July 27, 2026
What is CUET Anthropology? What are the important CUET Anthropology questions for 2027?
CUET Anthropology is an optional domain subject in the CUET UG examination (Subject Code 303) that tests your understanding of human evolution, biological anthropology, archaeology, socio-cultural anthropology, Indian anthropology, and applied anthropology.
For CUET 2027, it is essential to prepare according to the latest NTA syllabus. The Anthropology paper has been restructured, and two units covered in many older question banks are no longer part of the syllabus. As a result, relying on outdated practice material can lead to unnecessary preparation.
The most important CUET Anthropology questions for 2027 are those mapped unit-wise to the current official syllabus, helping you focus on the concepts and topics that are actually relevant for the exam while avoiding obsolete questions.
Unit 1 supplies the largest share of CUET Anthropology important questions, so secure this block first.
1. The concept of use and disuse of organs was proposed by:
a) G.G. Simpson
b) Julian Huxley
c) Lamarck
d) G.L. Stebbins
Answer: c) Lamarck
2. What made the genus Homo capable of advancement in human evolution?
a) Bipedalism and erect posture
b) Brain development
c) Free hands and tool making
d) All of the above
Answer: d) All of the above
3. Australopithecus anamensis was described by:
a) Donald Johanson
b) Meave Leakey
c) Richard Leakey
d) L.S.B. Leakey
Answer: b) Meave Leakey
4. Which of the following pairs is correctly matched?
a) Homo habilis — East Africa
b) Ramapithecus — South India
c) Heidelberg jaw — Spain
d) Neanderthal — Pakistan
Answer: a) Homo habilis — East Africa
5. The chromosomal theory of inheritance was proposed by:
a) Curt Stern
b) Gregor Mendel
c) Sutton and Boveri
d) Watson and Crick
Answer: c) Sutton and Boveri
6. Holandric inheritance involves the transmission of characteristics from:
a) Male to female
b) Female to male
c) Male to male
d) Female to female
Answer: c) Male to male (Y-linked genes pass father to son only.)
7. Which of the following pairs is not correctly matched?
a) New World monkeys — Africa
b) Lemurs — Madagascar
c) Tarsiers — Malaysia
d) Orangutan — Indonesia
Answer: a) New World monkeys — Africa (They are found in Central and South America.)
8. Genetic drift has its strongest effect in:
a) Very large populations
b) Small, isolated populations
c) Populations with high gene flow
d) Populations under strong natural selection
Answer: b) Small, isolated populations
You can download the CUET UG previous year question paper PDFs from the links given below:
| CUET Subjects | CUET 2025 Question Paper with Answers |
| English | |
| Mathematics | |
|
General Aptitude Test |
|
| Political Science | |
| Accountancy | |
| Economics | |
| Geography | |
| History | |
| Sociology | |
| Business Studies | |
| Psychology |
9. In a monohybrid cross, the F2 phenotypic ratio is:
a) 1:1
b) 3:1
c) 9:3:3:1
d) 1:2:1
Answer: b) 3:1
10. Which of the following is not a force of evolution?
a) Mutation
b) Genetic drift
c) Gene flow
d) Stratigraphy
Answer: d) Stratigraphy (An archaeological dating principle, not an evolutionary force.)
11. Rh incompatibility between mother and foetus can result in:
a) Sickle cell anaemia
b) Haemolytic disease of the newborn
c) Thalassaemia
d) Down syndrome
Answer: b) Haemolytic disease of the newborn
12. Red-green colour blindness is an example of:
a) An autosomal dominant trait
b) A sex-linked recessive trait
c) A sex-limited trait
d) A polygenic trait
Answer: b) A sex-linked recessive trait
13. Neo-Darwinism explains evolution by combining natural selection with:
a) Inheritance of acquired characters
b) Mendelian and population genetics
c) Catastrophism
d) Orthogenesis
Answer: b) Mendelian and population genetics
14. In the ABO system, the blood group regarded as the universal donor is:
a) A
b) B
c) AB
d) O
Answer: d) O
The CUET Anthropology important questions from Unit 2 repeat more predictably than any other unit — tool types and dating methods recur almost verbatim.
