Selection PDF

1 THE STUDY OF HUMANITY
Cultural anthropologists
are fascinated by the vast
© Peggy and Yorham Kahana/Peter Arnold/Photolibrary diversity of humanity.
This fascination leads
Subfields of Anthropology Cultural Anthropology Today
us to explore other
Archaeology Understanding Human peoples and places. Here, anthropologist
Cultures: Anthropological
Biological/Physical Margaret Kieffer interviews a Guatemalan
Approaches
Anthropology woman weaver who is a member of the
Holistic Perspective
Cultural Anthropology Mayan community.
Comparative Perspective
Anthropological Linguistics
Relativistic Perspective
Applying Anthropology
The Value of Anthropology
Applied Anthropology
Careers in Anthropology
Copyright 2010 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s).
Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it.
Learning Objectives
After reading this chapter, you should be able to:
1 Describe how anthropology differs from other disciplines that also study
humans.
2 List the four major subfields of anthropology and their primary subject matters.
3 Explain some of the practical uses of anthropology in solving human problems.
4 Discuss the ways in which cultural anthropology has changed in the last
several decades.
5 Understand the meaning and importance of the holistic, comparative, and
relativistic perspectives.
6 Report on the wider lessons one can learn from studying anthropology.
What makes humans different from other animals? evolution, cuisines, values, art styles, behaviors, lan-
Do all people share a common human nature? If so, guages, religions, and so forth.
what is it like? How and why do human groups differ, Anthropologists, then, study many different aspects
both biologically and culturally? How are people who of humanity. Perhaps the most distinguishing character-
live in industrialized, urbanized nations different from istic of anthropology—the one feature that makes it
“traditional” or “indigenous” peoples? What are the different from other fields that also include people as
social and cultural implications of living on a planet their subject matter—is its broad scope. Anthropolo-
whose diverse peoples are now connected by multina- gists are interested in all human beings, whether living
tional corporations and other global organizations? or dead, Asian or African or European. We also are
These are a few of the questions investigated by interested in many different aspects of humans, includ-
anthropology, the academic discipline that studies ing their genetic makeup, family lives, political sys-
all of humanity. tems, relations with nature, and emotional responses.
Almost everything about people interests anthropol- No people are too remote to escape the anthropologist’s
ogists. We want to know when, where, and how the notice. No dimension of humankind, from skin color to
human species originated and why we evolved into dance traditions, falls outside the anthropologist’s
what we are today. Anthropologists try to explain the interest.
many differences between the world’s cultures, such as
∏
why the people in one culture believe they get sick
because the souls of witches devour their livers,
whereas the people in another think that illness results Subfields of Anthropology
from tarantulas flinging tiny magical darts into their Because anthropology is so broad, no single anthro-
bodies. We want to know why most Canadians and pologist can master the entire discipline. Therefore,
Australians like beef, which devout Hindus and Bud- most modern anthropologists specialize in one of
dhists refuse to eat. We are interested in why some four principal subfields: archaeology, biological (or
New Guinea peoples ceremonially engorge themselves physical) anthropology, cultural anthropology, or an-
with pork—the same animal flesh that some Middle thropological linguistics. (The Concept Review sum-
Eastern religions hold to be unclean. In brief, anthro- marizes the primary interests of each of the four
pologists of one kind or another are likely to investigate subfields.) A fifth area, called applied anthropology,
almost everything about human beings: our biological cuts across all four major subfields because it uses
anthropological methods and insights to help solve
|
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
||
real-world problems. Because cultural anthropology
is the primary subject of this book, here we briefly
anthropology The academic discipline that studies all
of humanity from a broad perspective.
summarize the other subfields and describe some of
their major findings.
2
Concept review P RIMARY I NTERESTS OF THE F IVE S UBFIELDS
OF A NTHROPOLOGY
Anthropological
Archaeology Physical/Biological Cultural Linguistics
Excavation of material Comparisons of human Differences and similarities General relationship
remains in prehistoric sites anatomy and behavior with in contemporary and histori- between language and
to reconstruct early human other primate species; cally recent cultures; causes culture; role of language and
ways of life; study of physical (genetic) variation and consequences of socio- speaking in cultural and
remains in historic sites to among human populations; cultural change; impacts of social life of specific
learn more about historic, biological evolution of globalization and contacts on peoples; how language
literate peoples Homo sapiens the world’s peoples might shape perceptions and
thoughts
Archaeology developed were independent—meaning that the people

of one region domesticated plants on their own, rather
Archaeology investigates the human past through the than learning the idea of agriculture from other peoples.
excavation and analysis of material remains. Modern Similarly, civilization (living in cities) developed in
archaeology is divided into two major kinds of studies: several different regions independently, beginning
prehistoric and historic. about 5,000 years ago.
Prehistoric archaeology is the study of prehistoric To learn about the past in societies in which some
peoples, that is, those who had no writing to keep people could read and write, historians study written
records of their activities, customs, and beliefs. Much materials such as diaries, letters, land records, newspapers,
information about the lives of prehistoric peoples can and tax collection documents. The growing field of his-
be recovered from the tools, pottery, ornaments, bones, toric archaeology supplements such written materials by
plant pollen, charcoal, and other materials they left excavations of houses, stores, plantations, factories, and
behind, in or on the ground. Through careful excava- other structures and remains. Historic archaeologists seek
tion and laboratory analysis of such material remains, to uncover information lacking in old documents about
prehistoric archaeologists reconstruct the way people how people lived at a particular historic time and place.
lived in ancient times and trace how human cultures Today, many archaeologists work not in universities
have changed over centuries and even over millennia. but in museums, public agencies, and for-profit cor-
Contrary to impressions given by many television doc- porations. Museums offer jobs as curators and research-
umentaries and popular films, the main goal of excavat- ers. State highway departments employ archaeologists
ing archaeological sites is not to recover valuable to conduct surveys of proposed new routes in order to
treasures and other artifacts, but to understand how locate and excavate archaeological sites that will be
people lived long ago. Modern archaeologists seek to destroyed. The U.S. Forest Service and National Park
reconstruct as fully as possible how prehistoric peoples Service hire archaeologists to find sites on public lands
made their technology, lived in their environments, and to help make decisions about the preservation of cul-
organized their societies. tural materials. Those who work in cultural resource
Over decades of field excavations and laboratory management locate sites of prehistoric and historic
work, prehistoric archaeologists have learned that agri- significance, evaluate their importance, and make
culture first developed around 10,000 years ago, when
some peoples of the Middle East began planting wheat |
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
||
and barley—for the first time, humans transformed cer-
tain wild plants into crops. Somewhat later, peoples of archaeology The investigation of past cultures through
southern China, Southeast Asia, and West Africa excavation of material remains.
domesticated other plants. On the other side of the prehistoric archaeology Field that uses excavation of
world, in what we now call the Americas, ancient peo- sites and analysis of material remains to investigate cul-
ples of southern Mexico and western South America tures that existed before the development of writing.
domesticated different plants like corn, squash, beans, historic archaeology Field that investigates the past of
and potatoes. Surprisingly, most available evidence literate peoples through excavation of sites and analysis of
suggests that these six regions where agriculture artifacts and other material remains.
4 g Part I HUMANITY, CULTURE, AND LANGUAGE
© Robert Brenner/Photo Edit

Prehistoric archaeologists investigate the remote past by the careful excavation of material remains.
recommendations about total or partial preservation. It focuses on areas such as the anatomy and behavior of
Since the passage of the National Historic Preservation monkeys and apes, the physical (including genetic) varia-
Act in 1966, private corporations and government tions between different human populations, and the biolog-
agencies that construct factories, apartments, parking ical evolution of the human species.
lots, shopping malls, and other structures must file a Within biological anthropology, researchers in
report how the construction will affect historical primatology study the evolution, anatomy, adaptation,
remains and which steps will be taken to preserve and social behavior of primates, the taxonomic order to
them. Because of this law, the business of contract which humans belong. Research on group-living mon-
archaeology has boomed in the United States. Contract keys and apes has added significantly to the scientific
archaeology companies bid competitively for the privi- understanding of many aspects of human behavior,
lege of locating, excavating, and reporting on sites including tool use, sexuality, parenting, cooperation,
affected or destroyed by construction. Hundreds of con- male–female differences, and aggression. Field studies
tract archaeology companies exist, providing jobs for of African chimpanzees and gorillas, the two apes
thousands of archaeologists and students. genetically most similar to humans, have been espe-
cially fruitful sources of hypotheses and knowledge.
Biological/Physical Anthropology In the 1960s, famous British primatologist Jane
Goodall was the first to observe toolmaking among Afri-
Biological (also called physical) anthropology is closely can chimpanzees. Chimps intentionally modified sticks to
related to the biological sciences in its goals and methods. probe entry and exit holes in termite mounds. When ter-
|
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
||
mite soldiers attacked the intruding objects, the chimps
withdrew the probes and licked off the tasty insects.
biological (physical) anthropology major subfield of Goodall observed adult chimps teaching their young
anthropology that studies the biological dimensions of how to probe for termites, showing that humanity’s clos-
humans and other primates.
est animal relatives have at least a semblance of cultural
primatology The study of primates, including monkeys tradition. Some chimpanzee groups wave tree branches
and apes; subfield of biological anthropology. in aggressive displays against other groups and wad up
Chapter 1 THE STUDY OF HUMANITY g 5
leaves to use as sponges to soak up drinking water. Work- Peoples who live in high altitudes also have evolved
ing in West Africa, other researchers have observed some physiological adaptations, in this case to increase the sup-
chimp groups using heavy round stones as hammers to ply of oxygen to their tissues. Andean peoples of South
crack open hard-shelled nuts. The chimps select stones America have relatively large lungs and high levels of
of the proper shape and weight, control the force of their hemoglobin. The blood of Tibetans circulates more rap-
blows so that the nut does not shatter, and often leave the idly than most other people, thus allowing their muscles
tools under nut trees for future use. and organs to function more efficiently at elevations over
African gorillas also use tools. Using sticks, gorillas 14,000 feet. Such populations evolved physiological
in the wild gauge the depth of water and even lay down adaptations to supply oxygen to their tissues.
a tree trunk to cross a deep pool. Researchers have seen Another aim of physical anthropology is to under-
one young female gorilla use stones to smash open a stand how and why the human species evolved from
palm nut to get at the oil inside. prehuman, apelike ancestors. The specialization that
These and other observations have changed our investigates human biological evolution is paleoan-
understanding of human–animal differences: prior to thropology. Over decades of searching for fossils and
such studies, making tools was widely considered to carrying out meticulous laboratory studies, paleoan-
be one of the things humans could do that other animals thropologists have reconstructed the history of how
could not. Also, the ability to make tools reveals a cer- the human anatomy evolved.
tain amount of foresight: the apes must be able to see a In the late 1970s, paleoanthropologists began to use
natural object as a potential tool that can be used to get new methods for investigating human evolution. Scien-
something or to solve some problem. tists in the field of molecular genetics can now
Biological anthropologists who study human varia- sequence DNA—the genetic material by which heredi-
tion investigate how and why human populations vary tary traits are transmitted between generations. By com-
physically due to hereditary, genetic factors. All paring DNA sequences, geneticists estimate how
humanity belongs to a single species, which taxonomists closely different species are related. Studies comparing
call Homo sapiens. One of the most important findings of the genetic sequences of African apes with humans
anthropology is that the physical/genetic similarities show that humans share 97.7 percent of their DNA
among the world’s peoples far outweigh the differences. with gorillas and 98.7 percent with chimpanzees and
Nonetheless, peoples whose ancestral homelands are in bonobos (also known as pygmy chimpanzees). DNA
Africa, Asia, Europe, Australia, the Pacific islands, and from modern humans and DNA sampled from the
the Americas were once more isolated than they are today. extinct human species Neanderthal are about 99.5 per-
During this time, they evolved differences in overall body cent the same. Similarities in the DNA of two or more
and facial form, height, skin color, blood chemistry, and species are evidence that they share a common evolu-
other genetically determined features. Specialists in tionary ancestor. Also, the more similar the DNA
human variation measure and try to explain the differences between two or more species, the less time has elapsed
and similarities among the world’s peoples in these physi- since their divergence from a common ancestor. Thus,
cal characteristics. (We return to “racial” variation in anthropologists study DNA sequences to estimate how
Chapter 2.) long ago the species separated.
Often, genetic differences are related to the environ- Through discovering and analyzing fossils, compari-
ment in which a people or their ancestors lived. For sons of DNA sequences, and other methods, the outlines
example, melanin in human skin produces the color of human evolution are becoming clear. Most scholars
our eyes perceive as dark. High levels of melanin pro- agree that the evolutionary line leading to modern humans
tect skin against sun damage, so melanin usually is split from the lines leading to modern African apes (chim-
beneficial in tropical environments, where sunlight is panzees and gorillas) at least six million years ago. (See A
most intense. However, as humans migrated into more
temperate regions tens of thousands of years ago, the |
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
||
melanin that once protected their ancestors turned

human variation Physical differences among human
harmful. In high latitudes, melanin reduces the penetra- populations; an interest of physical anthropologists.
tion of sunlight in the skin, reducing its ability to make
paleoanthropology The specialization of physical
Vitamin D. Thus, dark pigmentation is harmful in high
anthropology that investigates the biological evolution of
latitudes like Europe and Siberia, and over many cen- the human species.
turies skin grew lighter (“whiter”) in such regions.
© Volker Steger/Photo Researchers, Inc.

Paleoanthropologists specialize in human evolution, using evidence from fossils, DNA and other sources.
This is a French Paleoanthropologist Jean-Jacques Hubllin of the Max Plank Institute in Germany, holding
a skull of a fossil hominid.
Closer Look for an overview of basic facts and the latest the study of contemporary and historically recent hu-
findings on human biological evolution.) man societies and cultures. As its name suggests, the
Most biological anthropologists work in universities or main focus of this subfield is culture—the customs and
museums as teachers, researchers, writers, and curators. beliefs of some human group. (The concept of culture
But many also apply their knowledge of human anatomy is discussed at length in Chapter 2).
to practical matters. For instance, specialists in forensic As we’ll see in future chapters, cultural anthropolo-
anthropology work for or consult with law enforcement gists study an enormous number of specific subjects,
agencies, where they help identify human skeletal remains. far too many to list here. Here are some of their overall
Among their contributions are determining the age, sex, objectives:
height, and other physical characteristics of crime or acci- • Study firsthand and report about the ways of living
dent victims. Forensic anthropologists gather evidence of particular human groups, including both indig-
from bones about old injuries or diseases, which are then enous peoples and peoples who live in modern-
compared with medical histories to identify victims. ized, industrialized nations.
Cultural Anthropology • Compare diverse cultures in the search for general
principles that might explain human ways of
Cultural anthropology (also called social anthropol- living.
ogy, sociocultural anthropology, and ethnology) is • Understand how various dimensions of human
|
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|| life—economics, family life, religion, art, com-
munication, and so forth—relate to one another
forensic anthropology A specialization within physical
anthropology that analyzes and identifies human remains. in particular cultures and in cultures generally.
• Analyze the causes and consequences of cultural
cultural anthropology (social anthropology, sociocul-
change, including the consequences of the process
tural anthropology, ethnology) The subfield that stud-
ies the way of life of contemporary and historically recent of globalization.
peoples. • Enhance public understanding and appreciation of
cultural differences and multicultural diversity.
A closer look SIX MILLION YEARS OF HUMANITY
I
n his 1871 book, The Descent of Man, British naturalist relatives in the primate family, humans did not evolve
Charles Darwin realized that humans and African apes from them. Rather, modern humans and modern apes share
(chimpanzees and gorillas) are closely related biologi- a common ancestor that lived in Africa sometime between
cally. Noting the anatomical similarities between humans about seven and eight million years ago. Metaphorically
and apes, Darwin argued that humanity evolved from an ape- speaking, the living apes are our cousins, not our evolution-
like ancestor over eons of time. In his day, there was little ary grandparents.
evidence in the form of fossils that directly connected apes 2. There is no missing link. In the early twentieth century,
to humans, but Darwin realized that the many physical the phrase missing link referred to a fossil that is transitional
similarities among humans, chimps, and gorillas can best between ape and human, combining some ape features with
be explained by a common biological ancestry. some human features. Even today, those who deny that
By the early twentieth century, most scientists accepted humans evolved erroneously believe no fossil directly con-
Darwin’s general theory of biological evolution as well as nects Homo sapiens to an apelike ancestor. But, in fact, the
his specific hypothesis about the close relationship between first fossil link between apes and humans was discovered in
humans and apes. Since then, biological anthropologists and South Africa back in the 1920s. Named Australopithecus
archaeologists have discovered thousands of fossils that con- africanus, its skull was much like that of an ape, but it
firmed the evolution of humanity out of an apelike ancestor. walked bipedally (on two legs rather than four). Future dis-
Before summarizing this evidence, we must describe briefly coveries showed that its pelvis, legs, and feet were much like
how scientists classify living organisms using the methods of those of modern humans. Later, paleoanthropologists found
taxonomy. literally thousands of fossils linking Homo sapiens to apelike
Even in Darwin’s day, taxonomists recognized the simi- ancestors, representing hundreds of individuals who were
larity between African apes and humans. Both are classified hominids (in the human evolutionary lineage) of one type or
in the same taxonomic superfamily (Hominoidea), though in another. Today, debate centers largely on how these hominids
different families (Pongidae for apes, Hominidae for are related to one another and on which particular remains are
humans). Below the family level, modern humans are clas- directly ancestral to humans.
