Anthropologists studying the Hopi people of the southwestern United St

Anthropologists studying the Hopi people of the southwestern United States often characterize Hopi society between 1680 and 1880 as surprisingly stable, considering that it was a period of diminution in population and pressure from contact with outside groups, factors that might be expected to cause significant changes in Hopi social arrangements.

The Hopis’ retention of their distinctive socio-cultural system has been attributed to the Hopi religious elite’s determined efforts to preserve their religion and way of life, and also to a geographical isolation greater than that of many other Native American groups, an isolation that limited both cultural contact and exposure to European diseases. But equally important to Hopi cultural persistence may have been an inherent flexibility in their social system that may have allowed preservation of traditions even as the Hopis accommodated themselves to change. For example, the system of matrilineal clans was maintained throughout this period, even though some clans merged to form larger groups while others divided into smaller descent groups. Furthermore, although traditionally members of particular Hopi clans appear to have exclusively controlled particular ceremonies, a clan’s control of a ceremony might shift to another clan if the first became too small to manage the responsibility. Village leadership positions traditionally restricted to members of one clan might be similarly extended to members of other clans, and women might assume such positions under certain unusual conditions.

VRC000226-07

1. The author of the passage would be most likely to agree with which of the following statements about the explanation outlined in highlighted text?

(A) It fails to take into account the effect of geographical circumstances on Hopi culture.
(B) It correctly emphasizes the role of the religious elite in maintaining the system of matrilineal clans.
(C) It represents a misreading of Hopi culture because it fails to take into account the actual differences that existed among the various Hopi clans.
(D) It underestimates the effect on Hopi cultural development of contact with other cultural groups.
(E) It is correct but may be insufficient in itself to explain Hopi sociocultural persistence.



2. Which of the following can be inferred from the passage about the Hopis' geographic situation between 1680 and 1880?

(A) It prevented the Hopis from experiencing a diminution in population.
(B) It helped to promote flexibility within their social system.
(C) It limited but did not eliminate contact with other cultural groups.
(D) It reinforced the religious elite's determination to resist cultural change.
(E) It tended to limit contact between certain Hopi clans.

VRC000226-06


3. The passage is primarily concerned with

(A) reassessing a phenomenon in light of new findings
(B) assessing the relative importance of two factors underlying a phenomenon
(C) examining the assumptions underlying an interpretation of a phenomenon
(D) expanding on an explanation of a phenomenon
(E) contrasting two methods for evaluating a phenomenon

VRC000226-02


4. The author of the passage mentions the control of ceremonies by particular Hopi clans most likely in order to

(A) provide an example of the way in which the religious elite protected their position within Hopi society
(B) note an exception to a larger pattern evident in many Native American cultures
(C) explain the connection in Hopi culture between religious and political leadership
(D) illustrate how the Hopis combined flexibility with tradition
(E) cite evidence that counters a common misconception about the structure of Hopi society

000226-04


5. The passage suggests that sociocultural change in Hopi society between 1680 and 1880 was

A. initiated primarily by contact with other cultural groups
B. greater than that experienced by many other Native American peoples during that period
C. less pronounced than might be expected, given the demographic conditions and external pressures during that period
D. less pronounced than it had been previously because of diminution in the Hopi population occurring after 1680
E. accelerated by the particular geographic circumstances of the Hopis