Anthropology: Society and Marvin Harris

Introduction to Cultural Anthropology NAME: Satyam Bharadwaj (810581584) “Life Without Chiefs” Marvin Harris Homework #5 due Tuesday, Oct. 9, 2012 10 pts
1. D According to Marvin Harris in “Life Without Chiefs,” hunter/gatherers had
a. no formal leaders
b. headmen
c. leaders who were respected by the people, but had no authority to command
d. all of the above

2. C According to Harris, leaders called “big men” appear in societies whose economies are characterized by
a. delayed reciprocity.
b. balanced reciprocity.
c. redistribution.
d. industrialization.

3. B According to Harris, ____________________________ gained momentum wherever extra food could be stored in anticipation of redistributions.
a. gender stratification
b. social stratification
c. egalitarianism
d. pastoralism

4. D Harris notes that big men
a. amassed more wealth than their neighbors.
b. live in more comfort than the rest of those in his society.
c. keeps 30 percent of whatever he collects for the redistribution feast for his family.
d. take less than others at the feast and may even go hungry.

5. A According to Harris, hierarchy and leaders with authority arise in human society as a result of
a. culture, especially economic factors and group size .
b. biological inheritance.
c. lineage patterns.
d. man’s innate drive to make war.

6. B According to Harris, each Cherokee family, living in what is now Tennessee, had a corn crib in its fields, called _________________ where the grain was stored for redistribution by the chief.
a. the “pone box.”
b. the “chief’s granary.”
c. the “loft of salvation.”
d. the “redistribution repository.”

7. D According to Harris, headmen
a. are found primarily in hunting/gathering societies.
b. become a center for the redistribution of food
c. lead by example without authority
d. two of the above.

8. D According to Harris, mumis, or big men, among the Simai of the Solomon Islands
a. possessed formal authority to make people act.
b. managed band reciprocity.
c. led in a manner equivalent to a Scoutmaster in the U.S.
d. ate less well than other people.

9. A According to Marvin Harris, hunter/gatherers lack leaders with formal authority because
a. band members are not economically dependent on any one person in such societies.
b. band members have not discovered the benefits of a formal political system.
c. the economic importance of women makes it impossible for men to permanently acquire political authority.
d. two of the above. 10. B According to Harris, the movement toward greater social stratification in human societies was inspired by
a. the biological human tendency to form hierarchies.
b. the production of extra food beyond the immediate needs of the people.
c. the advent of formal religion.
d. the fact that some men and women produced much more food than the others.