sified in the genus Homo and in the species sapiens. Thus, 3. The main difference between apes and humans is
you and I are Homo sapiens; the common chimpanzee is bipedal locomotion. Most people think brain size and intel-
Pan troglodytes; the mountain gorilla is Gorilla gorilla. ligence are the main differences between humans and
Generally, the criterion used to decide whether two very other animals. Certainly, the size of the brain distinguishes
similar animals are in the same species is whether they people and apes—a chimpanzee’s cranial capacity averages
mate and produce fertile offspring under natural conditions. around 400 cubic centimeters, a gorilla’s around 500, and a
All humans can do so. human’s around 1,300. And people are, in many ways,
Assigning an extinct animal known only from fossils to a “smarter” than apes—humans use more sophisticated tools,
species, or even to a genus, is often difficult. In human evo- speak complex languages, solve abstract problems, drasti-
lution, there are many ambiguities and uncertainties, many of cally modify their environments, and so forth. But the first
which center around whether a particular fossil is or is not a change that began to split the evolutionary line leading to
direct ancestor of humans: for example, is a newly discovered modern apes from the line leading to modern humans was
bone or tooth one of a hominid, and, if so, was it a Homo, not brain size, but the form of locomotion—human ances-
and, if so, to which species did it belong? These uncertainties tors walked on two legs millions of years before their brains
are inherent in the fossil record; they are not, as some believe, increased notably in size. Thus, evolutionarily speaking, it
“proof” that those who study human evolution are “just was bipedalism that set humanity on a different evolutionary
speculating.” path from modern apes. In fact, when biological anthropol-
ogists judge whether or not a disputed fossil fragment is
Human Biological Evolution from a hominid, their main criterion is whether the fossil
An enormous amount of evidence exists about the biological remains suggest that the animal regularly walked on two
evolution of modern humans from an apelike ancestor over legs, not the size of its brain.
several millions of years. There are many popular misconcep- 4. The human family tree is a bush. Until the 1970s,
tions about human evolution. Here we correct a few while most scholars thought human evolution was essentially lin-
describing some major general findings. ear; that is, one hominid species arose from its predecessor,
1. Your ancestors were not chimpanzees or gorillas. which quickly became extinct, perhaps because it could not
Although these two African apes are indeed our closest compete. Linear evolution means that only one or, at most,
two hominid species lived at the same time. In this view, a that sometime after migrating into northern Europe, Neander-
single evolutionary line led from an apelike creature through thal was the first hominid to acquire light skin and red hair!
various transitional forms (the “links” that people used to say After modern Homo sapiens migrated into Europe around
were “missing”) to modern humans. 40,000 years ago, Neanderthal went extinct somewhere
For example, most researchers thought that two million around 30,000 years ago. DNA studies published in 2010
years ago, only two hominids coexisted—both found only in suggested that modern people interbred with Neanderthals,
Africa. Both were members of the genus Australopithecus. The but only rarely and the evidence came from the DNA of
chimpanzee-sized A. africanus was mainly a meat-eater. The only three Neanderthal individuals.
somewhat larger A. robustus was mainly a vegetarian and an Today, most paleoanthropologists believe the first hominid,
evolutionary dead end that left no modern descendants. Both living between about five and six million years ago in what is
were considered hominids because both were bipedal. now Ethiopia, was Ardipithecus. In 2009, a team of Ethiopian
A. africanus gave rise to another African species called and Western researchers published extensive new information
Homo habilis, which existed until about 1.4 million years about a female Ardipithecus that lived about 4.4 million years
ago. In turn, Homo habilis evolved into Homo erectus, which ago. The skeleton showed several unusual features. For exam-
eventually evolved into modern humans. A. africanus was ple, the pelvis and feet showed that “Ardi” (the nickname given
sometimes known as the “killer ape” because it was a preda- her) could walk bipedally, but her great toe was capable of
tor, so killing animals for food was one of the things that grasping branches. This, along with the possibility that she lived
began to differentiate hominids from apes. Or this is what in a forested area, suggested that Ardi spent part of her time in
most paleoanthropologists believed. trees and part on the ground walking on two legs. Ardipithecus’
Today, it is fairly well established that the human family canines were smaller than those of apes, but in most other fea-
tree is not linear (tree-like) but has multiple branches (bush- tures of skull it resembled apes more than humans.
like); that is, several species of early hominids existed at the A later form of hominid, Australopithecus afarensis (also
same time, with most ending in extinction. Discoveries since known as Lucy) lived between about three and four million
the 1970s have dramatically altered the linear view of the years ago. Bones and teeth from about 300 individuals show
past, and today far more hominids are identified. The major pretty conclusively that A. afarensis walked on two legs. Lucy
issues are how they are related to African apes, to one is most simply described as a bipedal hominid with an apelike
another, and to modern Homo sapiens. head and humanlike limbs. In 2006, paleoanthropologists pub-
lished new information about the 4.2-million-year-old Australo-
Some Hominid Fossils and Dates pithicus anamensis from Ethiopia. Many believe that anamensis
The first discovery of a fossil eventually recognized as an is the link between Ardipithecus and afarensis.
early form of human occurred in 1856. In Germany’s Nean- In April 2010, a new of species of Austrapithecus, named
der Valley, quarry workers accidentally unearthed the first A. sediba, was reported from South Africa. It lived around 2
bones of the hominid that later was called Neanderthal Man. million years ago. If future research supports that it was a
At the time, no one realized the significance of the bones. new species, then between about two and three million years
There was debate about whether they came from a deformed ago, there were six or seven hominid species living at roughly
European with a projecting face or whether they were human the same time. One of them, Homo habilis (apparently the
at all. Later, Neanderthal fossils were found in both Ice Age first hominid to make chopping tools out of stone), arose
Europe and western Asia, along with convincing evidence prior to two million years ago and lived at least until 1.4
that Neanderthals made stone tools, hunted large mammals, million years ago. One of its several forms became a new
built shelters organized spatially for different activities, used species, Homo erectus, about two million years ago.
fire for cooking and warmth, and buried their dead. Presently, it appears that some populations of Homo erectus
By the mid-twentieth century, many scientists thought that were the first hominids that left Africa. Homo erectus was in
Neanderthal was our direct ancestor. (Perhaps it was comfort- Georgia (the modern Asian nation bordering Turkey) by 1.8
ing to think that modern humans evolved in Europe or in the million years ago. It migrated as far away from Africa as
Middle East.) By the late twentieth century, though, both fos- Indonesia (when first discovered, it was called Java Man) and
sil evidence and DNA comparisons demonstrated fairly China (“Peking Man”). Although its brain size averaged only
clearly that Homo neanderthalensis is not a direct human about 900–1,000 cubic centimeters, Homo erectus was almost
ancestor but an offshoot that lived between 500,000 and as tall as modern people and had a low forehead, prominent
30,000 years ago. DNA studies published in 2007 suggested brow ridges, and a large but recognizably human face.
This early form of humanity made sharp stone tools, butchered are a product of the forces that shaped it in its past. So the way
animals, and probably controlled fire. modern people are—human nature, some call it—might be
In Africa, some local populations of Homo erectus more understandable if we can reconstruct our evolutionary
evolved into early forms of Homo sapiens around 200,000 past. For instance, many popular writers have claimed that hu-
years ago. Evidence suggests that modern humans lived mans are naturally aggressive, either because evolving into pre-
only in Africa until as recently as 60,000 years ago. By dators made us fierce or because our ancestors competed for
50,000 to 45,000 years ago, Homo sapiens had moved into resources so that early hominids had to fight to defend their
tropical southern Asia and reached Australia. If any local po- territories. As evidence for their views, such writers cite
pulations of Homo erectus were left in eastern and southeast- research that allegedly showed that australopithecines were
ern Asia, they were replaced by Homo sapiens. Somewhere “killer apes,” that Homo erectus ate their own kind, that Nean-
around 40,000 years ago, Homo sapiens migrated into tem- derthals made weapons used in violent encounters, and so forth.
perate Europe. From Siberia, people crossed the Bering Strait Modern humans are prone to violence and warfare because evo-
(then dry land because of the lower sea levels of the Ice Age) lution made us this way, some claim. Implicit in the argument is
into the Americas, probably by 20,000 years ago. By 12,000 that violence and warfare are so difficult to control because they
years ago, human beings had migrated to every landmass on are part of humanity’s genetic heritage.
Earth except Antarctica and the remote islands of the Pacific. Such arguments are not necessarily wrong, but the evidence
Notice how rapidly our species migrated to and colonized about human evolution is subject to many interpretations. That
vast regions once we left our African homelands. In only about humans evolved from apelike ancestors is practically indisput-
50,000 years, humanity was found almost everywhere. Most able, but researchers differ on details of the process. For example:
scholars think our remarkable success in colonizing new regions Which early hominid is the earliest? Were the australopithecines
was due to a combination of our technological prowess, our our ancestors or just an evolutionary branch that died out? What
ability to communicate complex messages through symbolic are the details of how various ancient hominids are related to one
language, and the transmission of new ideas and behaviors to another and to us? There are no generally accepted answers to
new generations through social learning—that is, through learn- such questions. Particular paleoanthropologists have their own
ing the culture of previous generations (see Chapter 2). opinions and publish them. Then others support or attempt to
In 2004, the discovery of a tiny hominid on the Indonesian refute those ideas based on their views of what the evidence
island of Flores caused a stir among paleoanthropologists. The shows or, sometimes, based on their own biases. If the interpreta-
first specimen was estimated to be around 18,000 years old and tions of human physical evolution are contentious, then think
stood about 3½ feet tall. The international team that discovered about the uncertainties involved in trying to reconstruct the
it nicknamed it “The Hobbit,” to the delight of the media. The behavior (e.g., aggression) of an ancestor.
team claimed that the hominid was a new human species, which Some people, of course, do not accept evolution at all, and
they named Homo floresiensis. Soon, other specialists disputed they especially do not accept the notion that humans evolved
that the Hobbit was a new form of human, claiming instead that from any other so-called lower form of life. Those who even
it was similar to nearby “pygmy” peoples and that its brain was bother to read the scientific literature on human evolution misin-
so small (about 350 cubic centimeters versus about 1,300 for terpret the many disagreements and contentious issues. “See,”
modern humans) because of the genetic disorder called micro- such skeptics often say, “those evolutionists can’t even agree
cephaly. Then, in 2005, seven more adults were described, among themselves. Why should we believe them when they
along with a child’s leg and arm bones, dating between about don’t even believe one another?” But, fundamentally, evolution-
74,000 and 12,000 years ago. This find supports the notion that ists do believe one another. They disagree only on specific de-
Homo floresiensis was a distinct, and new, hominid that sur- tails and particular issues. They do not disagree on the fact that
vived in isolation even after modern people had colonized humans and apes shared a common ancestor some millions of
most of the islands around it. For now, the wider significance years ago. Scholarly disagreement indicates that scholars are
of this unusual hominid is unclear. considering evidence and coming to different conclusions. It
It seems that the more we discover, the more complicated does not mean that the scholars are making things up. Indeed,
the evolutionary history of humanity becomes. it means only two very obvious things: the fossil record is incom-
What Does All This Have to Do with You and Me? plete and fragmentary, and bones do not speak for themselves.
What relevance does the evolutionary history of Home sapiens SOURCES: Balter (2009); Berger et al. (2010); Bower (2010); Gibbons (2009);
Goebel (2007); Green et al. (2010); Jurmain et al. (2008); Lalueza-Fox et al.
hold for modern humanity—for humans as we are today? If
(2007); Lordkipanidze et al. (2007); Moorwood et al. (2005); Spoor et al.
evolution is accepted, then the characteristics of a living species (2007); Trinkhaus (2007); Wood (2002).
The last two objectives are especially important anthropology. Linguists describe and analyze the sound
in the contemporary world, in which individuals patterns and combinations, words, meanings, and sentence
with diverse cultural backgrounds regularly come into structures of human languages. The ability to communi-
contact with one another in the rapidly changing global cate complex messages with great efficiency may be the
society. most important capability of humans that makes us differ-
To some people, studies of other cultures seem ent from primates and other animals. Certainly our ability
esoteric—“interesting but of little practical value,” to speak is a key factor in the evolutionary success of
they often say. Most anthropologists disagree. We humans.
think that what we learn by our descriptions, compar- Cultural anthropologists are interested in language
isons, and analyses of cultures helps to improve the because of how the language and culture of a people
human condition. For one thing, studies of other cul- affect each other. The subfield of anthropological
tures help us understand our own way of life. For linguistics is concerned with the complex relationships
another, specific studies carried out by cultural between language and other aspects of human behavior
anthropologists have helped solve practical problems and thought. For example, anthropological linguists are
in real human communities. interested in how language is used in various social
To collect information about particular cultures, contexts: What style of speech must one use with peo-
researchers conduct fieldwork. Fieldworkers ordinarily ple of high status? Does the particular language we
move into the community under study so that they can learned while growing up have any important effects
live in close contact with the people. If practical, they on how we view the world or how we think and feel?
communicate in the local language. Daily interaction (Chapter 3 provides more information about language
with the members of a community provides anthropol- and social life.)
ogists with firsthand experiences that yield insights and
∏
information that could not be gained in any other way.
Fieldworkers usually report the findings of their Applying Anthropology
research in books or scholarly journals, where they
are available to other scholars and to the general public. In the past, most professional anthropologists spent
A written account of how a single human population their careers in some form of educational institution,
lives is called an ethnography, which means “writing either in colleges and universities or in museums.
about a people.” (We have more to say about fieldwork However, since around 1990, more and more anthro-
in Chapter 5.) pologists have jobs in other kinds of institutions. The
American Anthropological Association (or “AAA”) is
Anthropological Linguistics the professional association of anthropologists. In its
2006 Annual Report, the AAA reported that more than
Defined as the study of human language, linguistics is a half of anthropologists work outside academic set-
field all its own, existing as a separate discipline from tings, in government agencies, international organiza-
tions, nonprofit groups, or private companies.
|
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
||
Hundreds of others make their living as consultants
to such organizations and institutions.
fieldwork Ethnographic research that involves observ-
ing and interviewing the members of a culture to describe
their way of life. Applied Anthropology
ethnography A written description of the way of life of Applied anthropology use anthropological methods,
some human population. theories, concepts, and insights to help public institutions
anthropological linguistics Subfield that focuses on the or private enterprises deal with practical, real-world pro-
interrelationships between language and other aspects of a blems. Applied anthropology sometimes is viewed as a
people’s culture. fifth subfield, but all applied anthropologists have been
applied anthropology Subfield whose practitioners use trained in one or more of the traditional four fields. In this
anthropological methods, theories, and concepts to solve sense, applied anthropology cuts across the other sub-
practical, real-world problems; practitioners are often em- fields and individuals in all subfields may also do applied
ployed by a governmental agency or private organization.
work—that is, work that contributes directly to problem
solving in an organization.
As globalization brings
together peoples in
travel, education, and
business, learning
about other cultures
takes on increasing
practical importance.
© Dreamlight/Getty Images
We discuss some of the ways applied anthropolo- those of Europe and the Americas, are becoming
gists have contributed to the alleviation of human more culturally diverse due to immigration. As a
problems in later chapters. For now, a few examples response to this trend, an increasingly important
illustrate some of the work they do. role for educational anthropologists working in
Development anthropology is one area in which North America is to help professional educators un-
anthropologists apply their expertise to the solution derstand the learning styles and behavior of children
of practical human problems, usually in developing from various ethnic and national backgrounds. Per-
countries. Working both as full-time employees and sons trained in both linguistic and cultural anthro-
as consultants, development anthropologists provide pology are especially likely to work in educational
information about communities that helps agencies anthropology.
adapt projects to local conditions and needs. Exam- Private companies sometimes employ cultural
ples of agencies and institutions that employ devel- anthropologists full time or as consultants, creating
opment anthropologists include the U.S. Agency for a professional opportunity often called corporate
International Development, the Rockefeller and Ford anthropology. As international trade agreements re-
Foundations, the World Bank, and the United move tariffs, quotas, and other barriers to interna-
Nations Development Program. One important role tional trade, people of different cultural heritages
of the anthropologist in such institutions is to pro- increasingly conduct business and buy and sell one
vide policymakers with knowledge of local-level another’s products. The dramatic growth of overseas
ecological and cultural conditions, so that projects business activities encourages companies to hire
will avoid unanticipated problems and minimize neg- professionals who can advise executives and sales
ative impacts. staff on what to expect and how to speak and act
Educational anthropology offers jobs in public when they conduct business in other countries. Be-
agencies and private institutions. Some roles of ed- cause of their training as acute observers and listen-
ucational anthropologists include advising in bilin- ers, anthropologists also work in the private sector
gual education, conducting detailed observations of in many other capacities: they watch how employ-
classroom interactions, training personnel in multi- ees interact with one another, analyze how workers
cultural issues, and adapting teaching styles to local understand the capabilities of office machines, study
customs and needs. Many modern nations, including how the attitudes and styles of managers affect
worker performance, and perform a variety of other • The American Anthropological Association (http://
information-gathering and analysis tasks. www.aaanet.org/profdev/careers/) provides an
A rapidly growing field is medical anthropology. overview of the general kinds of jobs that can be
Medical anthropologists usually are trained both in bio- pursued by people with a bachelor’s degree.
logical and cultural anthropology. They investigate the • The National Association for the Practice of
complex interactions among human health, nutrition, Anthropology (www.practicinganthropology.org/)
social environment, and cultural beliefs and practices. is the professional association of anthropologists
Medical anthropologists with extensive training in human who work predominantly in nonacademic jobs.
biology and physiology study disease transmission pat- On the website, click the tab “Practicing Anthro”
terns and how particular groups adapt to the presence of for a brief overview of the kinds of jobs for
diseases like malaria and sleeping sickness. Because the which anthropological training is useful. Then,
transmission of viruses and bacteria is strongly influ- click the tab “Links” for more specific
enced by people’s diets, sanitation, sexual habits, and information.
other behaviors, many medical anthropologists work as • The Wiley InterScience website provides many
a team with epidemiologists to identify cultural practices online articles from anthropological journals. Two
that affect the spread of disease. Different cultures have sites of interest about careers are:
different ideas about the causes and symptoms of disease,
1. Practicing Anthropology in Corporate America
how best to treat illnesses, the abilities of traditional hea-
(www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi-bin/
lers and doctors, and the importance of community
bookhome122334425
involvement in the healing process. By studying how a
2. Practicing Anthropology in a Postmodern
human community perceives such things, medical
World (www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi-
anthropologists help hospitals and other agencies deliver
bin/bookhome/122334389
health care services more effectively. Language and com-
munication also are important influences on health care Generally, in addition to learning to write, analyze, and
delivery, so people trained in linguistic anthropology think critically, students who study cultural anthropology
sometimes work in medical anthropology. are prepared to examine human life from many alternative
Speaking broadly, anthropologists are valuable to perspectives, to study interactions between individuals
governments, international agencies, companies, and and groups objectively and insightfully, to adjust to vari-
other organizations because they are trained to do two ous social situations, to fit into diverse communities by
things very well: first, to observe, record, and analyze respecting their ways of life, and to be sensitive to the
human behavior in diverse settings; and, second, to multitude of differences between the world’s peoples.
look for and understand the cultural assumptions, Of course, along the way, most students master other
values, and beliefs that underlie that behavior. skills, such as statistical analysis or foreign languages,
which demonstrate ability and establish credentials for a
Careers in Anthropology variety of career paths.