15. Radiometric dating is based on the principle of:
a) Half-life of isotopes
b) Glacial varves
c) Ceramic absorption of radiation
d) Fluorine absorption
Answer: a) Half-life of isotopes
16. The material used for potassium-argon dating is:
a) Organic remains
b) Igneous minerals (lava)
c) Ceramic material
d) Metal objects
Answer: b) Igneous minerals (lava)
17. Stratigraphy is a method of:
a) Absolute dating
b) Relative dating
c) Chemical dating
d) Radiometric dating
Answer: b) Relative dating
18. Microliths are the characteristic tool type of the:
a) Lower Palaeolithic
b) Middle Palaeolithic
c) Mesolithic
d) Neolithic
Answer: c) Mesolithic
19. Hand axes and cleavers are associated with the:
a) Lower Palaeolithic
b) Upper Palaeolithic
c) Mesolithic
d) Neolithic
Answer: a) Lower Palaeolithic
20. The celt, ring stone and grinding stone are characteristic of the:
a) Palaeolithic
b) Mesolithic
c) Neolithic
d) Iron Age
Answer: c) Neolithic
21. The Neolithic site of Burzahom is located in:
a) Kashmir
b) Maharashtra
c) Karnataka
d) Bihar
Answer: a) Kashmir
22. Nevasa, an important archaeological site, is located in:
a) Gujarat
b) Maharashtra
c) Odisha
d) Rajasthan
Answer: b) Maharashtra
23. In the sequence of the Metal Age, the correct order is:
a) Iron before Bronze
b) Bronze before Iron
c) Simultaneous adoption
d) Iron only
Answer: b) Bronze before Iron
24. The Great Bath of the Indus Valley Civilization was found at:
a) Harappa
b) Mohenjodaro
c) Lothal
d) Kalibangan
Answer: b) Mohenjodaro
You can download the CUET UG previous year question paper PDFs from the links given below:
| CUET Subjects | CUET 2024 Question Paper with Answers |
| English | |
| Mathematics | |
|
General Aptitude Test |
|
| Political Science | |
| Accountancy | |
| Economics | |
| Geography | |
| History | |
| Sociology | |
| Business Studies | |
| Psychology |
Unit 3 contributes the most definition-based CUET Anthropology important questions, which makes it the quickest unit to lock down.
25. A forager society is typically characterised by:
a) Profit motive
b) Rigid social hierarchy
c) Egalitarianism
d) Hereditary kingship
Answer: c) Egalitarianism
26. The marriage of one man to more than one woman at the same time is called:
a) Polyandry
b) Polygyny
c) Monogamy
d) Levirate
Answer: b) Polygyny
27. When descent is traced exclusively through the mother's line, the system is:
a) Patrilineal
b) Matrilineal
c) Bilateral
d) Ambilineal
Answer: b) Matrilineal
28. The belief that natural objects and phenomena possess souls or spirits is:
a) Animatism
b) Animism
c) Totemism
d) Shamanism
Answer: b) Animism
29. Belief in an impersonal supernatural power, not attached to any spirit or being, is:
a) Animism
b) Animatism
c) Magic
d) Totemism
Answer: b) Animatism
30. Judging another culture by the standards of one's own culture is known as:
a) Cultural relativism
b) Ethnocentrism
c) Acculturation
d) Diffusion
Answer: b) Ethnocentrism
31. Totemism refers to:
a) Worship of ancestors
b) A ritual relationship between a social group and a natural object or species
c) Belief in an impersonal force
d) Trance-based healing
Answer: b) A ritual relationship between a social group and a natural object or species
32. Acculturation is best defined as:
a) Cultural change resulting from prolonged contact between cultures
b) Transmission of culture to children
c) Loss of language
d) Invention of new technology
Answer: a) Cultural change resulting from prolonged contact between cultures
33. A shaman is best described as:
a) A hereditary priest
b) A political leader of a chiefdom
c) A part-time religious specialist who mediates with the spirit world, often through trance
d) A tribal headman
Answer: c) A part-time religious specialist who mediates with the spirit world, often through trance
34. Bands, as a form of traditional political organisation, are typically:
a) Large and stratified
b) Small, kin-based and egalitarian
c) Centralised under a chief
d) State-like
Answer: b) Small, kin-based and egalitarian
35. These are the CUET Anthropology important questions most 2027 aspirants have under-prepared. Give this unit disproportionate attention.
