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2 Sacred Beings and Cosmologies Online Quiz Questions

Use this free practice quiz with 20 questions to review 2 Sacred Beings and Cosmologies, test your knowledge, and prepare for your next test or exam.

20 questions
01
Choose one
1 point

Which description best captures what anthropologists mean by a community's cosmology?

  1. A

    A list of supernatural beliefs held by a community

  2. B

    An account of how a community understands the world's order and relationships

  3. C

    A set of rules that separates religion from everyday life

  4. D

    A classification of rituals by how often they occur

02
True or false
1 point

The terms “god,” “spirit,” and “ancestor” can be useful for comparison, but researchers should not assume that every community uses or understands these categories in the same way.

  1. A

    True

  2. B

    False

03
Choose one
1 point

Which statement best reflects a contemporary anthropological use of the term “animism”?

  1. A

    A theory that ranks animism as an inferior stage of religion

  2. B

    A claim that every Indigenous community shares one worldview

  3. C

    An approach that draws attention to nonhuman beings treated as persons or social partners

  4. D

    A rule that all nonhuman life is understood as human

04
Written response
1 point

What term can describe beings that are not human but are understood as persons?

05
Choose all
1 point

Which practices are described as ways people in some communities may honor ancestors? Select all correct choices.

  1. A

    Maintaining graves

  2. B

    Treating all ancestors as divine beings

  3. C

    Making offerings

  4. D

    Conducting ceremonies

06
True or false
1 point

In some traditions, the distinction between ancestors and divine beings is not absolute.

  1. A

    True

  2. B

    False

07
Choose one
1 point

How should the example of Sámi reindeer-herding perspectives be used when comparing human and nonhuman relationships?

  1. A

    It establishes a general rule for all Indigenous communities.

  2. B

    It describes one locally grounded perspective and should not be generalized to all Sámi people.

  3. C

    It shows that human and nonhuman relationships are always identical.

  4. D

    It argues that nonhuman beings are never treated as social partners.

08
Written response
1 point

In the described Sámi reindeer-herding example, what two qualities characterize human and nonhuman relations?

09
Choose all
1 point

Which statements describe ways cosmologies may relate humans to animals, plants, landscapes, objects, or spirits? Select all correct choices.

  1. A

    Some emphasize shared qualities across human and nonhuman distinctions.

  2. B

    Some emphasize kinship or social relationships across those distinctions.

  3. C

    All treat humans, animals, plants, and spirits as belonging to separate domains.

  4. D

    Some understand these beings as belonging to separate domains.

10
Open ended
1 point

Explain how a community's cosmology can shape life beyond beliefs about supernatural beings. Then explain why an anthropologist should be cautious about applying the same categories to every community.

11
Choose one
1 point

What is the most accurate way to interpret the example of some Amazonian cosmologies and perspectives?

  1. A

    It proves that all Amazonian peoples reject distinctions between nature and culture.

  2. B

    It shows that humans and animals always perceive the world identically.

  3. C

    It describes a specific interpretation that complicates simple nature-culture divisions without representing all Amazonian peoples.

  4. D

    It establishes that nature and culture are universal categories.

12
True or false
1 point

Ethical expectations in relationships with nonhuman beings may be expressed through ordinary work and care for places, not only through ritual.

  1. A

    True

  2. B

    False

13
Written response
1 point

What term describes a community’s account of how the world is ordered, what beings exist, and how humans relate to other beings and forces?

14
Written response
1 point

What two-word term refers to a power or vitality understood as present in the world, rather than primarily as an individual being?

15
Choose one
1 point

A researcher finds that a community’s ideas about the world influence how people understand illness, death, and their responsibilities to one another. Which conclusion is best supported?

  1. A

    Cosmologies concern only supernatural beings and have no bearing on ordinary life.

  2. B

    Cosmologies may shape social roles, understandings of illness and death, and everyday relationships.

  3. C

    Cosmologies are simply lists of beliefs about gods.

  4. D

    Cosmologies are identical across communities that use the same religious terms.

16
Choose one
1 point

A family maintains ancestral graves and holds a ceremony to honor deceased relatives. Which interpretation best reflects the range of meanings such practices may have?

  1. A

    Such practices must be treated only as religious devotion.

  2. B

    Such practices may express care and continuity as well as religious devotion.

  3. C

    Such practices show that every family follows the same beliefs.

  4. D

    Such practices mean ancestors are always considered gods.

17
Choose one
1 point

In a tradition where descendants are expected to maintain ancestral places, what does this expectation illustrate?

  1. A

    Descendants are expected to avoid ancestral places.

  2. B

    Ancestors are always understood as divine beings.

  3. C

    Descendants may have duties to care for ancestral places or perform particular rites.

  4. D

    Ancestor relationships involve no obligations for the living.

18
Choose one
1 point

In a community where some nonhuman beings are treated as social partners, what might an interaction with them involve?

  1. A

    People may be expected to show respect, ask permission, make offerings, or avoid particular conduct.

  2. B

    People must treat all nonhuman beings as identical to humans.

  3. C

    Ethical expectations apply only during formal ceremonies.

  4. D

    Interactions with nonhuman beings are understood as having no social or ethical significance.

19
Fill in the blank
1 point

A community understands a sacred being as connected with a particular river. The material says sacred beings may be associated with particular .

20
Fill in the blank
1 point

People describe a sacred being as knowing their requests and responding to them. This description fits the capacity to .