∏
People who earn doctoral degrees in anthropology have a
wealth of career options, as the preceding discussion
shows. What opportunities exist for those with an under- Cultural Anthropology Today
graduate degree in anthropology? The following are a few
As our brief summary of the five subdisciplines con-
of the many websites that describe available opportunities.
firms, anthropology is indeed a diverse field. Even by
• The University of Kentucky website (http:// itself, cultural anthropology—the main subject of this
anthropology.nku.edu/index.php/careers-in- text—is enormously broad: modern fieldworkers live
anthropology) is good for a quick overview of among and study human communities in all parts of
opportunities. the world, from the mountains of Tibet to the deserts
of the American Southwest, from the streets of Chicago
|
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|| to the plains of East Africa.
medical anthropology The specialization that In most peoples’ imagination, anthropologists go to
researches the connections between cultural beliefs and far-off places to study “native” cultures. Except for some
habits and the spread and treatment of diseases and illnesses. common but mistaken stereotypes about “natives,” this
image was reasonably accurate until the 1970s. Until
© Reuters/Corbis
Forensic anthropologists work with governments and international organizations to identify human skeletal remains and to
help determine the causes of death. These forensic specialists are examining remains in El Salvador.
then, cultural anthropology differed from sociology and are researching how educated professionals produce
other disciplines that studied living peoples mainly by information communicated to ordinary people, as in
the kinds of cultures studied. Anthropologists focused on the book Authors of the Storm: Meteorologists and
small-scale, non-Western, preindustrial, subsistence- the Culture of Prediction (Gary Alan Fine, 2007).
oriented cultures, whereas sociologists tended to study Changing gender roles and working conditions lead
large Euro-American, industrial, money-and-market coun- to articles like “Man Enough to Let My Wife Support
tries. Not too long ago, many cultural anthropologists Me: How Changing Models of Career and Gender
sought untouched tribal cultures to study because living Are Reshaping the Experience of Unemployment.”
among the “primitives” usually enhanced one’s reputation. In brief, cultural anthropology has widened its inves-
All this has changed. Today, you are as likely tigations well beyond the old idea of Natives. We now
to find an anthropological fieldworker studying the recognize we are all Natives.
impact of Hurricane Katrina as a New Guinea village, Some studies done in the anthropologist’s own coun-
as shown by an article titled “Chronic Disaster Syn- try are of immigrant communities. North America—
drome: Displacement, Disaster Capitalism, and the correctly said to be the continent of immigrants—
Eviction of the Poor from New Orleans.” As the includes people of diverse origins. Some immigrants
Internet accelerates global communications, anthro- become largely or partly assimilated: over a period of
pologists publish books with titles like Dreaming of decades or generations, they adopt many of the customs
a Mail Order Husband: Russian-American Internet and beliefs of the so-called mainstream. In other cases,
Romance (Ericka Johnson, 2007). Anthropologists though, there is considerable cultural continuity with
Globalization A SHORT HISTORY OF GLOBALIZATION
G
lobalization is one of those words that appear technologies were efficient enough to link most of the world’s
daily in the news media. The word means that people to the major centers of global wealth and influence. And,
the diverse nations and peoples of the world are until after Columbus’s voyages in the 1490s, the peoples and
increasingly interconnected by commercial relationships, cultures of the New and Old Worlds were mostly isolated from
communication technologies, political interests and conflicts, one another.
short-term travel and long-term immigration, and other After Columbus, Europeans learned they had encountered a
forces. Huge container ships and lowered costs of sea trans- world that was new to them, rather than discovering the alter-
portation move billions of dollars’ worth of products across native route to Asia that the Spanish monarchy had commis-
the Pacific, allowing North American consumers to benefit sioned Columbus to find. By 1500, vast quantities of gold and
from the low labor costs of China and other nations when silver began to flow from the Americas to Europe, either looted
they shop at Wal-Mart, Toys“R”Us, and other stores. More from the Incas and Aztecs or mined with the labor of the
people than ever before migrate between nations to study “Indians.” Two centuries later, millions of enslaved West
and work, affecting their home countries as well as those to Africans were working on the plantations of the American
which they relocate. The Internet and mobile phones link South, the Caribbean, and eastern South America. In the
people together to an unprecedented degree, facilitating the 1600s and 1700s, well-off Europeans developed a taste for the
flow of information, ideas, and messages across national sugar, tobacco, and coffee from the Americas that the slaves
boundaries. The political impacts could be revolutionary, a produced and their “owners” sold on world markets. By the
fact recognized by the government of the People’s Republic 1800s, African slaves in the American South were producing
of China as it tries to control its citizens’ access to websites. vast quantities of cotton fibers for Europe’s Industrial Revolu-
The mere existence of interconnectedness between world tion, which was based on steam-powered looms for weaving
regions is not new. The ancient Silk Road linked China to clothing. The white owners of the large plantations became
Rome, the two greatest empires 2,000 years ago. Along it flo- wealthy selling the products produced by “their” slaves, but
wed not just silk and precious metals, but ideas and inventions the owners of clothing factories in the North also benefited, as
as well (the latter mostly from China to Europe). Islamic traders did those who wore the clothes.
from Arabia proselytized their religion into both coasts of Africa During these same centuries, the European overseas trade
as well as into much of the area that we know today as Southeast with the East for spices, tea, silk, and porcelain brought India,
Asia. In the Americas, too, the Inca Empire stretched over most China, and eventually the rest of Asia into world markets and
of western South America, and its runners/messengers carried ultimately into world conflicts. Catholic and Protestant mis-
commands from the Inca ruler to regions over which he ruled. sionaries usually accompanied or followed the contacts made
These and other empires were far-reaching, but they were not to trade and build empires, further spreading the ideas and
truly global—neither communications nor transportation values of the West into other continents. For 500 years,
the past—immigrants continue their language, cuisine, In the past couple of decades, anthropologists have
family relations, wedding and funeral customs, and intensively researched globalization—the process by
other practices and beliefs. For example, in the which particular peoples of the world’s 190 or so nations
1970s, the U.S. government relocated thousands of participate in a single system that encompasses all peo-
Hmong, a people of highland Southeast Asia, into ples and nations. The parts (continents, regions, nations,
the Central Valley of California. Even after two or cities, small villages) of the global system are intercon-
three decades of living in the United States, many nected by flows of technology, transportation, communi-
immigrant Hmong still speak little English, bring cations, travel, and—above all—market exchanges of
large numbers of relatives to live with them in houses raw materials and finished products. It is important to
other Americans consider “single-family” dwellings, realize that globalization is a process rather than a state,
use their traditional methods of curing, and occasion- that is, globalization is not (and never will be) finished—
ally eat animals that Americans define as pets. Many it is ongoing, changing, evolving, transforming. Cultural
people with Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and South anthropological studies involve intensive, first-hand, pro-
Asian heritages maintain some traditions of their longed fieldwork in local communities, both rural and
ancestral homelands to a surprising degree. African urban. Such research provides a bottom up view of glob-
Americans celebrate their origins with Kwanzaa and alization that complements the top down view focused on
many Latinos speak “Spanglish” and continue to by most of the media and scholars. In later chapters, we
practice Latin festivals. present many examples of such anthropological studies.
14
then, various representatives of Western civilization have industries have relocated. For example, the American textile
engaged other continents, incorporating most non-Western industry has almost disappeared, its factories replaced by those
peoples into a larger, worldwide system. in China, Indonesia, and other countries with far cheaper labor.
Noting the half-millennium of such contacts between the Other industries that have moved offshore are toys, shoes, and
world’s regions and peoples, some say there is nothing new consumer electronics. Some say the globalization of factory pro-
about globalization. If globalization is only about the existence duction is leading to the decline of incomes among middle-class
of “contacts” and “interconnections,” they are correct. But both families and is largely responsible for the growing disparity of
the degree and the nature of contacts and interconnections are income and wealth between the rich and everyone else.
different in the twenty-first century. By degree, we mean that Second, things like DVDs, international migration, over-
the intensity and importance of contacts and interconnections seas travel, and the Internet have fostered increasing two-way
have increased dramatically in the past several decades; today, cultural exchanges. Most people think the media—an impor-
the lives of more people are affected more thoroughly than, say, tant carrier of music, tastes, styles, foods, ideas, beliefs, and
50 years ago. By nature, we mean that the ways in which the the like—is rapidly transmitting the “culture” of the West to
world’s peoples are interconnected are different than in the past. the rest of the world. A primary concern is that the North
Two differences are especially important, each considered in American and European culture (the “West”) will erode and
more detail in later chapters. eventually destroy local traditions. We take up this and other
First, the division of economic activities between nations issues about globalization in future chapters.
and regions has changed. Until the mid-twentieth century, So, although the existence of interconnections among peo-
some nations and regions produced mainly food, metals, lum- ples and nations is not new, the impact of these connections
ber, and other raw materials in plantations, mines, and forests. on all peoples and nations and the way these interconnections
Generally, these nations and regions were known as “underde- work have changed in the last few decades. In the remainder
veloped” or “Third World.” The more industrialized, and of this book, we discuss globalization in boxes like this one
mostly wealthier, countries bought most of these relatively as well as in the main body of the text itself. We emphasize
low-value products, which their factories and laborers then the effects of globalization on all nations and regions, and not
turned into higher-valued, profit-making products. Today, just how people like “Us” are affecting people like “Them,”
factory production itself is increasingly globalized: in Latin or how “They” threaten “Us.”
America, Asia, and other regions, hundreds of millions of peo-
Critical Thinking Questions
ple now work in factories producing commodities for sale in
international markets. More than ever before, there is an inter- 1. Being as specific as you can, how has globalization
national market for labor, meaning that the industrial laborers of affected you personally?
the countries we used to call “underdeveloped” are competing 2. In the future, how problematic will the “Us/Them” distinc-
with the labor force of the “developed” countries. Whole tion become?
Globalization has another consequence for ethno- As anthropologists have moved beyond their tradi-
graphic work: people who used to live in remote tional focus on peoples of far away, the boundaries
villages now migrate to urban areas in their own between cultural anthropology and other disciplines
country and abroad. If an anthropologist wants to (especially sociology) are less clear-cut than they
conduct fieldwork in a “remote” place, some people were even a few years ago. Most anthropological
from most such places will have migrated elsewhere work, though, is still done in relatively small commu-
in search of employment or excitement. In the nities (on the order of a few hundred to a few thou-
twenty-first century, if an anthropologist wants to sand), where the researcher can interact directly with
study “a people,” it is increasingly necessary to study people and experience their lives firsthand. More than
them in all the places on our planet where they now any other single factor, the intense fieldwork experi-
live. Today, globalization and its consequences are ence distinguishes cultural anthropology from other
one of the most important areas of research. What disciplines concerned with humankind. Also, cultural
are its impacts on people of all nations? Is a global anthropology remains more comparative and global in
megaculture developing that will someday make all its scope and interests than the other social sciences and
humanity pretty much alike? (The Globalization box humanities. Even today, ethnologists are far more likely
gives a first look at this topic, which runs throughout than sociologists or psychologists to conduct research
this book.) in a country other than their own.
15
∏
Understanding Human
Cultures: Anthropological
and misunderstandings. The essence of the holistic per-
spective may be stated fairly simply: Look for connec-
tions and interrelationships, and try to understand
parts in the context of the whole.
Approaches
The main difference between anthropology and other Comparative Perspective
social sciences and humanities is not so much the
More than most people, anthropologists are aware of
kinds of subjects anthropologists investigate as the ap-
the diversity of the world’s cultures. The ideas and
proaches we take to studying human life. We believe it
behaviors learned from upbringing and experience in
is important to study cultures and communities holisti-
one’s own society may not apply to other peoples
cally, comparatively, and relativistically. Because it is
with different cultural traditions. This implies that any
these perspectives that make cultural anthropology dis-
general theories or ideas scholars might have about
tinctive, they need to be introduced.
humans—about human nature, sexuality, warfare, fam-
ily relationships, and so on—must take into account
Holistic Perspective information from a wide range of societies. In other
To study a subject holistically is to attempt to under- words, general theoretical ideas about humans or hu-
stand all the factors that influence it and to interpret it man societies or cultures must be investigated from a
in the context of all those factors. The holistic perspec- comparative perspective.
tive means that no single aspect of a human culture can The main reason anthropologists insist on compari-
be understood unless its relationships to other aspects son is simple: Many people mistakenly think the cus-
of the culture are explored. Holism requires, for exam- toms and beliefs familiar to them exist among people
ple, that a fieldworker studying the rituals of a people everywhere, which is usually not the case. Anthropol-
must investigate how those rituals are influenced by the ogists believe the cultural ideas and practices of people
people’s family life, economic forces, political leader- living in different times and places are far too diverse
ship, relationships between the sexes, and a host of for any general theory to be accepted until it has been
other factors. The attempt to understand a community’s investigated and tested in a wide range of human
customs, beliefs, values, and so forth holistically is one groups. The comparative perspective anthropologists
reason ethnographic fieldwork takes so much time and use to investigate their ideas may be stated as: Do not
involves close contact with people. make generalizations about humans without consider-
Taken literally, a holistic understanding of a peo- ing the full range of cultural diversity.
ple’s customs and beliefs is probably not possible
because of the complexity of human societies. But Relativistic Perspective
anthropologists have learned that ignoring the interrela-
tionships among language, religion, art, economy, fam- Fundamentally, cultural relativism means that no
ily, and other dimensions of life results in distortions culture—taken as a whole—is inherently superior or
inferior to any other. Anthropologists adopt this per-
spective because concepts such as superiority require
|
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
||
judgments about the relative worthiness of behaviors,
holistic perspective The assumption that any aspect of a beliefs, and other characteristics of a culture. Such
culture is integrated with other aspects, so that no dimen- judgments are usually rooted in one’s own values, how-
sion of culture can be understood in isolation. ever, and by and large, values depend on the culture in
comparative perspective The insistence by anthropol- which one was raised. (If you think there must be uni-
ogists that valid hypotheses and theories about humanity versal standards for judging cultures, you may be right.
be tested with information from a wide range of cultures. However, aside from such actions as homicide, people
cultural relativism The notion that one should not don’t agree on what they are.)
judge the behavior of other peoples using the standards of To see why a relativistic approach to studying cul-
one’s own culture. tures is important, contrast cultural relativism with eth-
ethnocentrism The attitude or opinion that the morals, nocentrism. Ethnocentrism is the belief that the moral
values, and customs of one’s own culture are superior to standards, manners, attitudes, and so forth of one’s own
those of other peoples. culture are superior to those of other cultures. Most
people are ethnocentric, and a certain degree of ethno- delinquency and violence, or that the lack of public
centrism is probably essential if people are to experi- attention given to religious teachings is responsible
ence the sense of belonging necessary for contentment for high crime rates. Such arguments and policies imply
and if their culture is to persist. Mild ethnocentrism—in that there are absolute standards and clear rules about
which people are committed to certain values but right and wrong or moral and immoral behavior. But
don’t insist that everyone else hold and live by those moral relativism taken to its extreme says that few such
values—is unobjectionable and inevitable. But extreme standards or rules exist.
ethnocentrism—in which people believe their values Newcomers to anthropology often confuse the two
are the only correct ones and that all people everywhere meanings of relativism, mistakenly believing that anthro-
should be judged by how closely they live up to those pologists promote both kinds of relativism. Most anthro-
values—leads to attitudes of intolerance and misunder- pologists are methodological relativists, but fewer are
standings that anthropologists find objectionable. moral relativists. Anthropologists are as likely as anyone
Clearly, ethnocentric attitudes make objectivity dif- to consider oppression, slavery, violence, murder, slan-
ficult, and ethnographic fieldworkers should avoid der, and so forth as morally objectionable. Many anthro-
evaluating the behavior of other people according to pologists speak out about violence that some claim are
the standards of their own culture. Like the holistic ingrained in their culture or are part of their religion,
and comparative perspectives, the essential point of cul- such as stoning of women found guilty of adultery. The
tural relativism may be stated simply: In studying September 11, 2001, terrorist attack on the United States
another culture, do not evaluate the behavior of its is viewed with as much horror by anthropologists as by
members by the standards and values of your own most other people, although most of us seek to understand
culture. the historical background and social and cultural context
Unfortunately, many people misconceive the word that led to it rather than viewing it simply as the incarna-
relativism. To anthropologists, relativism is a methodo- tion of evil.
logical principle that refers to an outlook that is essen- But the issues are not as simple in practice as the dis-
tial for maximum objectivity and understanding when tinction between methodological and moral relativism
studying a people whose way of life differs from their implies. An example will illustrate. Most people have
own. As a methodological principle, relativism recog- heard of the custom generally called female circumcision
nizes that behavior viewed as morally wrong (or sinful) or female genital mutilation. The practice is widespread
in one society may not be wrong in another, such as (but far from universal) in some regions of northern
polygamy or bare-breasted females. Unqualified con- Africa. It varies in severity, ranging from removing the
demnations of the actions or beliefs of some group of clitoris to stitching shut the labia until marriage. Cultural
people have no place in anthropological research or in beliefs about the reasons for the custom also vary, but
anthropological writings. most often focus on controlling unmarried female sexual-
However, to a great many people, the term relativ- ity and increasing a woman’s desirability as a marriage
ism means “anything goes” with respect to individual partner. Greatly complicating the relativism issue is that
behaviors. Moral relativism (relativism as a moral prin- in many places, a majority of older women support the
ciple) implies that there are no absolute, universal stan- custom, so it is not unambiguously an issue of male con-
dards by which to evaluate actions in terms such as trol or oppression of women. Often a girl or young
right and wrong or good and bad. woman herself considers it a symbol of her femininity
Some people blame moral relativism for a host of and of her and her family’s honor.
social problems. In the early 2000s, many Americans How should an anthropologist view this custom?
worry about the morality and the long-term social Do we think of it as just another age-old tradition—
effects of gay and lesbian relationships. When gays like people eating with their fingers or men covering
and lesbians demanded the equal rights they believe their genitals with only penis sheaths—that varies
only marriage can grant, the legislatures of a number from people to people but is inherently neither right
of states passed “defense of marriage acts” that define nor wrong? Surely not: this custom causes pain,
marriage as a relationship between a man and a woman. exposes women to the dangers of infection and other
Others worry that society’s acceptance of extramarital complications, and is applied only to women because
sex or tolerance for homosexuality erodes family values of their gender. Often, it is forced upon a girl at a cer-
and increases divorce rates, or that the failure of public tain age—even if she objects. Because of its pain, dan-
schools to inculcate patriotism and morality leads to ger, selectivity, and social enforcement, female
circumcision is not comparable to customs surround- important objective. We also should consider compara-
ing foods and clothing styles, which vary from people ble practices (such as breast augmentation) that might
to people but are generally “harmless.” have a similar character or function within our own
Then, is female genital mutilation a form of oppres- culture. After doing so, we might note that “we” some-
sion? And if so, by whom? Can culture itself oppress times do similar things as “them”—though we have
people? If it is oppression, does the anthropologist sim- trouble recognizing the similarity because it involves
ply learn and write about it, place it in its local cultural “us”—so that we need to examine ourselves when we
context, compare the cultures that practice it with other condemn others. Such a view does not resolve the
cultures that do not, develop an idea about its meaning essential problem of cultural relativism in its moral
and why it occurs, and then do nothing? That is what meaning, but at least it reminds us that all human
many anthropologists believe we should do as anthro- groups believe and do things that some other human
pologists. Others disagree, believing instead that we groups find abhorrent.
should speak out against such practices, both as anthro-
pologists and as human beings.