The following are salient features of a tribe:
I. Territorial affiliation
II. Oral tradition
III. Rigid social hierarchy
IV. Animism
a) I, II and IV
b) I, II and III
c) I, III and IV
d) II, III and IV
Answer: a) I, II and IV (Tribal societies are comparatively egalitarian, so rigid hierarchy is the odd one out.)
You can download the CUET UG previous year question paper PDFs from the links given below:
| CUET Subjects | CUET 2023 Question Paper with Answers |
| English | |
| Mathematics | |
|
General Aptitude Test |
|
| Political Science | |
| Accountancy | |
| Economics | |
| Geography | |
| History | |
| Sociology | |
| Business Studies | |
| Psychology |
36. The features used to identify Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups are:
i. Pre-agricultural level of technology
ii. Extremely low literacy
iii. Stagnant or diminishing population
iv. Subsistence-level economy
a) Only i, ii and iii
b) Only ii, iii and iv
c) All of i, ii, iii and iv
d) Only i and ii
Answer: c) All of i, ii, iii and iv
37. Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) were earlier officially designated as:
a) Scheduled Tribes
b) Primitive Tribal Groups
c) Denotified Tribes
d) Nomadic Tribes
Answer: b) Primitive Tribal Groups
38. The Santhals are predominantly found in:
a) The Nilgiris
b) Jharkhand, West Bengal and Odisha
c) Rajasthan and Gujarat
d) Arunachal Pradesh
Answer: b) Jharkhand, West Bengal and Odisha
39. The Bhils are largely concentrated in:
a) Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Maharashtra
b) Assam and Meghalaya
c) Kerala and Tamil Nadu
d) Punjab and Haryana
Answer: a) Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Maharashtra
40. The Gondi language spoken by the Gonds belongs to which language family?
a) Indo-Aryan
b) Dravidian
c) Austro-Asiatic
d) Tibeto-Burman
Answer: b) Dravidian
41. The Toda tribe is associated with:
a) The Nilgiri Hills, Tamil Nadu
b) The Andaman Islands
c) The Aravalli range
d) The Sundarbans
Answer: a) The Nilgiri Hills, Tamil Nadu
42. The 'segmentary lineage system' is a characteristic feature of:
a) Bedouin society
b) Toda society
c) Tiv society
d) Ashanti society
Answer: c) Tiv society
43. The Ulgulan movement led by Birsa Munda is best classified as a:
a) Caste-based movement
b) Class-based movement
c) Tribal movement
d) Ecological movement
Answer: c) Tribal movement
44. The idea that the language a community speaks shapes how its members perceive the world is associated with:
a) The Sapir–Whorf hypothesis
b) Structural functionalism
c) Diffusionism
d) Cultural materialism
Answer: a) The Sapir–Whorf hypothesis
You can download the CUET UG previous year question paper PDFs from the links given below:
| CUET Subjects | CUET 2022 Question Paper with Answers |
| English | |
| Mathematics | |
|
General Aptitude Test |
|
| Political Science | |
| Accountancy | |
| Economics | |
| Geography | |
| History | |
| Sociology | |
| Business Studies | |
| Psychology |
Unit 5 supplies the applied CUET Anthropology important questions, and overlaps usefully with Sociology.
45. The first scientific system of personal identification was devised by:
a) Francis Galton
b) Alphonse Bertillon
c) Edmond Locard
d) Leone Lattes
Answer: b) Alphonse Bertillon
46. Fingerprint patterns are conventionally classified into:
a) Loops, whorls and arches
b) Lines, dots and ridges
c) Primary and secondary
d) Radial and ulnar only
Answer: a) Loops, whorls and arches
47. For determining sex from skeletal remains, the most reliable single element is the:
a) Femur
b) Pelvis
c) Humerus
d) Mandible
Answer: b) Pelvis
48. The concept of 'Sanskritisation' was introduced by:
a) G.S. Ghurye
b) M.N. Srinivas
c) Louis Dumont
d) Irawati Karve
Answer: b) M.N. Srinivas
49. In the Indian caste system, jati most precisely refers to:
a) The four-fold varna order
b) A localised, largely endogamous group
c) An occupational guild only
d) A religious sect
Answer: b) A localised, largely endogamous group
50. The approach in anthropology that integrates a wide variety of disciplines in studying human behaviour is:
a) Totalistic approach
b) Holistic approach
c) All-encompassing approach
d) Comprehensive approach
Answer: b) Holistic approach
51. Colonial forest legislation in India primarily affected tribal communities by:
a) Expanding their customary rights
b) Restricting their customary access to forest resources
c) Granting them land ownership
d) Exempting them from taxation
Answer: b) Restricting their customary access to forest resources
52. Applied anthropology in public health is best illustrated by:
a) Excavating prehistoric sites
b) Designing health interventions that account for local cultural beliefs and practices
c) Measuring skeletal remains
d) Classifying blood groups
Answer: b) Designing health interventions that account for local cultural beliefs and practices
The CUET Anthropology important questions that matter most in 2027 come from five official units:
Physical/Biological Anthropology, Archaeological Anthropology, Socio-Cultural Anthropology, Linguistic and Tribal Anthropology, and Social Change and Applied Anthropology.
