boosting her belief that love involves some very powerful brain chemistry.”

Questions:

A. From what you have learned about cross-cultural culture and personality research, how would you design a research project, to test the assertions of these two articles cross-culturally?

B. In your project how would you use, and what would be the validity of using, Fisher’s recently constructed personality test in the “more than 90 percent of human societies … [that] use kisses to express themselves [culturally]?”

[I am assuming here that Fisher’s personality test is not applicable to chimpanzees and other non-human animals, but that is only an assumption not a known fact.]

C. What guidelines would you use to sort out the cultural vs. physical aspects of the behavior, and what is actually happening with “some very powerful brain chemistry?”

|Ancient Kissing Wasn't Just for Valentines, Expert Says |

|Christine Dell'Amore in Chicago |

|National Geographic News |

|February 13, 2009 |

| |

| |

|  |

|This Valentine's Day, a kiss is still a kiss. But for the ancient Greeks and Romans the juicy gesture meant much more than |

|physical attraction. |

| |

|In fact, most kissing in that period was to express deference and not romance, Donald Lateiner, a humanities-classics professor|

|at Ohio Wesleyan University, told National Geographic News. |

| |

|Men kissed men on the cheek as a social greeting, while subjects of a king "abased" themselves by kissing the ground in front |

|of him. |

| |

|And people who wanted to curry favor with someone of higher status would "kiss up" the person's hands, shoulders, and head—in |

|that order. |

| |

|The Art of Kissing |

| |

|Poems, novels, and all kinds of art helped Lateiner parse out the history of the kiss. (Read more about Valentine's Day |

|history.) |

| |

|For instance, many Tuscan and Roman ladies' mirror cases made no later than A.D. 79 sported erotic scenes "from the world of |

|myth, [or] sometimes from the world of daily life," Lateiner said today during a press conference in Chicago. |

| |

|But on Athenian vases from the mid-fifth century B.C. and Pompeian frescoes produced between A.D. 49 and 79, romantic smooching|

|is quite rare, he noted. |

| |

|Instead "there's a whole lot of sex." |

| |

|This may be because artists of those eras preferred to depict full bodies, and a "Hollywood close-up" of people kissing would |

|be too small a detail to feature, Lateiner said. |

| |

|Today more than 90 percent of human societies and several animals, including chimpanzees, use kisses to express themselves, |

|said anthropologist Helen Fisher of Rutgers University. |

| |

|The ubiquity of the smooch supports Charles Darwin's belief that kissing is an instinct that evolved to jump-start |

|reproduction, she said. |

| |

|Lateiner and Fisher presented their studies on kissing during the annual meeting of the American Association for the |

|Advancement of Science. |

|  |

[pic]

|© 1996-2008 National Geographic Society. All rights reserved. |

|Why Men Are Sloppy Kissers |

|Christine Dell'Amore in Chicago |

|National Geographic News |

|February 17, 2009 |

| |

| |

|  |

|Sloppy male kissers may have a method behind their messiness. |

| |

|Men in general seem to like wet kisses with more "tongue action," said anthropologist Helen Fisher of Rutgers University. |

| |

|This could be because modern males are instinctually using kisses to pick up traces of estrogen in a woman's saliva and thus |

|gauge her fertility. |

| |

|Wet kisses could also be an unconscious attempt to transfer testosterone to the woman, which would stimulate her sexual |

|interest, Fisher said Friday at a meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Chicago. |

| |

|(Read about some of the "love drugs" in development based on human chemistry.) |

| |

|"Men see kissing early in a relationship directly as a step to copulation," she said. |

| |

|Sloppy smooching could therefore be an "all-purpose mechanism" to get the reproductive juices flowing. |

| |

|Kiss of Death |

| |

|Kissing may also serve as a way to assess the quality of a mate, said Wendy Hill, a neuroscientist at Lafayette College in |

|Easton, Pennsylvania. |

| |

|Technique aside, the chemical cocktail of saliva may tell us if the person we're kissing is a genetically appropriate choice to|

|mate with. (Find out more about the chemical basis of love in National Geographic magazine.) |

| |

|In fact, Rutgers' Fisher said, research has shown that the majority of men and women rate their first kiss as either "the kiss |

|of death" or the blossoming of a new relationship. |

| |

|The idea adds to mounting research that shows humans are naturally drawn to certain people based on biological cues that run |

|deeper than looks. |

| |

|Using statistics from 40,000 people on the Internet dating site , Fisher recently developed a personality test |

|that measures four universal temperaments. |

| |

|Each temperament type was linked to activity levels of the brain chemicals dopamine/norepinephrine, serotonin, testosterone, |

|and estrogen/oxytocin. |

| |

|Fisher found that a person's temperament guides which type of mate they select—boosting her belief that love involves some very|

|powerful brain chemistry. |

| |

|"People sing for love; they dance for love; they write about love; live for, kill, and die for love," Fisher told National |

|Geographic News. |

| |

|"It's a wonderful addiction when [a relationship is] working well—but perfectly horrible when it's working poorly." |

|  |

[pic]

|© 1996-2008 National Geographic Society. All rights reserved. |

................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download