∏
Then again, exactly what counts as “such practices”?
Does eating dogs or cats or horses count? Does female The Value of Anthropology
footbinding in 1600s China count? Would tightly binding
the waists of women in nineteenth-century Europe count? What insights does anthropology offer about humanity?
In the twenty-first century, just how different are breast What is the value of the information that anthropolo-
augmentation or reduction surgery, hip and thigh liposuc- gists have gathered about the past and present of hu-
tion, face-lifts, and nose jobs different from female cir- mankind? We consider these questions in future
cumcision? Is it that they seem to be voluntary? If so, chapters. For now, we note some of the most general
then when a North African woman consents to her cir- insights and contributions.
cumcision, does her consent make the custom acceptable First, anthropology helps us understand the biologi-
to us? And if a young woman feels constrained by the cal, technological, and cultural development of human-
ideals of beauty as defined by the culture in which she ity over long timespans. Most of the reliable
grew up, is it unambiguously true that her liposuction or information available about human biological evolu-
breast augmentation is voluntary? tion, prehistoric cultures, and non-Western peoples
Along these same lines, why is there so little interna- resulted from anthropological research. This informa-
tional concern over the removal of the foreskin of most tion has become part of our general storehouse of
American male infants, who have absolutely no choice knowledge, recorded in textbooks and taught in
when a physician mutilates their genitals? In 2009 in the schools. We easily forget that someone had to discover
Eastern Cape Province of the Republic of South Africa, these facts and interpret their significance. For example,
91 men died from their circumcisions, considered a rite of only in the late nineteenth century did most scientists
passage into manhood. Should we regard male circumci- accept that people are related to apes, and only in the
sions as just as morally objectionable as the deaths and last several decades has the relationship between
suffering caused by female genital mutilation? humans and African apes become clear.
Answers to such questions are not obvious, which is Anthropology has contributed more than just facts.
our main point. Most anthropologists would probably Anthropological concepts have been incorporated into
be satisfied with the following solution: relativism as a the thinking of millions of people. For example, in this
methodological principle is essential to anthropological chapter, we have used the term culture, confidently
research because it facilitates fieldwork and leads to assuming our readers know the word and its signifi-
greater objectivity. Moral relativism is a separate matter cance. You may not know that the scientific meaning
and depends largely on one’s values. When an anthro- of this word, as used in the phrase Tibetan culture, is
pologist encounters customs like female circumcision not very old. Well into the nineteenth century, people
that rather clearly cause harm, then the matter becomes did not fully understand the importance of the distinc-
complex because it is difficult to remain morally neu- tion between a people’s culture (the learned beliefs and
tral. In such cases, we need to examine the custom habits that made them distinctive) and their biological
holistically to place it in its cultural context: perhaps makeup (their inherited physical characteristics). Dif-
the “victim’s” perception of “harm” differs from ours, ferences we now know are caused largely or entirely
or perhaps the harm is necessary to achieve some more by learning and upbringing were confused with
differences caused by biological inheritance. Early- or body language, but these cues do not necessarily
twentieth-century anthropologists such as Franz Boas, mean the same thing to people from different cultures.
Alfred Kroeber, and Margaret Mead marshaled empiri- A Canadian businessperson selling products in Turkey
cal evidence showing that biological differences and may wonder why her host does not cut the small
cultural differences are independent of each other. As talk and get down to business, whereas the Turk can’t
this example shows, anthropologists have in fact con- figure out why the salesperson thinks they can do busi-
tributed much to our knowledge of the human condi- ness before they have become better acquainted. A
tion, although most people are not aware how manager from a German firm may be unintentionally
important anthropology was in developing these under- offensive when he shoves the business card of his
standings and insights. Korean or Japanese counterpart in his pocket without
Another value of anthropology is that it teaches the carefully studying it. A Vietnamese student attending a
importance of understanding and appreciating cultural California university may come across as a sycophant
diversity. Anthropology urges all of us not to be ethno- to her professors because her culture values learning so
centric in our attitudes toward other peoples. Mutual highly, which manifests itself as respect for teachers.
respect and understanding among the world’s peoples Anthropology teaches people to be aware of and sensi-
are increasingly important in the century of globaliza- tive to cultural differences—people’s actions may not
tion, with its world travel, international migration, mul- mean what we take them to mean, and much misunder-
tinational businesses, and conflicts based on ethnic or standing can be avoided by taking cultural differences
religious differences. The world’s problems will not be into account in our dealings with other people.
solved simply by eliminating ethnocentrism, but a rela- Finally, because of its insistence on studying humanity
tivistic outlook on cultural differences might help to from a comparative perspective, anthropology helps us to
alleviate some of the prejudices, misunderstandings, understand our own individual lives. By exposing you to
stereotypes, interethnic conflicts, and racism that cause the cultures of people living in other times and places, an-
so much trouble among people on all continents. thropology helps you see new things about yourself. How
Would America’s reactions to the 9/11 attacks have does your life compare to the lives of other people around
been different if we had a better understanding of Iraq the world? What assumptions do you unconsciously take
and Islam and the history of the relations between the for granted about the world? Do people in other cultures
Middle East and the West? How much can understand- share the same kinds of problems, hopes, motivations, and
ing cultural differences help in alleviating international feelings as you do? Or are individuals raised in other soci-
tensions and outright conflicts? eties completely different? How does the overall quality of
A related point is that anthropology helps to mini- your existence—your sense of well-being and happiness,
mize the miscommunications that commonly arise your family life, your emotional states, your feeling that
when people from different parts of the world interact life is meaningful—compare with that of people who live
with one another. As we shall see in Chapter 2, our elsewhere? Anthropology offers the chance to compare
upbringing in a particular culture influences us in subtle yourself to other peoples who live in different circum-
ways. For instance, English people know how to inter- stances. By studying others, anthropologists hope that peo-
pret one another’s actions on the basis of speech styles ple gain new perspectives on themselves.
Summary
1 Describe how anthropology differs from other 2 List the four major subfields of anthropology
disciplines that also study humans. The broad scope and their primary subject matters. Individual
of anthropology distinguishes it from other disciplines anthropologists usually specialize in one of four subdisci-
in the social sciences and humanities. The field as a plines. Archaeology uses the material remains of prehis-
whole is concerned with all human beings of the past toric and historic peoples to investigate the past, focusing
and present, living at all levels of technological devel- on the long-term technological and social changes that
opment. Anthropology is also interested in all aspects occurred in particular regions of the world. Biological/
of humanity: biology, language, technology, art, physical anthropology studies the biological dimensions of
religion, and all other dimensions of human life. human beings, including nonhuman primates, the physical
variations among contemporary peoples, and human evo- 5 Understand the meaning and importance
lution. Cultural anthropology is concerned with the social of the holistic, comparative, and relativistic
and cultural life of contemporary and historically recent perspectives. Cultural anthropologists approach the
human societies. Anthropological linguistics concentrates study of other cultures from three main perspectives.
on the interrelationships between language and other ele- Holism is the attempt to investigate the interrelation-
ments of social life and culture. ships among the customs and beliefs of a particular
people. The comparative perspective means that any
3 Explain some of the practical uses of anthro-
attempt to understand humanity or explain cultures or
pology in solving human problems. More and more,
behaviors must include information from a wide
anthropologists are applying the insights gained from the
range of human ways of life. Cultural relativism
concepts, methods, and theories of anthropology to solve
urges fieldworkers to try to understand people’s
real-world problems in such areas as development, busi-
behaviors on their own terms, not those of the
ness, education, and health care services. Most people
anthropologist’s own culture. Most anthropologists
who do applied work are trained in cultural anthropology,
consider themselves methodological relativists,
but the other three subfields also are represented. As an
but moral relativism is a separate, though related,
undergraduate major, anthropology trains people in criti-
matter.
cal thinking and cultural sensitivity, skills that are
increasingly useful as globalization brings diverse people 6 Report the wider lessons one can learn from
together into larger systems. studying anthropology. Anthropology has practical
4 Discuss the ways in which cultural anthro- value in the modern world. Most existing, reliable
pology has changed in the last several decades. knowledge about human evolution, prehistoric popula-
Until around 1970, cultural anthropology concentrated on tions, and indigenous peoples was discovered by
cultures known as “tribal” or “indigenous.” This is not as anthropologists. Early anthropologists were instrumen-
true in the globalized world of today. Many anthropolo- tal in popularizing the concept of culture and in show-
gists conduct research in the urbanized, industrialized ing that cultural differences are not caused by racial
nations of the developed world. It is increasingly difficult differences. The value of understanding peoples of
to distinguish ethnology from the kindred discipline of different regions and nations is another practical lesson
sociology. However, firsthand, extended fieldwork in of anthropology, one that is increasingly important as
villages or relatively small towns or neighborhoods con- global connections intensify. The information that
tinues to be a hallmark of cultural anthropology. Also, ethnographers have collected about alternative ways of
ethnologists are far more comparative and global in their being human allows individuals to become more aware
interests and research than other social scientists. of their own life circumstances.
Media Resources
The Wadsworth Anthropology Resource Center
www.cengagebrain.com
The Wadsworth discipline resource website that accom- includes a case study forum with excerpts from various
panies Humanity: An Introduction to Cultural Anthro- Wadsworth authors, map exercises, scientist interviews,
pology, Ninth Edition, includes a rich array of material, breaking news in anthropology, and links to additional
including online anthropological video clips, to help useful online material. Go to www.cengagebrain.com
you in the study of cultural anthropology and the spe- to access this valuable resource.
cific topics covered in this chapter. Other material
8 MARRIAGES AND FAMILIES
The family is a funda-

mental social unit in all
© Matthias Schrader/dpa/Corbis societies, although its
forms and functions vary
Some Definitions Marriage Alliances
from people to people.
Incest Taboos Marital Exchanges This Indian nuclear family is on the move
Marriage Kinship Diagrams in the city of Indore in the state of Madya
Defining Marriage Postmarital Residence Patterns Pradesh.
Functions of Marriage Influences on Residence Patterns

Two Unusual Forms Residence and Households
Variations in Marriage Beliefs Family and Household Forms
and Practices
Matrifocal Households
Marriage Rules
Extended Households
How Many Spouses?
163
Learning Objectives
1 Discuss the main theories of the culturally universal incest taboo.
2 Analyze why marriage is so difficult to define cross-culturally.
3 Describe the major forms of marriage and the leading ideas about their causes.
4 Describe patterns of marriage exchanges and the rationale behind them.
5 Discuss the types of postmarital residence and how anthropologists try to
explain them.
6 Describe the main household forms and analyze the main influences on them.
When American politicians proclaim that “the family is Constitution. Many states passed defense of marriage
the backbone of our nation” and that their own policies acts to “protect” the American family from marriage
promote “family values,” they can hardly go wrong. between lesbians and gays.
After all, how many voters see themselves as antifam- Ethnographic studies and anthropological ideas have a
ily? Certainly, the bonds of marriage and family are lot to contribute to such contemporary issues. We look at
among the central social relationships of most societies. some of the main ways cultures differ in their marriage
For one thing, a married couple, aided by some kind practices and in the organization of their families and
of extended family, is usually the social group that households. Before doing so, though, we need to define
nourishes and socializes new generations. For another, some terms used in this and later chapters.
family ties are the basis of residential groups that not
∏
only live together but often own property together, play
together, work together, and worship together. Some Definitions
Families, we all recognize, do a lot of things that
are helpful to their members and to society at large. Anthropologists distinguish between two kinds of rela-
So, when studies show that American divorce rates tives. Consanguines are “blood” relatives—people
hover around 50 percent and that about 30 percent of related by birth. Affines are “in-laws”—people related
American children live in households with only one by marriage. Among your consanguineous relatives are
parent present, we believe that something is amiss. your parents, siblings, grandparents, parents’ siblings,
We fear that broken homes and single-parent families and cousins. Your affines include your sister’s hus-
will cause harm to children, communities, and the band, wife’s mother, and father’s sister’s husband.
whole nation. Worrying that marriage between people Both consanguineous and affinal relationships can, in
of the same sex will erode the “sacred institution” of theory, serve as the basis for all kinds of social groups.
marriage, in 2004 the American president and some When people form an organized, cooperative group based
members of Congress attempted (unsuccessfully) to on their kinship relationships, anthropologists call it a kin
include the one man–one woman marital norm in the group. The nuclear family, which consists of a married
|
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
||
couple together with their unmarried children, is one kind
consanguines “Blood” relatives, or people related by of kin group. Typically its members live together, share
birth. the use of family wealth and property, rely on one another
for emotional support, pool their labor and resources to
affines In-laws, or people related by marriage.
support the family, and so on.
kin group A group of people who culturally conceive
Among their many functions, nuclear families usu-
themselves to be relatives, cooperate in certain activities,
ally have primary responsibility for nurturing and
and share a sense of identity as kinfolk.
enculturating children. North Americans usually think
nuclear family Family group consisting of a married
of each nuclear family as living in its own dwelling
couple and their offspring.
such as an apartment, condo, townhouse, or their own
164
Concept review T ERMS FOR G ROUPS F ORMED ON THE B ASIS
OF K INSHIP R ELATIONSHIPS
Term Meaning
Kin group A social group formed on the basis of recognized (including fictive) kin relationships between its
members
Nuclear family A married couple and their unmarried children
Extended family Culturally recognized relatives of varying degrees of distance
Household A domestic group, or people who live in the same place and share assets and certain responsibilities
house. In fact, immigrants from Latin America, Africa, In some other societies, the nuclear families live in
and southeast Asia are often vilified by their Euro- separate dwellings on land they own jointly with re-
American neighbors for housing too many nuclear fam- lated families. So long as the families use common
ilies in one “single-family” dwelling. property like land and tools, cooperate in work, share
Larger groups can be formed out of kinship relation- income or wealth, and recognize themselves as having
ships. People everywhere keep track of distant relatives distinctive identities, they belong to a single household
who are part of their extended family. North Americans even though they live in separate houses. We consider
recognize extended family ties, if only when cousins, types of households later.
aunts, and uncles, and other distant relatives gather for hol- The preceding terms referring to groupings based on
idays, family reunions, weddings, and funerals. Theoreti- family and kinship seem simple enough. But it is easy
cally, the number of people who make up your extended to use one term when technically you mean another,
family could go on “forever” to include third cousins and which can lead to confusion. The Concept Review
beyond. Extended families do not have clear social bound- may provide some help.
aries; rather, peoples’ recognition of relationships wither Households are not always formed exclusively by
and disappear as relatives become more and more distant. family or marital ties, as gay and lesbian couples, het-
You may know and occasionally interact with your first erosexual unmarried couples living together, and vari-
and second cousins, but beyond that range, whether you ous other roommates and housemates illustrate. In fact,
even know their names depends mostly on circumstances in a great many societies, people incorporate unrelated
such as whether they live in your town or state. people into their family and household, acting and feel-
In contrast, in more traditional societies, most of the ing toward them in the same way as they do consan-
important relationships in the lives of individuals are guineous relatives. This practice is widespread enough
defined by extended kinship ties. Commonly, most of that there is a phrase for it: fictive kinship, in which
a person’s relationships with other people depend on individuals who are not actually biological relatives act
whether, and precisely how, they are related. Extended toward one another as if they were kin. Adoption is the
families are far more important in the lives of indivi- most familiar example. In many islands of the Pacific, it
duals: they live in the same household, they rely on one is very common for a couple to adopt (or foster) one or
another for economic support and access to resources, more children, whether or not they have parented chil-
they share religious duties, and so forth. In such socie- dren themselves. Unlike in most Western nations, usu-
ties, nuclear families are embedded in larger, more ally the adopted children keep up ties with their
inclusive kin groups. Some of these groups are enor-
mously large, consisting of hundreds of members, as
|
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
||
we see in the next chapter. In this chapter, we focus
mainly on households, especially on nuclear and extended family A group of related nuclear families.
extended families and the ties that create and bind them. household A dwelling or compound usually inhabited
A household (or domestic group) refers to people who by consanguineous and affinal relatives or fictive kin who
reside in the same physical space. In the United States, cooperate and share resources; in some contexts, a kin
group of one or more nuclear families living in the same
most people continue to believe that normal households
physical space.
consist of a married couple and their children. In 2008,
however, only 49.5 percent of households were lived in fictive kinship Condition in which people who are not
biologically related behave as if they are relatives of a
by the “traditional” nuclear family. A third of American
certain type.
households were nonfamily households.
