DSST* STUDY GUIDE

General Anthropology

The only study guide that teaches you what you need to know to pass the General Anthropology exam (with no prior knowledge needed), and is constantly updated based on student feedback to guarantee you the best possible results.

About the DSST* Exam

The General Anthropology DSST exam covers the material that would typically be taught in an undergraduate college course on general anthropology. InstantCert’s course for this subject offers a concise but thorough introduction to the main branches of anthropology and the theories and concepts associated with studying human organization and cultures.

Topics Covered in this Course

Anthropology as a Discipline – Branches and Methodologies

Physical anthropology
Cultural Anthropology
Linguistics
Archaeology

Various Theoretical Perspectives

Structuralism
Functionalism
Cultural ecology
Cultural evolution
Cultural determinism

Physical Anthropology

Genetic principles
Adaptation, natural selection, variations
Living primates
Fossils

Archaeology

Methodology
Paleolithic and Mesolithic
Neolithic
Development of civilization and urban societies

Political Organization

Politics, political systems – bands, tribes, chiefdoms, states
Social control – customs, laws, war

Social Organization

Marriage and family patterns
Kinship and descent groups
Groups and associations
Social stratification

Economic Organization

Subsistence and settlement patterns
Formal and substantive approaches
Communal and private ownership of land, material and nonmaterial property
Reciprocity, redistribution, and market exchange
Production , allocation, use, and consumption of goods and services

Nature of Culture

Symbols and symbolic systems
Language, morphology, phonology
Society vs. culture
Cultural variation: universals and alternatives
Real vs. ideal culture
Cultural change – invention, diffusion, innovation
Cultural relativity, ethnocentrism
Etic and emic world views
The individual in culture
The arts

Religion

Religious institutions
Beliefs systems, world views
Religious practices and practitioners
Rites of passage
Modernization and Application of Anthropology
Applied anthropology
Cultural survival
Directed cultural change

Customer Test Results for this Exam

132 users submitted test results since June, 2008.
120 of those users reported a passing score (91%).

Below are ten of the most recent user-submitted test results. These are unfiltered, real results that were submitted by InstantCert students:

Live, unfiltered results posted by InstantCert students

Practice Tests Now Available!

In addition to our flashcard-based study guides, we now also offer full-length practice tests for this subject. Click here to see more details on our General Anthropology DSST Practice Tests.

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