Across recent papers, the highest-return areas have been human evolution and genetics, stone tool typology, dating methods, kinship and marriage, Indian tribes and PVTGs, and personal identification.
That paragraph is the short answer on which CUET Anthropology important questions deserve your time. Everything below is the working.
If you have not yet mapped your revision against the current unit list, read the CUET Anthropology syllabus and the CUET Anthropology important topics breakdown before attempting the CUET Anthropology important questions below. Practising the wrong unit efficiently is still practising the wrong unit.
|
Detail |
CUET Anthropology 2027 (expected, per latest official pattern) |
|
Subject code |
303 |
|
Section |
Section II — Domain Subject |
|
Mode |
Computer-Based Test (CBT) |
|
Total questions |
50 |
|
Questions to attempt |
All 50 — compulsory |
|
Duration |
60 minutes |
|
Total marks |
250 |
|
Marking |
+5 correct, −1 incorrect, 0 unattempted |
|
Syllabus base |
NCERT Class 12 Anthropology |
|
Number of units |
5 |
|
Maximum subjects selectable |
5 (languages + domain subjects + GAT) |
Two consequences follow from this table, and they change how you should use any set of CUET Anthropology important questions.
First, the optional-question cushion is gone
Older material told you to attempt 40 of 50 and skip your weakest ten. That option no longer exists.
Every question is compulsory, so your weakest unit is guaranteed to appear on your screen — which is why the CUET Anthropology important questions below cover all five units, not only the popular ones.
Second, −1 makes precision the whole game
Five wrong answers cost 5 marks and forfeit the 25 you would have earned — a 30-mark swing out of 250.
In a recall-heavy paper, the student who knows 40 answers cold beats the one who half-knows all 50.
Confirm the arithmetic on the CUET marking scheme page, and read the CUET exam pattern guide if you are still finalising your subject combination.
Note: The 2027 pattern will be confirmed in NTA's CUET UG 2027 information bulletin, expected around January 2027, with the exam expected in the May–June 2027 window. Treat all 2027 dates as tentative until the bulletin is published — track the CUET application form page for the official announcement.
Any set of CUET Anthropology important questions is only as current as the syllabus behind it.
This is where most 2027 aspirants are about to lose marks, so read the comparison carefully.
|
Unit |
Official unit name |
What it now covers |
|
Unit 1 |
Physical / Biological Anthropology |
Theories of evolution (Darwinism, Lamarckism, Neo-Darwinism, Neo-Lamarckism); living primates; hominid evolution; human variation; Mendelian genetics; chromosomal aberrations; forces of evolution; genetic markers (ABO, MN, Rh) and DNA |
|
Unit 2 |
Archaeological Anthropology |
Palaeolithic, Mesolithic and Neolithic cultures; tool typology and technology; Metal Age (bronze, iron); stratigraphy and relative/absolute dating; key sites — Soan, Burzahom, Nevasa, Indus Valley Civilization |
|
Unit 3 |
Socio-Cultural Anthropology |
Family types; forms of marriage; rules of descent; cultural relativism and ethnocentrism; socialisation and cultural change; religion — totemism, animism, animatism, magic, shamanism; subsistence strategies; bands, tribes and chiefdoms |
|
Unit 4 |
Linguistic and Tribal Anthropology |
Language as a social phenomenon; linguistic and cultural diversity in India; distribution and organisation of Indian tribes; major tribes and PVTGs; social movements — ecological, class-based, caste-based, tribal |
|
Unit 5 |
Social Change and Applied Anthropology |
Caste system and social stratification; colonialism; modernisation and globalisation; anthropology and development; public health and personal identification; industrial society; challenges of cultural diversity |
What changed, in plain terms: "Material Culture and Economic Anthropology" and "Ecology" are no longer separate units. Linguistic Anthropology and Applied Anthropology are now examinable in their own right. Any list of CUET Anthropology important questions built before this revision is missing Units 4 and 5 almost entirely.