165
166 g Part III THE DIVERSITY OF CULTURES
biological parents, who are often relatives of their American societies, incest is illegal because science has
adopted parents. For many purposes, such children in demonstrated that the offspring of incestuous matings
effect have two sets of parents to support them emo- have a significantly higher chance of exhibiting harmful
tionally and economically. recessive alleles. But humans had laws or enforced norms
This chapter mainly concerns the diversity in marriage against incest long before genetic science even existed, so
and family among humanity. We begin with the point that clearly biomedical knowledge is not the primary explana-
every people have rules that govern who may and may tion for the universality of the incest taboo.
not marry. The most universal of these rules is the incest What, then, are some other reasons for the nuclear
taboo, which is so basic that we discuss it first. family incest taboo? There are four major explanations.
The first two explanations begin with the assump-
∏
tion that many or most people have sexual desire for
Incest Taboos their close relatives. Because acting on these desires
would somehow harm others in their family or other
Rules against sexual intercourse between relatives are group, the incest taboo exists to help groups control
called incest taboo. Incest taboos are cultural universals such behavior. In many cultures, adults teach children
(see Chapter 2), but there are some complexities. For one that incest is one of the most reprehensible crimes, and
thing, the specific relatives to whom the taboos apply vary this culturally imposed prohibition forces people to
from people to people. Some societies prohibit sex and repress their own desire. Several specific hypotheses
marriage between all first cousins, whereas others not make these assumptions, but we discuss only two of
only allow but prefer marriage among certain cousins. the most credible.
We cover such cases later. “Marry Out or Die Out” is the idea first proposed by
For another thing, nearly every society prohibits sex E. B. Tylor, one of the nineteenth-century evolutionists
between nuclear family members, but there are three mentioned in Chapter 4. Tylor noticed that a rule pro-
documented cases in which sexual intercourse between hibiting marriage between close relatives forces people
siblings was permitted: the ancient Hawaiians, the pre- to seek their mates outside their domestic groups. These
historic Incas, and the civilization of Egypt. Among the marriages force families to establish relationships with
Hawaiians and Incas, incest was allowed only to mem- one another—relationships that widen the scale of eco-
bers of the royal family and existed to preserve the nomic and political cooperation. Over time, groups that
spiritual purity of the royal ancestral bloodline. In marry out had an advantage over those that did not, so
ancient Egypt, even common people sometimes mar- eventually all groups developed incest taboos.
ried (and presumably had sex with) their own siblings. As we note later, Tylor’s idea contains an important
Everywhere else in the known world, mating between insight: outmarriage does indeed offer advantages to
siblings and between parents and children is culturally those domestic groups that practice it. Unfortunately,
forbidden (which is not the same as saying it does not this insight does not pertain to the incest taboo. There
occur). In most cultures, the incest taboo is extended is no necessary reason a successful family could not
beyond the nuclear family to prohibit sex between allow sexual relations between its members but forbid
uncles and nieces, aunts and nephews, and some kinds them to marry one another. This hypothesis thus con-
of cousins. Other than the widespread extension to fuses the incest taboo (“Thou shalt not have sexual
these relatives, cultures vary in the categories of kinfolk intercourse within thine own domestic group”) with
with whom sex is taboo. outmarriage rules (“Thou shalt not marry within thine
Anthropologists have wondered a lot about why own domestic group”).
nuclear family incest is almost universally taboo. This The “Peace in the Family” hypothesis, also called
wonder sometimes surprises people who are not anthro- the family disruption hypothesis, argues that nuclear
pologists, who usually think that intercourse within family incest would lead to sexual rivalry and competi-
the family is universally prohibited because inbreeding tion within the family unit. It would interfere with the
is genetically harmful to the children. Indeed, in Euro- normal and essential functions of the family, such as
economic cooperation and enculturation. It also might
undermine the authority of the parental generation of
|
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
||
the family, who would be constantly challenged by
incest taboo Prohibition against sexual intercourse
their children. Brothers might be brought to blows
between certain kinds of relatives.
over their sisters, and vice versa. Imagine the status
Chapter 8 MARRIAGES AND FAMILIES g 167
and role confusions: for example, if a man had children knowledge is instinctive, not conscious. This idea about
by his daughter, the daughter’s children would also be the incest taboo, of course, is consistent with evolution-
her half-siblings, and the father’s children would simul- ary psychology (see Chapter 4), the general theory that
taneously be his grandchildren. humanity’s behavior has been shaped by genetic evolu-
This hypothesis is plausible but difficult to evaluate. tion. (Notice that evolution would also have had to
We do not know whether sexual relations in the family build in knowledge of who one’s close relatives are,
would threaten the family’s peace because the nuclear or who they are most likely to be.)
family incest taboo is well-nigh universal. Would broth- Another objection is more serious: many peoples do
ers and sisters peacefully wait their turns? Probably they not apply the taboo to the kinds of relatives that
would not, but we have no way of testing the hypothesis. inbreeding avoidance predicts they should. For example,
At any rate, the incest taboo is sometimes extended to some peoples allow or encourage marriage between one
very distant relatives who hardly know one another, and set of cousins but prohibit both marriage and sexual inter-
family disruption cannot explain these extensions. course with another set of cousins who are equally closely
The other two explanations both assume that the related genetically. Among certain populations, it is quite
majority of people have little sexual desire for their common for a man to marry his mother’s brother’s
close relatives. The two hypotheses are closely related daughter, but for his father’s brother’s daughter to be pro-
and, indeed, complementary. Also, the same objection hibited as both a sexual and marriage partner. Yet among
apples to both: if there is so little sexual desire between other peoples, a man is encouraged to marry his father’s
close relatives, then why do people need a taboo at all? brother’s daughter. Now why should some populations
“Inbreeding Avoidance” is the cultural rationale for prohibit sex with one kind of cousin and others encourage
the taboo familiar to most of our readers. Both genetic it? In other words, the inbreeding-avoidance theory does
theory and animal experimentation have established not explain the cross-cultural variability in the kinds of
that offspring of sexual unions between close relatives relatives to whom the taboo applies. It predicts (or seems
have a significantly higher probability of inheriting to predict) that all peoples ought to prohibit the same
homozygously recessive harmful alleles that show up relatives.
phenotypically; that is, incest is bad for the children The “Familiarity Breeds Disinterest” explanation
and the “gene pool.” The inbreeding avoidance expla- holds that males and females who are closely associated
nation simply states that the incest taboo exists to during childhood have little sexual desire for one an-
reduce the incidence of mating between close relatives. other when they grow up. Also called the childhood
Why, then, do anthropologists not embrace the familiarity hypothesis, this hypothesis was first pro-
explanation that avoiding intercourse with one’s close posed by a nineteenth-century scholar named Edward
relatives has the biological function of preventing the Westermarck. It was rejected for decades but became
harmful genetic effects of inbreeding? One reason has popular again in the 1970s because of some ethno-
already been mentioned. Many preindustrial peoples graphic studies that seem to support it.
are unaware of these harmful genetic effects, so these One study is from the kibbutzim, the agricultural
effects cannot consciously be the reason for the taboo. collectives first established in Israel in the 1950s.
This objection, however, is not fatal to the inbreeding- Nearly all kibbutzim are now disbanded, but in the
avoidance idea because the hypothesis does not require past children were not raised by their parents but in
conscious awareness that inbreeding is potentially communal peer groups by specialists in child care. Sev-
harmful to the children and future generations. Nonhu- eral infants of similar age were placed in a common
man primates do not “know” that inbreeding increases nursery soon after birth. They were nourished and
the expression of harmful alleles, but they act “as if” enculturated as a group, with more children joining
they know: they generally do not mate with close them later around our kindergarten age. A peer group
genetic relatives. We need only postulate that through- of 10 to 20 children was raised together until adoles-
out humanity’s evolutionary history, those individuals cence, more or less as if they were siblings. Boys and
who mated with their close relatives left fewer surviv- girls raised in the same peer group were not forbidden
ing and reproducing offspring than those who did not. to marry and in fact were often encouraged to get
The genes of those who did not interbreed with their together. But people raised together almost never mar-
close relatives would have spread within the popula- ried, although they had plenty of opportunities to get to
tion. Evolution then “built in” a lack of sexual desire know one another. Their behavior thus supports the
for close relatives over a long time span. If so, our “familiarity breeds disinterest” idea.
On the kibbutzim of
Israel, children raised
in communal nurseries
tended not to be inter-
ested in one another
sexually, supporting
the “familiarity breeds
disinterest” theory of
the incest taboo. Here
four kibbutz children
are getting ready for
bed after their baths.
© Annie Griffiths Belt/CORBIS

Arthur Wolf’s study of marriage in Taiwan also sup- childhood associations. This lack of desire cannot be
ports the childhood-familiarity theory. Some Taiwanese universal, or there would never be any nuclear family
couples with male children took girls to be reared and incest, but such incest certainly exists and it is likely
trained in their households as future wives for their more common than publicly recognized. However, the
sons. In each family, a boy and girl grew up together childhood-familiarity hypothesis does explain why
in the same household—in most respects just like most people do not commit incest within the nuclear
brother and sister—and were expected to marry. If it family—they have little desire for one another.
is true that children raised together have little sexual Further, if childhood familiarity does lead to erotic
interest in one another, then there should be less sexual disinterest as adults, then the inbreeding-avoidance
activity and greater marital difficulties for these couples explanation is also supported. To avoid inbreeding,
than for other Taiwanese. Wolf found that these cou- people must have some way of recognizing their close
ples had fewer children, higher rates of divorce, and relatives. In general, my close relatives are likely to be
more extramarital sexual activity than other couples. those with whom I was raised, so if I avoid mating
Finally, evidence from an Arab village in Lebanon with my childhood associates, I generally will not be
studied by Justin McCabe supports Westermarck’s inbreeding. Both these hypotheses taken together are
hypothesis. For a variety of reasons, it is fairly common capable of explaining why nuclear family incest is
in the Middle East for a man to marry one of his father’s uncommon.
brother’s daughters. In the village studied, about 20 per- Notice, though, that neither the inbreeding-avoidance
cent of all marriages were between men and women nor the childhood-familiarity hypothesis explains why
whose fathers were brothers. These cousins were in con- nuclear family incest is usually punished whenever it
stant childhood association with one another because of does occur. It is easy to see why, for example, a sister
the close personal relationship between their fathers. If would rather reproduce with a nonrelative than with
childhood familiarity does indeed produce adult sexual her brother (at least it is easy to see if we think she
disinterest, then it should be revealed in these marriages. lacks desire for her brother!). But how does the lack
In fact, it is: these cousin marriages had three times the of desire by individuals become a punishable offense or,
divorce rate and produced fewer children than other in many cultures, a capital crime? Why should anyone
kinds of marriage. else care?
So, some ethnographic research suggests sexual Some scholars have used the very existence of a taboo
disinterest between individuals who have intimate on incest to argue against both the inbreeding-avoidance
and childhood-familiarity explanations. Their argument is are separated by death. Gay, lesbian, and bisexual peo-
that if people generally do not have erotic feelings toward ple will want to add their own provisions.
close relatives, then cultures do not need a taboo. The These provisions are broadly applicable in many
fact that there is a taboo at all proves there is sexual modern nations. However, they obscure the diversity
desire for close kin, for why prohibit an action that peo- in marriages that anthropologists have uncovered. For
ple have no desire to commit? But this objection is unfair example, choosing one’s spouse is not always a private
because neither explanation denies that some people matter decided by the couple. In many cultures, mar-
desire close relatives sexually. There is merely evidence riage is likely to be a public matter that involves a
suggesting that most people do not. We can see why this broad range of relatives who must consent to or even
objection is unfair with an analogous legal prohibition: arrange the marriage.
few people argue that laws against murder or assault Further, as often as not, romantic love is not consid-
proves that most people would commit these acts without ered necessary for marriage, and sometimes it is not
the laws. even relevant to the relationship. Couples do not marry
To return to our overall discussion, notice that three because they “fall in love.” For example, in traditional
of the four hypotheses account mainly for the incest China, Korea, and Japan, a man and a woman seldom
prohibitions within the nuclear family. They therefore had a chance to fall in love before they married because
cannot explain everything about incest taboos because they usually hardly knew each other and often had not
in most human populations incest prohibitions are even met. Sometimes boys and girls were betrothed at
extended to more-distant relations. For example, in a birth or as children. Even when couples married as
great many societies members of the same clan (dis- adults, the marriage was arranged by their parents
cussed in Chapter 9) are subject to the taboo, and with the aid of a matchmaker, usually a female relative
clanmates are often very distantly related. Therefore, of the groom’s family or a woman hired by them. She
it is plausible to conclude that the incest taboo has a tried to find a woman of suitable age, wealth, status,
biological basis, but that some peoples extend it and disposition to become a wife for the young man.
beyond close relatives to achieve other social and The matchmaker would “match” not only the couple to
cultural objectives. each other, but also the woman to the husband’s par-
ents. This was important because the new wife would
∏
be incorporated into her husband’s family; her labor
Marriage would be under the control of her husband’s parents,
especially her mother-in-law; she would revere and
Biologically speaking, procreation creates the family make offerings to the ancestors of her husband’s fam-
relationships of an individual: who your parents are ily, not those of her own parents; her behavior would
determines your grandparents, your aunts and uncles, be closely watched lest she disgrace her in-laws; and
your cousins, and so forth. Assuming the woman and her children would become members of her husband’s
man are married, marriage and its resulting family rela- kin group, not her own.
tionships seem pretty basic. How many ways can peo- Even cohabitation in the same house does not uni-
ple marry and have families? Quite a few, it turns out. versally accompany marriage. In many villages in Mel-
We begin with marriage. anesia, Southeast Asia, and Africa, the men sleep and
spend much of their time in a communal house (called,
appropriately, the men’s house), while their wives and
Defining Marriage
young children live and sleep in a separate dwelling.
What is marriage? Persons with little knowledge of cul- Other Western cultural notions of and customs about
tural diversity might say that marriage is a relationship marriage do not apply elsewhere. Sex is not always
between a woman and a man involving romantic love, confined to the marriage bed (or mat). There may or
sexual activity, cohabitation, child rearing, and shared may not be a formal ceremony (wedding) recognizing
joys and burdens of life. People trained in law might or validating a new marriage. The marital tie may be
also note that marriage has legal aspects, such as joint fragile or temporary, with individuals expecting to have
property rights and obligations to share support of several spouses during the course of their lives. Or the
children. Religious people may want to include their tie may be so strong that even death does not end it. For
beliefs that marriage is a relationship sanctioned by example, in parts of old India, there were strict rules
God, a relationship that should last until the parties against the remarriage of a higher-caste widow, and
such a widow often followed her husband to the grave This question is tricky, and not just because the def-
by throwing herself onto his cremation fire (a practice inition above is problematic. However, the answer
now illegal in India). appears to be no. Consider the Musuo (also called Na
Finally, there are culturally legitimate marital relation- and Naxi) an ethnic group of Yunnan Province in the
ships that are not between a man and a woman. Among south of China. The Musuo are ethnically distinct from
the Nuer of the southern Sudan, sometimes an older, well- the Han, China’s majority population. Among Musuo,
off woman pays the bridewealth needed to marry a girl. a typical adult woman remains at the home of her
The girl then takes male lovers and bears children, who mother and siblings. Men visit her at night for sexual
are incorporated into the kin group of the older woman. intercourse, but such visits carry no commitment or
The pastoral and horticultural Nandi of Kenya allow mar- obligation. Both people have multiple sexual partners.
riage between women. Some men have more than one The man does not spend the night and seems to have no
wife, and at her husband’s death surviving wives nor- obligation to his children, or even to recognize them as
mally receive a share of his cattle, which they, in turn, his. Children are raised by their mother and her own
pass along to their own sons. When a married woman family, which means that Musuo have no nuclear fami-
grows too old to bear children and happens to have no lies. Either the woman or her male visitor may initiate
sons to inherit the cattle given her by her husband, she the communication that leads to their sexual relation-
may take a younger woman as her wife, thus becoming a ship, but it is always the man who visits at night. The
“female husband.” She picks a sexual partner for her Musuo lack all four aspects of the definition of mar-
young wife, whose male children then become the heirs riage given above. Therefore, they have no marriage
of the “female husband.” The two women, however, are as we define the term, nor do they have marriage as
not supposed to be sexually active after the birth, with most people understand it. Cai Hua, the Han Chinese
other men as well as with each other. Regina Smith Obo- ethnographer, says that the Musuo show that marriage
ler, who worked among the Nandi, reported that the rela- and nuclear families are not universal human institu-
tionship was almost identical to that between a married tions. (Where, we might ask, is the “backbone” of
woman and a man. (We have more to say on same-sex Musuo society?)
relationships in Chapter 11.) The Han, who are the majority ethnic group in China,
Because of such diversity, defining marriage to find Musuo so different that many of them visit Yunnan
encompass all the cross-cultural variations in the rela- province to see them. Han people often view Musuo
tionship is hard because there will always be some women as promiscuous and the Musuo people as
people who do not fit the definition. As you can imag- matriarchical. (If this were true, in these two respects,
ine, numerous definitions have been offered, but there Musuo would contrast strongly with traditional Han prac-
is still no agreement on the “best” one. Most anthropol- tices, which perhaps is why so many Han are interested.)
ogists agree, however, that marriage in most human The Chinese central government has a policy of helping
societies involves the following: the development of the country’s more remote, poorer
regions, including the rural areas of Yunnan province.
• A culturally defined (variable) relationship
So the government encourages Han visits and has even
between a man and a woman from different fami-
helped establish “parks” where Musuo perform their
lies, which regulates sexual intercourse and legiti-
allegedly traditional songs and dances.
mizes children
However, the Musuo are very unusual. Nearly all
• A set of rights the couple and their families obtain
other peoples have some institution that is recognizably
over each other, including rights over children
“marriage.”
born to the woman
• An assignment of responsibility for nurturing and
enculturating children to the spouses and/or to one
or both sets of their relatives
Functions of Marriage
• A creation of variably important bonds and rela- The near-universality of marriage suggests that mar-
tionships between the families of the couple that riage does important and useful things for individuals,
have social, economic, political, and sometimes families, and/or society at large. Four functions are
ritual dimensions among the most important.
