The document provides information about the DSST exam in General Anthropology, including exam content, format, scoring, and references for study materials. The 100 question, 2 hour exam covers major topics in anthropology including physical anthropology, archaeology, cultural systems, social and economic organization, religion, and applications of anthropology. Exam questions are multiple choice and are designed to evaluate knowledge equivalent to a lower-level undergraduate course in general anthropology.
The document provides information about the DSST exam in General Anthropology, including exam content, format, scoring, and references for study materials. The 100 question, 2 hour exam covers major topics in anthropology including physical anthropology, archaeology, cultural systems, social and economic organization, religion, and applications of anthropology. Exam questions are multiple choice and are designed to evaluate knowledge equivalent to a lower-level undergraduate course in general anthropology.
The document provides information about the DSST exam in General Anthropology, including exam content, format, scoring, and references for study materials. The 100 question, 2 hour exam covers major topics in anthropology including physical anthropology, archaeology, cultural systems, social and economic organization, religion, and applications of anthropology. Exam questions are multiple choice and are designed to evaluate knowledge equivalent to a lower-level undergraduate course in general anthropology.
The document provides information about the DSST exam in General Anthropology, including exam content, format, scoring, and references for study materials. The 100 question, 2 hour exam covers major topics in anthropology including physical anthropology, archaeology, cultural systems, social and economic organization, religion, and applications of anthropology. Exam questions are multiple choice and are designed to evaluate knowledge equivalent to a lower-level undergraduate course in general anthropology.
This exam was developed to enable schools to award The American Council on Education’s College credit to students for knowledge equivalent to that Credit Recommendation Service (ACE CREDIT) learned by students taking the course. This exam deals has evaluated the DSST test development with theoretical perspectives; physical anthropology; process and content of this exam. It has made the archaeology; social organization; economic following recommendations: organization; political organization; religion; and modernization and application of anthropology. The Area or Course Equivalent: General exam contains 100 questions to be answered in 2 Anthropology hours. Level: Lower-level baccalaureate Amount of Credit: 3 Semester Hours Form Codes: SQ494, SR494, SY494, SZ494 Minimum Score: 400
EXAM CONTENT OUTLINE
The following is an outline of the content areas covered in the examination. The approximate percentage of the examination devoted to each content area is also noted.
I. Anthropology: Methodologies and Disciplines – 10%
a. Physical anthropology b. Cultural Anthropology c. Linguistics d. Archaeology e. Applied anthropology
II. History and Theory – 10%
a. Ethnographies and perspectives b. Sex and Gender c. Race and ethnicity d. Cultural ecology
III. Physical Anthropology – 13%
a. Genetic principles b. Evolutionary principles c. Primatology d. Paleontology 2. Fossil hominids
IV. Archaeology – 10%
a. Methodology b. Paleolithic and Mesolithic c. Neolithic d. Development of civilization and urban societies e. Material culture
Rev 1/2021 V. Cultural Systems and Processes – 14% a. Components of culture b. Symbolic Systems c. Language and communication d. Cultural diffusion e. Cultural universals, sub-cultures and counter cultures f. World system and colonialism g. Arts and Media
VI. Social Organization – 10%
a. Marriage and family patterns b. Kinship and descent groups c. Social and economic stratification
VII. Economic and Political Organization –10%
a. Political systems b. Subsistence and settlement patterns c. Trade, reciprocity, redistribution, and market exchange d. Modern political systems e. Globalization and the Environment
VIII. Religion – 11%
a. Belief Systems b. Formal institutions c. Informal organizations d. Religious practices and practitioners e. Rituals
IX. Anthropology in the Global Age 12%
a. Applied anthropology b. Cultural preservation c. Directed and spontaneous cultural change d. Future Directions 1. Environment 2. Cultural resource management 3. Indigenous survival and global culture 4. Digital world
REFERENCES Below is a list of reference publications that were either used as a reference to create the exam, or were used as textbooks in college courses of the same or similar title at the time the test was developed. You may reference either the current edition of these titles or textbooks currently used at a local college or university for the same class title. It is recommended that you reference more than one textbook on the topics outlined in this fact sheet.
You should begin by checking textbook content against the content outline provided before selecting textbooks that cover the test content from which to study.
Sources for study material are suggested but not limited to the following:
1 Haviland, W., Prins, H., McBride, B. and Walrath, D., Cultural Anthropology: The Human Challenge. 15th ed. Cengage Learning. 2. Kottak, C., Mirror for Humanity: A Consise Introduction to Cultural Anthropology. 11th ed. McGraw-Hill Higher Education.
Rev 1/2021 3. Lassiter, L., Invitation to Anthropology. 4th ed. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. 4. Renfrew, C. and Bahn, P., Archaeology: Theories, Methods, and Practice. 8th ed. Thames & Hudson. 5. Fagan, B. and Durrani, N., People of the Earth: An Introduction to World Prehistory. 14th ed. Pearson.
SAMPLE QUESTIONS All test questions are in a multiple-choice format, with one correct answer and three incorrect options. The following are samples of the types of questions that may appear on the exam.
1. Which of the following statements best describes the concept of culture?
a. Culture consists of genetically transmitted patterns of thinking and acting. b. Culture represents economic and political achievements. c. Culture is primarily determined by artifacts and art. d. Culture consists of learned and shared patterns of thinking and acting.
2. A major contribution by Darwin is the
a. Principle of uniformism b. Theory of diffusionism c. Theory of organic solidarity d. Theory of natural selection
3. The Mesolithic era is often described as a period of transition because it
a. Allowed for the development of great hunting cultures b. Is characterized as a period of major growth in the early cities c. Witnessed a sharp decline in the development of tools d. Represented a period of diversification of subsistence strategies
4. Jane Goodall observed chimpanzees in the wild and was surprised to find that they a. Lived in large groups b. Made and used tools c. Lived in nuclear families d. Used sign language
5. The careful description of a culture is called
a. Epistemology b. Phenomenology c. Ethnography d. Ethnomethodology