Because the domain syllabus is built on NCERT Class 12 content, students often ask whether Class 11 matters. For CUET domain papers, Class 12 is the examinable base — the detail is on is Class 11 syllabus included in CUET.
The CUET Anthropology important questions are not spread evenly across the five units, and NTA does not publish unit-wise weightage.
The distribution below is derived from question counts across recent papers and is indicative, not official.
|
Unit |
Indicative questions (of 50) |
Priority |
Why |
|
Unit 1 — Physical / Biological Anthropology |
13–16 |
Highest |
Genetics and hominid evolution are factual, repeatable and heavily asked |
|
Unit 2 — Archaeological Anthropology |
10–12 |
High |
Tool typology and dating methods repeat almost verbatim across years |
|
Unit 3 — Socio-Cultural Anthropology |
9–11 |
High |
Definition-heavy; the fastest unit to secure |
|
Unit 4 — Linguistic and Tribal Anthropology |
7–9 |
Medium-High |
Newest unit, so competing question banks under-cover it — your edge |
|
Unit 5 — Social Change and Applied Anthropology |
6–8 |
Medium |
Overlaps with Sociology; low marginal effort if you take both |
Mentor note: Unit 4 is where the marks are hiding this year. Because it is the newest unit, most freely available sets of CUET Anthropology important questions barely test it.
Aspirants who cover Indian tribes, PVTGs and social movements properly compete for those 7–9 marks against a much smaller field.
Cross-check the trend on the CUET exam analysis page.
Revising CUET Anthropology important questions from a pre-revision unit list. The most expensive mistake this year — two units changed.
Ignoring Unit 4. Linguistic and Tribal Anthropology is newest, least covered by free material, and worth 7–9 marks.
Guessing freely because all questions are compulsory. Compulsory to appear on screen is not compulsory to answer. Unattempted is 0; wrong is −1.
Treating Anthropology as biology. Units 3, 4 and 5 are social science. Science-background students consistently over-invest in Unit 1.
Confusing animism, animatism and totemism. These three rotate through the paper nearly every year.
Learning tribes without geography. Questions pair a tribe with a state or region. Learn the map, not just the name.
Skipping the exam-day arithmetic. Students who have never calculated their expected score under +5/−1 make poor real-time decisions. See what is a good score in CUET.
An honest decision framework, not a recommendation.
Anthropology suits you if:
Consider another domain subject if:
Work through how to select the best subject combination for CUET and the full CUET domain subjects list before locking your five choices. This decision is harder to reverse than any preparation decision you will make.
Programme-level acceptance varies by university, by course and by year.
Do not treat any third-party list as final. Verify against the university's own admission bulletin for the 2027 cycle, then use CUET universities and top 10 universities offering humanities courses through CUET to shortlist, and CUET cut off to calibrate the score you need. For Delhi University, CUET DU admissions covers the CSAS process and subject-mapping rules that decide whether your Anthropology score counts for a given programme at all.
CUET Anthropology carries 50 compulsory questions, 60 minutes, 250 marks, marked +5 / −1.
The official syllabus has five units, and the structure changed: Linguistic and Tribal Anthropology and Social Change and Applied Anthropology replaced the older Material Culture / Economic Anthropology and Ecology units.
Units 1 and 2 supply the highest-weightage CUET Anthropology important questions; Unit 4 offers the best marginal return because so few aspirants prepare it.
Several older CUET Anthropology important questions now sit outside the syllabus — the skip-list above tells you which.
CUET UG 2027 notification is expected around January 2027, with the exam in the May–June window. Nothing is confirmed until NTA publishes the bulletin.
Precision beats coverage. With no optional questions and −1 for errors, 40 answers known cold outscore 50 half-remembered.
Frequently Asked Questions
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