If we define marriage in this way, do all societies 1. Marriage creates the social relationships that provide
have some form of marriage? for the material needs, social support, and
enculturation of children. Most cultures recognize couple. The importance attached to these relation-
that forming a (variably) stable bond between a ships varies from people to people. At the very least,
woman and her husband is an important reason to the families of the wife and husband have a common
marry. In the human species, one reason the tie interest in the children. In addition, a great many
between mothers and fathers is more important than societies use the relationships created by intermar-
in most other animals is the lengthy dependence of riage to establish important trade relationships or
children on adults. Until age 10 or older, children political alliances, as we see later.
are largely dependent on adults for food, shelter,
Because marriage—and the new nuclear family each
protection, and other bodily needs. Equally impor-
marriage creates—is useful to individuals and to socie-
tant, children need adults for the social learning that
ties in these and other ways, a relationship like mar-
is crucial to complete their psychological and social
riage and a group like the family are almost universal
development. It is theoretically possible that chil-
among the world’s cultures. However, no particular
dren need only one adult, the mother. But generally
form of marriage or type of family is universal. Cultures
children benefit from multiple caretakers and sup-
evolved various marriage and family systems to per-
porters, and marriage helps to create and expand
form these functions. To show the diversity of these
relationships that help children.
systems, we now consider two unusual systems.
2. The marriage bond reduces (but does not eliminate)
potential conflicts over sexual access by defining
culturally approved sexual activity and limiting Two Unusual Forms
adult sexual access to certain individuals (norma-
tively or legally, at any rate). Extramarital sex is not, “Marriage” among the Nayar of Southern India
of course, prohibited to the same degree in all cul- Before Great Britain assumed colonial control over
tures, but limitations are placed on it. In the vast their part of India in 1792, the Nayar were a warrior
majority of societies, the nurturing and care of caste (see Chapter 13). Because so many Nayar men
young infants are entrusted mainly to mothers, so it served as soldiers for surrounding Indian kingdoms,
is beneficial for mothers to receive material and they were away from their homes and villages much
social support for some period after childbirth by of the time. Frequent male absence affected marriage
their relatives, usually including their husbands. and family life. The Nayar lacked nuclear families, in
3. All known societies divide up work like food- the sense of a couple and their offspring living together
getting and household tasks according to age and and sharing responsibilities. Depending on how we
gender (see Chapter 11 for more on the division of define marriage, they may have had no marriage either.
labor). Men do some kinds of tasks, women other Yet Nayar people managed all the “functions” of mar-
kinds. Although the work usually overlaps, there is riage listed above. How did sexuality and provision for
enough differentiation in most communities that the children work in such circumstances?
products and services produced by women must be Each Nayar village contained several kin groups. At
shared with men, and vice versa. Marriage helps birth, most children became members of the kin group
define these rights and duties and establishes the of their mother. Each group was linked for certain cer-
household within which family members do things emonial purposes to several other groups, either from
for one another. The division of labor also means its own or from neighboring villages. Both Nayar
that, most often, mothers need the assistance of women and men who engaged in sexual relations
some male to help provide food and other necessi- with anyone in their own kin group were put to death
ties to their children. Most commonly, this male is because such behavior was considered incest. Restric-
her husband. tions on Nayar women were even more severe: under
4. Marriage creates new relationships between families penalty of death or ostracism, they had to confine their
and other kinds of kin groups. In a few societies, sexual activity to men of their own or a higher subcaste.
nuclear families are physically able to produce what Every few years, all the girls of a kin group who
they need to survive with their own labor and re- were nearing puberty gathered for a large ceremony,
sources. But the incest taboo forces individuals to the purpose of which was to ceremonially “marry”
marry someone other than their immediate relatives. these girls to selected men from the linked kin groups.
Every such marriage creates a potential new set of At the ceremony, each “groom” tied a gold ornament
affinal relationships between the relatives of the around the neck of his “bride.” Each couple then went
to a secluded place for three days, where they some- Many elderly men were polygynous—that is, they had
times had sexual relations. Afterward, the “grooms” left more than one wife. Polygynous men had access to lots
the village, and none had any further responsibilities to of food from their wives’ gathering and fishing, and
his “bride.” He might never even see her again. For her they could acquire prestige and allies by distributing
part, the “bride” and the children she would later bear the food widely to other families. Tiwi prized meat,
had only to perform a certain ritual for her ceremonial but as men reached their 50s and 60s, they were unable
“husband” when he died. The ritual tying of the orna- to hunt effectively. To hunt meat for food and distribu-
ment by a man of a linked kin group served to establish tions, they needed sons, which they generally had, and
a girl as an adult, able to have sexual liaisons with other sons-in-law, which they could get by marrying off their
men when she matured. daughters.
After her “marriage,” each girl continued to live Tiwi marriage was unusual because of two rare cus-
with her own consanguineous relatives. When she toms. First, when a girl was born, she was almost
reached menarche, she began to receive nighttime immediately promised as a wife to some other man.
male visitors from other kin groups. She established This is “infant betrothal,” with the girl’s husband
long-lasting relationships with some of her partners, selected by her father. Second, Tiwi norms required
who gave her small luxury gifts periodically but did that all females be married virtually all their lives. So
not live with her. None of her partners supported her after she was betrothed an infant girl was considered
or her children in any way other than these occasional already married. And when a woman’s husband died,
gifts. In fact, they also visited other women and she remarried almost immediately, called “widow
fathered other children. The food, clothing, and other remarriage.”
needs of a woman and her children were supplied by An astute Tiwi father did not marry his infant
her brothers and other members of her own family. daughter to just anyone. He used her marriage to win
A Nayar woman’s early “marriage,” then, did not friends and gain allies. The allies who were most valu-
establish a nuclear family, nor did her later sexual part- able were men of about his own age, so naturally he
ners live with her or support her children. There was tended to marry his daughters to these men. But the
only one other thing a woman required from her part- relationship created by one such marriage was often
ners: when she got pregnant, one of them had to admit reciprocated—if you married your daughter to a friend,
that he could have been the father of her child by pay- you would likely receive his daughter, sooner or later.
ing the fees for the midwife who helped deliver the So a man might gain a wife in return for a daughter.
baby. If none of her partners did so, it was assumed If a man’s wives had daughters when he was in his
that she had had sexual intercourse with someone of a 40s and 50s (which was common because wives were
lower caste. She, and sometimes her child, would be so young), then he married some of them to men his
expelled from her kin group or killed. own age. Not all of them, though, because a man also
wanted young sons-in-law to come live in his band and
Cross-generational Marriage among the Tiwi help supply meat. An elder would look around for a
of Northern Australia man in his 20s who seemed like a diligent and skillful
In most societies, people who marry are comparable in hunter and a promising ally. He married some of his
age. Often the husband is older, sometimes signifi- daughters to these younger men. When his daughters
cantly older. The Tiwi, who traditionally lived on the grew up, his sons-in-law would supply him and his
Bathurst Islands just off the coast of northern Australia, household with meat.
were unusual because both sexes frequently married A girl growing into womanhood would already have
people of markedly different ages—in fact, most a husband, most likely one who was perhaps 20 or 30
spouses belonged to different generations. Ethnogra- years older than herself. Of course, this meant that most
pher C. W. M. Hart worked among the Tiwi in the wives outlived their husbands but did have children by
late 1920s, and Arnold Pilling worked there in the early them. By Tiwi custom, widows had to remarry. But to
1950s. Jane Goodale’s later work focused on Tiwi whom? Some young men in their 20s had failed to
women. attract the notice of the elders and therefore had no
Like other aboriginal peoples of Australia, the Tiwi wives of their own. But they still could be friends and
were hunters and gatherers. Male elders made most of useful allies of the sons of these widowed women. So
the important decisions in a band, including decisions at the death of her husband, her sons (usually with her
about foraging activities and the distribution of food. consent and approval) married their mother to a man 20
We emphasize again that both the Nayar and the

Tiwi had unusual marriage systems. (Both systems are
no longer operating.) Of course, neither people viewed
their own marriage practices as “unusual.” It was just
what they did. Perhaps they even thought it was only
natural. Maybe they even considered it the backbone of
their societies.
∏ Variations in Marriage Beliefs

and Practices
The marriage relationship varies enormously among cul-
tures. For one thing, most cultures allow multiple spouses.
For another, the nature of the marital relationship—living
arrangements, what wives and husbands expect from
each other, who decides who marries whom, authority
© Halpern/Anthro-Photo File
patterns, how the relatives of the couple relate to one
another, and so forth—differs from people to people.
Marriage Rules
Everywhere, norms identify members of some social
groups or categories as potential spouses and specify
Human children are dependent on adult care for many years,
members of other groups or categories as not eligible for
as this photo of a Laotian woman and her children reminds
us. Providing for the physical and emotional needs of chil- marriage. One set of rules is exogamous rules. Exogamy
dren is everywhere a major function of families. (“outmarriage”) means that an individual is prohibited
from marrying within her or his own family or other kin
group or, less commonly, village or settlement. (Recall
that the incest taboo prohibits sex, whereas rules of exog-
amy forbid intermarriage.) Because the incest taboo
or 30 years her junior. That way, she would have the
applies to those people whom the local culture defines as
support of a strong hunter as she aged, and her sons
close relatives, members of one’s own nuclear family and
would strengthen a friendship and gain an ally. (Inci-
other close kin are almost everywhere prohibited as
dentally, Tiwi wives might seem like “pawns,” but in
spouses.
fact they were active participants in marital machina-
Other kinds of marriage rules are endogamous
tions, as Jane Goodale documented in her book, Tiwi
rules. Endogamy (“inmarriage”) means that an individ-
Wives.)
ual must marry someone in his or her own social group.
If you had visited the Tiwi during their traditional
The classic example of an endogamous group is the
life, here’s what you would have observed: many
caste in traditional Hindu India (see Chapter 13). Other
elderly men had several wives, most of whom were
kinds of endogamous categories are found in orthodox
20 to 30 years younger than themselves. Young men
Jews, races in the American South during slavery, and
had either no wife at all or only one wife, and that
noble classes in many ancient civilizations and states.
one wife was probably at least 20 years older than her
husband. Elderly men were married to women in the
|
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
||
prime of their lives, whereas many younger men in
exogamous rules Marriage rules prohibiting individuals
their “prime” had wives who were old enough to be
from marrying a member of their own social group or
their mother. Looked at from the point of view of a category.
typical female’s life cycle, she was first married to a
endogamous rules Marriage rules requiring individuals to
much older man. Then after he died, she married a
marry some member of their own social group or category.
man who was young enough to be her son.
Endogamous rules have the effect of maintaining relatives of young people) may worry that would-be
social barriers between groups of people defined as spouses of lower-class standing would not fit in with
having different social ranks. Rules of endogamy main- their social circle (to phrase their objection politely).
tain the exclusiveness of the endogamous group in two Likewise, interracial couples are warned about the
ways. First, they reduce social contacts and interactions social stigma attached to their relationship and about
between individuals of different ranks. Intermarriage the “problems” they and their children will encounter.
creates new relationships between the families of the Of course, these problems exist largely because some
wife and husband and potentially is a means of raising people continue to think that interracial marriages are
the rank of oneself or one’s offspring. Endogamy keeps problematic.
affinal relationships within the caste, class, ethnic Racial, ethnic, and even religious barriers to inter-
group, race, or whatever. Over generations, this rein- marriage are breaking down in many regions due
forces ties within the endogamous groups and decreases to improved education and increased interactions
interactions between the groups. between peoples due to globalization. By expanding
Second, endogamy symbolically expresses and the range of nationalities people get to know, interna-
strengthens the exclusiveness of the endogamous group tional and intercultural marriages are becoming com-
by preventing its “contamination” by outsiders. This is monplace. Globalization is changing popular attitudes
most apparent with Indian castes because the cultural and affecting marriage and family in this obvious
rationale for caste endogamy is to avoid ritual pollu- way, but also in more subtle ways (see the following
tion: the Hindu religion holds that physical contact Globalization box).
with members of lower castes places high-caste indivi-
duals in a state of spiritual danger, precluding the pos-
sibility of marriage between them.
How Many Spouses?
Technically, the term endogamy applies only to cul- One way cultures vary in marriage practices is in the
tural rules (or even laws) about confining marriage to number of spouses an individual is allowed to have at a
those within one’s own group. But it is important to time. There are four logical possibilities:
note the existence of de facto endogamy, meaning
1. Monogamy, in which every individual is allowed
that although no formal rules or laws require inmar-
only one spouse
riage, most people marry people like themselves. De
2. Polygyny, in which one man is allowed multiple
facto racial and social class endogamy exists in most
wives
modern nations, including North America, partly
3. Polyandry, in which one woman is allowed multi-
because opportunities for members of different classes
ple husbands
to get to know one another are often limited. For
4. Group marriage, in which several women and men
instance, members of different classes often go to dif-
are allowed to be married simultaneously to one
ferent kinds of schools and hang out with different sets
another
of friends. Such practices decrease social interactions
between classes and thus reduce the possibility that The last three possibilities are all varieties of
people of different classes will meet and fall in love. polygamy—“plural spouses.” It is important to recog-
De facto endogamy also exists because of beliefs nize that the three types of polygamy refer to the num-
about the dangers of marrying outside one’s own ber of spouses allowed to a person, not necessarily to
“kind.” Members of elite classes (and parents and other how many spouses most people have. For example, in
polygynous cultures, men are permitted more than one
|
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|| wife, but only a minority of men actually have more
monogamy Each individual is allowed to have only one than one.
spouse at a time. It may surprise members of monogamous societies to
polygyny One man is allowed to have multiple wives. learn that most of the world’s cultures historically
polyandry One woman is allowed to have multiple allowed polygamy. The most common form of plural
husbands. marriage is polygyny. In the past, before colonialism
group marriage Several women and several men are affected most of the world’s peoples, around 70 percent
married to one another simultaneously. of all societies allowed a man to have two or more
polygamy Multiple spouses.
wives. Today, polygyny is allowed in many nations in
the Middle East, and it remains common among
indigenous peoples of Africa, Southeast Asia, and Ama- chances that all women will find husbands and there-
zonia. American news stories give the impression fore helps provide her and her children with resources
that many Mormons still practice polygyny, but in and an inheritance.
fact the church outlawed it in the nineteenth century, Disparity in the age of marriage might contribute to
and the vast majority of Mormon faithful disavow the the frequency of polygyny. Typically, males are quite
practice. older than their wives, partly because they need time to
Polyandry is rare. It is documented in fewer than a accumulate resources for bridewealth, as discussed
dozen societies—less than 1 percent of the world’s later. So, the number of women of marriageable age
cultures. Group marriage, so far as we know, has never increases relative to the number of men, allowing
been a characteristic form of marriage in a whole hu- some men to have more than one wife and all women
man society. Indeed, most anthropologists believe to have husbands. Polygyny then would solve a social
that group marriage, where it has occurred, has been problem caused by a discrepancy in marriage ages for
a short-lived phenomenon brought about by highly women and men.
unusual circumstances. As you have noticed in these three explanations, it
Many Westerners misunderstand the nature of is difficult to disentangle effects and causes. For
polygamous marriages. We fail to recognize the social example, does the postpartum sex taboo help cause
and economic conditions that make these forms of mar- polygyny? Or do polygynous men not demand sex
riage advantageous. We now look at these conditions from their wives with young children because they
for polygynous and polyandrous societies. have other wives, making the taboo more likely to
develop as a means of increasing childhood survival
and health? Does the fact that men marry later in life
Polygyny than women make polygyny more likely? Or do men
Many people who view themselves and their nations marry later because they need resources to acquire a
as modernized believe that polygyny is an outmoded wife, because of the fact that polygyny makes wives
form of marriage. Commonly polygyny is interpreted in such short supply that women’s fathers demand re-
as a manifestation of patriarchy (men force women sources for them?
into the relationship); as reducing female marital hap- Whether these sorts of factors, or other sets,
piness (what woman wants to be part of a “harem”?); account for polygyny is debatable. It is generally
as harmful to children (wouldn’t the kids of each wife agreed that men acquire many benefits from plural
better off if each has their own father?); and as a way wives. Men themselves generally recognize the bene-
to provide men with additional sexual partners (at the fits. In societies that allow it, polygyny ordinarily is a
expense of each wife). There is some truth to each of man’s preferred form of marriage. Generally, men of
these opinions, but they do not tell the whole story of high rank and status or wealthy men are the ones
polygyny. who have plural wives, although there are many
Because around 70 percent of all societies known exceptions.
to anthropology formerly allowed polygyny, many Men usually have both social and economic incen-
explanations have been offered. Many polygynous tives for marrying several women. Socially, a man’s
peoples practice sexual abstinence for several years status commonly is directly related to the size of his
after marriage, a custom called the postpartum sex family and, hence, to the number of his wives and chil-
taboo. The taboo commonly lasts two to four years. dren. Also, when a man marries more than one woman,
If it is followed, this reduces the birth rate, which he acquires a new set of affines—fathers- and brothers-
might be beneficial, and also allows each newborn to in-law whom he can call on for support, exchange
nurse longer, leading to better child nutrition and relationships, or political alliances.
health. Because of the taboo, polygyny allows hus- There are also short- and long-term economic bene-
bands a legitimate sexual outlet, protecting new fits, especially in horticultural and pastoral adaptations,
mothers and their children from having children too where a woman’s labor is important in providing food
close together. and wealth to her family. The more wives and children
Some suggest that polygyny is a response to a short- a man has, the larger the workforce available to his
age of adult males, due to hazardous male activities household. In pastoral societies in Africa and else-
like warfare and hunting. If there regularly are more where, polygyny enables a man to increase the size of
adult females than males, then polygyny increases the his herds because he has more herders (wives and
Globalization MARRIAGE AND FAMILY IN GLOBAL SOCIETY
century, when the nation was “opened up” by the Americans
A
s interactions between people of diverse national-
ities and cultural traditions increase, people from under threat of force. After losing World War II and having
different regions have more chance to get to two cities destroyed by the only nuclear weapons ever deto-
know one another. Students cross national and cultural nated against civilian targets, Japan recovered within two
boundaries in search of better educations or new cultural decades. It already had many advantages over countries that
experiences. Employees of multinational companies fly all Westerners then called underdeveloped. It was predominantly
over the world buying and selling. Migrants settle in new urban. Most of its citizens were very well educated. It had
homelands. Tourists go abroad to see the world or just to been industrialized for decades and was reindustrialized in
increase their stock of travel stories and photos to show the 1950s and 1960s. It was comparatively homogeneous lin-
and tell their friends. guistically and culturally as well as “racially,” so most Japa-
Cross-cultural (or transnational) marriages and adoptions nese agreed on their values and goals. It was politically stable
are increasing. Allow one of your authors (J. P.) a personal with little crime.
