UPSC Mains 2020 Anthropology Optional Paper I questions

23 questions from the Civil Services (Main) Examination 2020. Official UPSC paper (PDF) · All Anthropology Optional PYQs

1. Human rights and Cultural relativism

   10 marks

2. Victor Turner and Liminality

   10 marks

3. Jane Goodall's contributions in studying primate behaviour

   10 marks

4. Critically evaluate the contesting theories of the emergence and dispersal of modern Homo Sapiens.

5. Discuss Erving Goffman's concept of total institutions and its relevance in contemporary society.

   15 marks

6. Differentiate between Lower Palaeolithic culture and Middle ' Palaeolithic culture with suitable examples.

   15 marks

7. ANTE Explain the impact of feminist movement on universality of marriage and family structure.

   20 marks

8. Critically examine the demographic and epidemiological consequences with rise in food production and sedentism.

   15 marks

9. Elucidate how Darwin and Post-Darwin theories of evolution resulted in the development of Synthetic theory of evolution.

   15 marks

10. Discuss various anthropological approaches to the study of personality and culture.

    20 marks

11. Illustrate with examples the various types of locomotion patterns among the non-human primates.

    15 marks

12. How is the construct of power linked to the notion of conspicuous consumption and its impact on distributive justice?

    15 marks

13. Racism and Eugenics

    10 marks

14. Ethics and Genetic engineering

    10 marks

15. Secular trend in human growth can be positive, negative or neutral. Illustrate with examples.

    20 marks

16. Describe the impact of infectious diseases on indigenous populations.

    15 marks

17. How may numerical aberrations in sex chromosomes lead to genetic disorders?

    15 marks

18. Explain how variations in language usage is related to social inequality.

    20 marks

19. Describe the biocultural responses to extreme climatic events.

    15 marks

20. How do marriage rules impact the gene pool of populations?

    15 marks

21. How can synergising the core branches of anthropology reinvigorate the holistic spirit of the discipline?

    20 marks

22. What are the applications of human genomic research in human welfare?

    15 marks

23. How have interpretation and presentation of data changed from classical to contemporary writings in anthropological texts?

    15 marks