story. In the 1950s, my great-uncle married a Japanese Ameri- By the 1970s, Japan was such an economic powerhouse
can woman. He was a tobacco country boy from North Caro- that American car makers and electronics manufacturers jus-
lina, born into a family that included die-hard racists among its tifiably felt threatened. After World War II, Japan was the
members. She was a California girl whose family had been in first non-American, non-European nation to develop its econ-
an internment camp for Japanese Americans during World omy from global trade. As it grew wealthy by exporting its
War II. Both families objected strenuously to the marriage, autos, motorcycles, consumer electronics, and other high-tech
though for different reasons, and ostracized the couple for products, more and more of Japan’s rural people left the fam-
years. (Eventually, the families accepted the relationship.) In ily farm in search of a better life in the city. This is a com-
the 1980s, my first cousin married an African American mon, predictable effect of development: people migrate from
woman who had two daughters, and they soon had a daughter farms to cities because of job opportunities and other attrac-
of their own. In the 1990s, another of my first cousins married tions of city life. Urban households buy their food from
a man from the Philippines. No one from either family thought farms, theoretically increasing the income of rural people
much about it, and both families now dote on their two grand- with their purchases.
sons. In the early 2000s, another of my first cousins (unmar- But a marriage and family problem developed in the Jap-
ried) adopted a one-year-old boy from a Chinese orphanage. anese countryside. There was an ancient custom known as
Everyone in the family is delighted. Family reunions include primogeniture, in which the eldest son inherits the family
black Americans, white/black Americans, two Philippine farm, including the farmhouse, equipment, any livestock,
American boys, and Chinese-looking lad named Jake—all and the land. Younger sons made their own ways, perhaps
now members of an extended family whose (Anglo) grandpar- working for their eldest brother on the family estate, joining
ents were semiliterate tobacco sharecroppers in North Carolina a Buddhist monastery, or moving to another region. What
until the 1940s. My own son graduated from college in 2007. about the women? If a woman’s parents were able to arrange
His first college girlfriend was from China, his second from her marriage to an eldest son, then she moved in with her
India. If none of this seems unusual to you, then you were husband’s family, to live with her father- and mother-
probably born in the late twentieth century. in-law. Usually, marrying an eldest son was a desirable match
In the old times, when discussing such relationships, for a woman with rural parentage—she would have to work
many racially or culturally intolerant people talked about hard serving her husband’s parents as well as working on the
“sticking with your own kind.” More polite people discussed land of her husband, but she had considerable security for
all the “problems” such marriages would have because of herself and her children, and eventually she expected to
“society’s attitudes.” Such attitudes are still around, of become the mother-in-law of her eldest son’s wife. Then
course, but interracial, intercultural, and international mar- she could take life a bit easier.
riages are becoming so common that soon almost everyone As Japan’s economy grew after the war and rural-to-urban
will know someone who has married inter-someplace. Per- migration picked up, younger sons from farms migrated and
haps we will someday live in a world where most people provided much of the unskilled labor in factories, low-level
consider everyone their “own kind.” services, and the enormous construction industry. There was
Some effects of globalization on marriage and family are still considerable family pressure on eldest sons to remain
more indirect and subtle than my family’s story. Take Japan, behind on the family farm. Land is scarce and valuable, and
for example. Japan has been buying from and, especially, many Japanese value what’s left of their countryside and rural
selling to the global marketplace since the late nineteenth life. Parents, grandparents, and other relatives did not want
176
land that had been in their family to be sold off. Japanese unable to make an acceptable living even with government
people love rice for its symbolic value as well as for its nutri- subsidies. And farming is now largely performed by older
tional value. The dominant political party did not want to see persons. For example, in one important rice-growing area,
the country become even more dependent on imported foods, between 1980 and 2003, the number of people making most
so it limited rice imports by various means and heavily sub- of their money from farming fell by 56 percent, and the num-
sidized Japan’s remaining rice farmers. It might appear that ber of people between ages 15 and 59 fell by 83 percent.
the eldest sons were doing well. There was one increase, though: there were 600 more farmers
Unfortunately, few Japanese women were interested in older than 70 in 2003 than in 1980.
marrying an eldest son. Farm work is hard, and small farm In the 1990s, many Japanese began to worry about another
towns are boring. Many Japanese city women have never marriage and family problem: more and more women are post-
been to a farm, and most who have would never dream of poning marriage into their 30s, or choosing not to marry at all.
moving there. A farm wife probably will live with her Many continue to live with their parents long past the age
husband’s parents, with little privacy, and will have to when formerly they would have married and had children.
care for them when they grow old. Throughout the coun- Some Japanese refer to these women as parasaito (“parasite
tryside, new marriage norms eroded the ability of parents singles”), because they reside with parents even though
to control the marriages of their daughters, so even most many have well-paying jobs. Stererotypically, parasaito are
young, rural women were unwilling to marry a farm boy. first-class consumers of luxury goods, buying such expensive
Better to marry a “salaryman”—a professional man with a purses and clothing that they seem overly self-indulgent in a
reliable and well-paying job in Tokyo or Kyoto or Osaka culture that values submission to authority.
or another city where work is easier and payoffs higher. In However, the choices these young women make are
cities, salarymen work long hours and might not come understandable, given their circumstances. Rents in Japa-
home until midnight, but until recently Japanese wives nese cities are among the world’s highest. Companies have
expected much less socially and romantically from their a tendency to get rid of women once they have children.
husbands than Western wives. Odds are, a Japanese hus- Women know that when they have children much of their
band will turn control over his salary to his wife, who can time will be spent seeing that the kids get the high grades
use it for household expenses and save for their children’s and test scores that are so important for their future ca-
education. reers. Many Japanese women have good reason to believe
The shortage of wives for farmers became a crisis. In one that their future husbands will be inattentive because of
village in the late 1980s, of unmarried persons between ages job pressures.
25 and 39, 120 were men and only 31 were women, a ratio of Still, such choices will worsen one of Japan’s problems.
4:1. Some Japanese villages organized to find wives for their For three decades, Japan’s birth rate has been falling. In 2010,
unmarried men, not all of whom were still young. One moun- an average Japanese woman had only 1.2 children over the
tain village placed newspapers ads, promising free winter ski- span of her life. A mean fertility rate of about 2.1 children is
ing vacations to all young women who visited and agreed to required just to replace the population. As a consequence,
meet its men. Over a five-year period, 300 women responded, since 2007, Japan’s population has actually been declining.
but none became wives as a result. In another mountain village Nearly one-fourth of Japan’s people are over the age of 65.
of 7,000, there were three bachelors for every unmarried How will the country support so many aged persons in future
woman, so the local government became a marriage agent. It decades?
brought in 22 women from the Philippines, South Korea, Thai- Critical Thinking Questions
land, and other Asian countries to marry its men, many in
1. Do you know people who have married interculturally or
their 40s and 50s. Some marriages endured, but others ended
interracially? Do they have any special problems?
in divorce because of the labor demands of farm life, the bur-
den wives bore in caring for their husband’s elderly parents, 2. The Japanese government could stop supporting Japanese
and cultural differences. Small businesses developed that farmers and let the Japanese people buy most of their
offered counseling services for bicultural couples and served grains in the international market. Is this a good idea?
as marriage brokers to match Japanese men with foreign SOURCES: Bernstein (1983); C.I.A. The World Factbook (online version
women. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/index.html, retrieved
Even today, many Japanese farm men remain bachelors. May 23, 2010) James Brooke, “Japan Farms: An Old Man’s Game,” New York
Times, November 7, 2003 Kunio (1988); Joji Sakurai, “Japan Looks to Foreign
Farming in Japan is now primarily a part-time occupation— Brides to Save Its Villages,” Delaware Gazette, May 19, 1997, p. 12; Zielenziger
farmers find off-season jobs in construction or other tasks, (2007)
177
Polygyny is allowed as
a form of marriage in
many of the world’s
cultures. This is a
Maasai man with his
wives and children.
Maasai are a cattle-
herding people of
Kenya and Tanzania.
© Emil Muench/Photo Researchers, Inc.

children) to tend livestock. Similarly, in those farming —they are the people she depends on to support her in
societies in which female labor is important, a polygy- old age. There is another reason a woman wants to
nous man has more family members to tend fields and marry: to ensure that her children are well provided
harvest crops. As he grows older, he will have more for. In the majority of polygynous societies, inheritance
children and grandchildren to look after his herds or of land, livestock, and other wealth and productive
work his fields and care for him. Thus, as long as he property passes from fathers to sons. A woman need
has the resources to support them, a man usually tries to not marry to bear children, but she does want a husband
acquire additional wives. to ensure that her sons have an adequate inheritance
What determines whether a particular man is able to (her married daughters usually acquire their resources
acquire more than one wife? The answer is usually from their own husbands). Thus, in societies in which
wealth: only well-to-do men are able to afford more for some reason there are more adult women than men,
than one wife. “Afford,” however, does not mean polygyny provides a means for almost all women to
what North Americans might think; it is often more a gain the benefits of husbands for both themselves and
matter of being able to acquire additional wives than of their children.
being able to support them. Most polygynous peoples There often are social and economic advantages for
have the custom of bridewealth (discussed later), which the co-wives of a polygynous man. Contrary to the
requires a prospective groom and his relatives to give view that no woman would want to share a husband
livestock, money, or other wealth objects to the kin of with another woman, in many cases wives do want to
the bride. Although fathers and other relatives are typi- be co-wives. Often the most prestigious marriage for a
cally obliged to help a young man raise bridewealth for woman is to a man of wealth and status—the type of
one wife, only a minority of men can get together suf- man most likely to have married other women. Not
ficient resources to provide bridewealth for additional only will the woman herself be better provided for,
wives. but her children may also receive larger inheritances
From the female perspective, in many societies of land, livestock, wealth, or other property. In addi-
polygyny has the beneficial effect of ensuring that vir- tion, co-wives may lighten a woman’s workload. Co-
tually all women find husbands. Becoming married is wives usually work together and cooperate on chores
often important for a woman’s welfare because mar- such as producing, processing, and preparing food,
riage legitimizes her children, and in many cultures tending livestock, and caring for children. Thus, in
children are her main or only source of social security many societies, it is not unusual for a wife to encourage
her husband to take additional wives to assist her in her The insufficiency of a family’s land to support all its
chores. heirs is one such condition. Many families in farming
However, polygynous marriages have inherent pro- communities have faced the following dilemma: Our
blems. A common problem is rivalry between co-wives land is barely adequate, and all available farmland is
and favoritism by husbands. Several strategies are used already owned by another family or by a landlord, so we
in polygynous societies to minimize friction within cannot provide all our children with enough land
these families. One way is for a man to marry women to support them and their families. Many European pea-
who are sisters, a widespread practice known as sororal sants faced this problem during the Middle Ages and even
polygyny. The rationale for sororal polygyny is that sis- into the nineteenth century. In Ireland and some other
ters are raised together, are used to working together, parts of Europe as well as Japan, one solution was primo-
have preexisting emotional bonds, and are likely to be geniture, or inheritance by the eldest: the oldest son inher-
less jealous of one another. Sisters are, therefore, likely ited the farm and most of its property, and the younger
to be more cooperative than wives who are not related sons had to find other ways of supporting themselves.
to one another—a point consistent with evolutionary Younger sons served in the army or became priests or
psychology (see Chapter 4). found some other occupation. Daughters who did not
In most cultures in which a man marries a number of marry usually either remained at home or joined a nun-
women who are unrelated, each wife usually has her nery. After the Industrial Revolution in the late 1700s,
own separate dwelling, which helps to minimize con- many migrated to cities and went to work in factories.
flict among the co-wives. Also, co-wives are usually Some peoples of the Himalayas developed another
allocated different livestock to care for, and they may solution—polyandry. The rugged topography and high
have separate gardens to tend and harvest. The effect of altitude of Tibet and Nepal sharply limit the supply of
such practices is that each wife, together with her chil- farmland. A farm may be adequate to support only a
dren, is semi-independent from the other wives. Despite single family, but many couples have three or more
such practices, rivalry and jealousy among co-wives are sons. If the sons divide their inheritance by each taking
problems in many polygynous marriages. his own wife, the land would become so fragmented
that the brothers’ families would be impoverished. To
Polyandry solve this problem, sometimes all the sons marry one
Polyandry, the marriage of one woman simultaneously woman. This form of polyandry, called fraternal poly-
to two or more men, is a documented practice in only andry, helps to keep the farm and family intact and
about a dozen societies. Much has been written about limits the number of children in the family. Although
this unusual form of marriage, but ethnologists have not the oldest son usually assumes primary responsibility
yet satisfactorily explained it. Some believe that female for the wife and children, the joint wife is not supposed
infanticide is partly responsible, arguing that the death to favor him or his brothers sexually. When children
of large numbers of girls would produce a shortage of are born, ideally each brother treats them as if they
adult women, which would lead several men to be will- were his own, even if he knows that a particular child
ing to share a wife. All else being equal, female infan- was fathered by one of his brothers.
ticide does indeed have the effect of decreasing the What are the benefits of fraternal polyandry? For the
number of marriageable women, but far more human brothers, sharing a wife preserves the family property,
groups allow many of their female infants to die than keeping the land, the livestock, the house, and other
practice polyandry. Female infanticide is not a general wealth together. Also, one brother can stay in the vil-
explanation for polyandry. lage and work the family land during the summer,
Rather than discussing general explanations, we while another brother takes the livestock to high moun-
note that wherever polyandry exists, it does so as an tain pastures and a third brother (if present) visits towns
alternative form of marriage. Like polygyny, polyan- in the lowlands to sell the family’s products. This sys-
dry is allowed, but it is not the predominant form of tem also has advantages for the wife, who has multiple
marriage; most couples are monogamous even where husbands to work for her and help support her and her
polyandry is allowed. Therefore, to understand the children. Her life is usually less physically strenuous,
reasons for polyandry, we indicate some of the special and she usually has a higher standard of living than a
conditions that lead some people (namely, husbands woman married to only one man.
and their joint wife) to choose to join in a polyan- Although Himalayan polyandry has economic advan-
drous marriage. tages, problems can arise. A younger brother can
decide at any time to end the arrangement, claim his their enemies. It was, therefore, advantageous for villages
portion of the family property, marry another woman, to establish and maintain military alliances for mutual
and establish his own family. The oldest brother does defense and offense, because the more men a village could
not have this option because, as head of the family, he mobilize as warriors, the more likely it was to be successful
bears primary responsibility for supporting the wife in conflicts. Having allies was also helpful in case of mili-
and children. tary defeat: a defeated group could take refuge with an
allied village, whose members would feed and protect the
Marriage Alliances refugees until they could establish productive gardens in a
new location.
Cultures vary in the importance they attach to the tie Intermarriage was a key strategy in creating and main-
between wives and husbands. In some cultures, there is taining these alliances. When the men of a Yanomamö
no formal wedding ceremony. Instead, a couple is socially village wanted to form an alliance with another village,
recognized as “married” when they regularly live together they began by trading. If no trouble broke out during the
and as “divorced” when one of them moves out. Each trading—for a Yanomamö village did not even trust its
partner retains her or his own separate property, so the longtime allies, much less its prospective allies—the rela-
separation or divorce is not very “messy.” In the contem- tionship might extend to mutual invitations to feasts. If the
porary United States, the wedding ceremony is often a big feasts did not turn violent, the men of the two villages
and expensive affair; marriages are supposed to endure; would agree to give some of their “sisters” (female rela-
and couples usually own houses, furniture, and other prop- tives) to one another. The act of exchanging sisters was the
erty jointly. Yet about half of all new American marriages final stage of alliance formation, although even these rela-
will end in divorce, many quite messy because of conflicts tively secure alliances were frequently broken.
over property and custody of the children. For many The Yanomamö illustrate how intermarriage creates
Americans, monogamy turns out to be serial monogamy, bonds and establishes important political relationships
meaning only one legal spouse at a time. between villages. Among many peoples, these bonds
Many cultures consider the marital relationship to be and relationships are important to families or entire
far more serious. In many, marriage establishes lasting communities. If marriages are a means of establishing
social relationships and bonds not just between the cou- ties that are critical to a group’s material well-being or
ple but also between their families and other relatives. survival, then the choice of which group to marry into
The affinal ties between kin groups created by intermar- may be too important to be left entirely up to the
riage are frequently important not only socially but also woman and man whose marriage creates the relation-
economically, politically, and often ritually. Marriage ship. Older, wiser, and more responsible people should
establishes an alliance between the members of two kin be making such critical decisions.
groups, and in many cultures marriage alliances are Understanding that who marries whom is so impor-
critical for the well-being and even survival of the inter- tant to families and even larger groups helps to explain
married groups. This appears to have been the case one widespread custom—arranged marriages—that
among the ancient Israelites because Moses says in Gen- many Westerners view as an infringement on a per-
esis (34:16): “Then we will give our daughters unto you, son’s freedom to choose. Try looking at it from a dif-
and we will take your daughters to us, and we will dwell ferent perspective: under certain conditions, a young
with you, and we will become one people.” couple’s freedom to choose their own spouse is an
The Yanomamö are a horticultural and hunting tribe of infringement on the freedom of their parents and other
the Amazon rain forest. Most Yanomamö villages feared relatives to form advantageous relationships with other
attacks by enemies, so a village had to be prepared to families. How serious this infringement is, and whether
defend itself. Also, men of each village periodically went the “freedom” of one party or another takes precedence,
on raids intended to capture the women and resources of is not absolute but depends on circumstances. Perhaps
some of our readers will find arranged marriages less
|
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
||
offensive when they realize that in many societies a
marriage alliances The relationships created between poor marriage choice puts more people at risk than
families or kin groups by intermarriage. just the couple themselves.
levirate Custom whereby a widow marries a male
The importance of the intergroup ties created by
relative (usually a brother) of her deceased husband. intermarriage is also revealed by two other widespread
customs. In one, called the levirate, if a woman’s
husband dies, she marries one of his close kinsmen Second, North American marriage-gift customs fit
(usually a brother). The relationships between the inter- with cultural values about the privacy of the marital
married kin groups are too valuable for a woman to be relationship: it is largely a personal matter between
returned to her own family because then she might the husband and wife, and their relatives should keep
marry into another kin group. Therefore, a male relative their noses out. If the in-laws get along and socialize,
of her deceased husband takes his place. Notice also that’s great, but our marriages generally do not create
that the levirate provides most widows with a new hus- strong bonds between the families of the bride and
band, which generally enhances her life. The levirate groom. (In fact, the two families often compete for
was known to the ancient Israelites (see Deuteronomy the visits and attention of the couple and their
25: 5–10). offspring.) As we saw in Chapter 7, gifts make friends,
The converse custom, the sororate, also preserves and vice versa. The fact that the in-laws do not ex-
the affinal ties between kin groups. If a woman dies, change gifts with each other is a manifestation of the
her kin group is obliged to replace her with another absence of a necessary relationship between them after
woman from the group, and no additional bridewealth the wedding. If, in contrast, the marriage created an
is transferred. The Zulu of southern Africa, as well alliance between the two sets of relatives, then some
as many other African peoples, practiced both the levi- kind of an exchange would probably occur between
rate and the sororate. In societies with these customs, them to symbolize and cement their new relationship.
marriages—and the affinal ties they create—endure Third, the gifts are presented to the couple, not to the
even beyond death. husband or wife as individuals, and are considered to
belong equally and jointly to both partners. But there
are marriage systems in which the property of the wife
Marital Exchanges is separate from that of her husband; if divorce should
In most cultures, the marriage of a man and a woman is occur, there is no squabbling over who gets what and
accompanied by some kind of transfer of goods or ser- no need for prenuptial legal contracts.
vices. These marital exchanges take numerous forms, With this background in mind, what kinds of marital
including the North American custom of wedding exchanges occur in other cultures?
showers and wedding gifts. In these, the presents given
by relatives and friends supposedly help the newlyweds Bridewealth
establish an independent household. We give things that Bridewealth is the widespread custom that requires a
are useful to the couple jointly, with food preparation and man and/or his relatives to transfer wealth to the relatives
other household utensils the most common type of gift. of his bride. It is easily the most common of all marital
Most couples today even register at stores so that their exchanges, found in more than half the world’s cultures.
relatives and friends will provide the items they want. The term bridewealth is well chosen because the goods
Comparatively speaking, the most unusual feature of transferred are usually among the most valuable symbols
North American marital exchange is that practically of wealth in the local culture. In sub-Saharan Africa, cattle
nothing is transferred between the relatives of the and sometimes other livestock are the most common
groom and bride: the couple treats the gifts as their goods used for bridewealth. Peoples of the Pacific islands
private property. Like most of our other customs, this and Southeast Asia usually give their bridewealth in pigs
seems natural to us. Of course, the gifts go to the or shell money and ornaments.
couple—what else could happen to them? Bridewealth is often mentioned in the Old Testa-
Plenty else, as we describe in a moment. For now, ment. In Genesis, a man named Shechem defiled a
notice that the couple receives the gifts and how this young woman and then asked her fathers and brothers
fits with several other features of Euro-American to give her to him: “Ask me for as great a bride price
marriage. First, in addition to creating new nuclear
families, marriage is the bond through which new in- |
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
||
dependent households are started. So, the husband and
sororate Custom whereby a widower marries a female
wife need their own stuff. If, in contrast, the newly- relative of his deceased wife.
weds moved in with one of their relatives, they would
bridewealth Custom in which a prospective groom and
not have as great a need for their own pots and pans,
his relatives are required to transfer goods to the relatives
wine glasses, silver candlesticks, dishes, and other of the bride to validate the marriage.
household items.
and gift as you will, and I will give whatever you say to Brideservice is the second most common form of
me. Only give me the young woman to be my wife.” marital exchange; it is the usual compensation given
(Genesis 34:12, English Standard Version) to the family of a bride in roughly one-eighth of the
One of the most common rights a man and his relatives world’s cultures. Sometimes it occurs in addition to
acquire when they transfer bridewealth to his wife’s family other forms of marital exchange, however, and occa-
is rights over the woman’s children. Reciprocally, one of a sionally it can be used to reduce the amount of bride-
wife’s most important obligations is to bear children for her wealth owed.
husband. This is well exemplified by the Swazi, a tradi-
tional kingdom of southern Africa. A Swazi marriage is a Dowry
union between two families as well as between the bride Marital exchange is called dowry when the family of a
and groom. The payment of bridewealth—in cattle and woman transfers a portion of its own wealth or property
other valuables—to a woman’s relatives establishes the to the woman (their daughter) and/or to her husband and
husband’s rights over his wife. A woman’s main duty to his family. The main thing to understand about dowry is
her husband is to provide him with children. If she is that it is not simply the opposite of bridewealth; that is, it is
unable to do so, her relatives must either return the bride- not “groomwealth.” The woman and her family do not
wealth they received for her or provide a second wife to the acquire marital rights over her husband when they provide
husband, for which he need pay no extra bridewealth. dowry, as they would if dowry were the opposite of bride-
Reciprocally, a man must pay bridewealth to gain rights wealth; rather, the bride and her husband receive property
of fatherhood over the child of a woman, even though when they marry, rather than when the bride’s parents die.
everyone knows he is the child’s biological father. If he By providing dowry, parents give their female children
does not do so, the woman’s relatives will keep the child; extra years of use of the property and publicly demonstrate
if the woman herself later marries another man, her new their wealth.
husband will not receive rights over the child unless he Sometimes dowry is the share of a woman’s inheri-
pays bridewealth. tance that she takes into her marriage for the use of her
new family. Dowry may represent an occasion for a
Brideservice family to display their wealth publicly by ostentatiously
Brideservice is the custom in which a husband is moving furniture and clothing from their house to that
required to spend a period of time working for the fam- of their daughter’s husband. Among other peoples, the
ily of his bride. A Yanomamö son-in-law is expected to family of a man will not allow him to marry a woman
live with his wife’s parents, hunting and gardening for unless she and her family are able to make a dowry
them until they finally release control over their daugh- payment. Typically, the cultural rationale is that women
ter. Among some Ju/’hoansi bands (see Chapters 6 do not contribute as much to a family as do men, so a
and 7), a man proves he can provide by living with family must be compensated for admitting a new
and hunting for his wife’s parents for 3 to 10 years, female member. (Interestingly, this rationale is usually
after which the couple is free to camp elsewhere. found among societies in which the domestic labor of
Like bridewealth, men among the ancient Israelites the female is both difficult and valuable.)
sometimes paid brideservice. In Genesis 29, Jacob agreed Historically, dowry transfers were common in Eur-
to work for seven years for the foreign father of Rachel in asian (Europe, southern Asia, and the Middle East) cul-
return for her. But by the custom of the foreigners, Jacob tures. Most peoples that practiced it were intensive
first had to marry Leah, the eldest daughter, before her agriculturalists and had significant inequalities in
father would give him Rachel. So, Jacob worked 14 years wealth. It has always been a relatively rare form of
for both his brides. Note also that Jacob practiced sororal marital exchange, occurring in only about 5 percent of
polygyny. (Genesis 29:1–30) the societies recorded by anthropology.
Although a minority of societies practice dowry,
|
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
||
some of these societies are quite populous. Dowry is
common today in parts of southern Asia (India, Bangla-
brideservice Custom in which a man spends a period of
time working for the family of his wife. desh, and Pakistan), where dowry includes jewelry,
household utensils, women’s clothing, and money.
dowry Custom in which the family of a woman trans-
Much of the dowry is presented to the bride on her
fers property or wealth to her and/or her husband’s family
upon her marriage. wedding day, but her parents and maternal uncle often
provide gifts periodically throughout the marriage.
the houses of the bride and groom. Dowry thus became a

Chinese status symbol. Sometimes, if the bride’s family
was substantially poorer than the groom’s, part of the
bridewealth payment would be spent on purchasing goods
for the woman’s dowry. This was legal and common until
after the Communist Revolution in 1949, when Commu-
nist Party leaders outlawed both bridewealth and dowry,
with only partial success.
Although the preceding information about marriage
rules, forms, alliances, and exchanges has barely intro-
duced these complicated topics, enough has been pre-
sented for you to glimpse both the cross-cultural
diversity of marriage customs and the societal impor-
tance of marriage. Marriage is tied up with adaptation,
economics, and, quite obviously, politics and religion.
© Ed Kashi/CORBIS
Similar interrelationships among marriage, politics, and
religion are seen in the contemporary United States, as
the recent political wars over gay marriage illustrate
(see the following A Closer Look feature).
In most societies that have the dowry custom, a woman takes
∏
wealth from her family into her marriage. This jewelry-
bedecked Pakistani bride is waiting for her wedding.
Kinship Diagrams
In recent decades, the demands of Indian families for At this point, we need to introduce a set of notational
dowry have led to thousands of tragic deaths. Rather symbols used in the remainder of this chapter and the
than a one-time marital exchange, some Indian families next. This notation allows us to express diagrammati-
demand additional, continual payments from the par- cally how any two persons are (or believe themselves
ents of a woman who has married one of their sons. to be) related by bonds of kinship. The symbols are
They ask for large sums of cash, household appliances shown in Figure 8.1, along with how they are used to
like refrigerators and televisions, motorbikes, and other show a married couple with five children. By stringing a
consumer goods. If the wife’s family refuses, their number of symbols together, we can make a complete
daughter may be severely injured or even killed by chart—called a genealogy—that shows all the relatives
burning (in “accidental kitchen fires”), beatings, with- of a given individual and how they are related to that
holding food, falls, or other retaliations. About 7,000 individual. In these charts, or kinship diagrams, it is use-
Indian women suffered “dowry deaths” in 2003, ful to have a reference individual, or a person to whom
according to official figures, but the actual number is everyone on the chart is related. It is customary to call
likely much higher. If these numbers sound large, be this reference individual “ego.” In Figure 8.1, ego is
aware that India has more than a billion people, so symbolized by a square to show that his or her gender
dowry deaths are not common statistically. is irrelevant for the purposes of the genealogy. (If ego’s
There are other forms of marital exchanges, including gender mattered, we would symbolize him or her with
some in which both sets of relatives exchange gifts as a either a triangle or a circle.)
material symbol of the new basis of their relationship. And
∏
the three forms discussed above are not mutually exclu-
sive. For example, in most of traditional China, both bride-
wealth and dowry occurred at most marriages. The Postmarital Residence
groom’s family would make a payment to the bride’s, Patterns
and the bride’s family would purchase some furniture
and other household goods for their daughter to take In modern Euro-American societies, most newly mar-
with her when she moved into her husband’s household. ried couples establish a new domestic group (house-
For wealthier families, dowry was usually displayed as it hold) in their own apartment, condo, or house.
was transported ostentatiously through the streets between Elsewhere, couples do not set up a new household but
A closer look MARRIAGE AND THE CULTURE WARS
I
n early 2004, the newly elected mayor of San Fran- By mid-2007, 10 states had passed laws allowing gay and
cisco issued marriage licenses to gay couples. In May lesbian domestic partners to adopt children together, rather
of the same year, the state of Massachusetts legalized than as individual parents. One partner can become the legal
same-sex marriages. Alarmed at the prospect of other states parent of the adoptive child of the other. Perhaps these laws
passing similar legislation, President George W. Bush and mean that more Americans are willing to accept gay mar-
conservatives in the U.S. Congress pressed for an amend- riage, and indeed a 2006 Pew Center poll reported that oppo-
ment to the U.S. Constitution. After several rewrites, when sition to gay marriage fell from 65 percent in 1996 to 51
brought to a vote on July 14, 2004, the amendment read: percent in 2006. The Catholic Church and conservative Pro-
Marriage in the United States shall consist only of the union of testants remain opposed to gay adoption, with one Protestant
a man and a woman. Neither this Constitution, nor the consti- leader saying it harms kids “because it intentionally creates
tution of any state, shall be construed to require that marriage motherless or fatherless families.”
or the legal incidents thereof be conferred upon any union other By 2010, four states and the District of Columbia legally
than the union of a man and a woman. recognized marriages between gays and lesbians. In Califor-
In the vote, the proposal failed to gain even a majority in nia, the Supreme Court ruled in summer 2008 that same-sex
the U.S. Senate, where a two-thirds vote is required for pas- couples have the right to marry, but voters passed an initiative
sage of a constitutional amendment. Leftists, liberals, and the next November that amended the state constitution to rec-
most moderates opposed the amendment. Liberals saw it as ognize only heterosexual marriages.
either the latest attempt at gay-bashing or just another symbol Many who object to lesbian and gay adoption insist that
of cultural intolerance. Some viewed it as a shameless effort children need both a mother and a father, and no substitutes
by neoconservatives and religious fundamentalists to gain will do. Strong opponents of same-sex marriage hold that
political support in the November 2004 elections by forcing marriage between one woman and one man is the bedrock
their opponents (mainly Democrats) to vote yes or no. This of human society, so changing it is likely to endanger social
allowed them to claim that the “no” voters were antifamily order in lots of unpredictable ways. In July 2004, in a Satur-
and didn’t share mainstream values. However, some conser- day radio address former American President Bush said, “The
vatives opposed it because they believed it infringed on union of a man and a woman in marriage is the most endur-
states’ rights. Even without the amendment, 11 states later ing and important human institution. . . .”
passed amendments to their constitutions to ban gay and les- No matter how fiercely culture wars are fought to pre-
bian marriages. serve the normative and valued marriage practices of the
Why did gay marriage become so politicized? The short moment, these practices are sure to change and then change
answer is that the issue is part of the American “culture again. Whether people can marry outside their race or eth-
wars.” Among the battles are whether there are absolute nicity, what goes on during courtship, how people choose
standards of right and wrong; the role that Judeo-Christian their spouse, what they expect from marriage, what obliga-
teachings should have in schools, courtrooms, and other tions wives have toward husbands, how enduring marriages
public institutions; whether individuals are morally respon- will be, how the children resulting from the “union” of a
sible for all their actions; pornography and sexual permis- man and a woman are raised—all these and most other fea-
siveness; and how much multicultural diversity “one nation tures of marriage as we know it today would be viewed with
under God” can absorb without tearing itself apart from consternation and even horror by North Americans of a cen-
within. tury ago. No doubt at least some of them would have fore-
Same-sex marriage provides ammunition for culture war- told the horrific effects on society if blacks and whites were
riors: Is it “immoral” or merely another “alternative life- ever allowed to marry, if premarital sex were to become
style”? Given that many Protestant denominations welcome common, if many women were the main family breadwin-
gays and lesbians and some even allow their ordination, is ners, if half of all marriages ended with divorce, and if
it against biblical teachings? Are homosexual desires, like large numbers of couples entrusted their preschool-aged
heterosexual desires, rooted in genes and hereditary, or is children to something called “day care centers” for 40 hours
being openly gay a “choice”? Is being lesbian or gay a “men- a week.
tal disorder,” and, if so, can it be “cured”? What would hap- SOURCES: San Francisco Chronicle, Monday, July 12, 2004, pp. A1, A8;
pen to the nation as a whole if diverse forms of marriage were Thursday, July 15, 2004, pp. A1, A14; Tim Padgett, “Gay Family Values,”
Time, July 16, 2007, pp. 51–52; website of the National Conference of State
legalized? If same-sex marriage is legalized, will polygamy Legislatures, updated April 2010 (http://www.ncsl.org/IssuesResearch/Human-
be next? Services/SameSexMarriage/tabid/16430/Default.aspx) retrieved May21, 2010.
184
4. Bilocal—Couples move back and forth between the

= Female households of both sets of parents according to
preferences and circumstances.
5. Neolocal—Couples live apart from both parents,
establishing a separate dwelling and independent
= Male
household.
6. Avunculocal—Couples live with the maternal uncle
of the husband.
About 70 percent of all societies have patrilocal res-
= = Marriage relationship idence as the predominant pattern. Thirteen percent
have matrilocal residence. Bilocality, ambilocality, neo-
locality, and avunculocality together account for the
remaining 17 percent.
= Parent–child relationship
Influences on Residence Patterns

What sorts of factors affect postmarital residence pat-
= Sibling relationship terns? What determines whether newly married couples
live separately or move in with some kind of relatives?
And, if most couples co-reside with some relatives, as
they do in most societies, what affects which set of
Example: married couple with five children relatives?
There is no simple answer, but property rights and
= inheritance forms are important influences on postmar-
ital residence. In societies in which men own the most
important productive property and inheritance passes
from fathers to sons, brothers have good reasons to
Ego join their fathers (and each other) in a common house-
hold to cooperate and protect their interests in land,
livestock, or other wealth. When the sons of most fam-
Figure 8.1 Symbols Used on Kinship Diagrams.
ilies in a community bring their wives and children into
|
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
||
more often move into an existing household—that of
postmarital residence pattern Where the majority of
either the husband or the wife. Where most newly mar-
newly married couples establish their own residence.
ried couples in a society establish their residence is
known as the postmarital residence pattern. Cross- patrilocal residence Residence form in which couples
live with or near the husband’s parents.
cultural research shows that our own pattern, in which
couples form new households separate from their par- matrilocal residence Residence form in which couples
ents, is uncommon. live with or near the wife’s parents.
What are the common patterns? By splitting enough ambilocal residence Residence form in which couples
hairs, it is possible to identify a dozen patterns, but here choose whether to live with the wife’s or the husband’s
we present only six (in order from most to least frequent): family.
bilocal residence Postmarital Residence in which cou-
1. Patrilocal—Couples live with or near the parents of ples move between the households of both sets of parents.
the husband.
neolocal residence Residence form in which a couple
2. Matrilocal—Couples live with or near the wife’s establishes a separate household apart from both the hus-
parents. band’s and the wife’s parents.
3. Ambilocal—Couples may choose to live with either
avunculocal residence Residence form in which cou-
the wife’s or the husband’s kin; roughly half of all ples live with or near the mother’s brother of the husband.
couples choose each.
their father’s household, this behavior leads to the resi- sisters together in a common household. Similar com-
dence pattern anthropologists call patrilocal. Where plexities apply to the other residence patterns, so there
important resources are controlled or owned by women, is no single explanation.
and especially if female labor is important in supplying There are a other complications that make general-
food for their families, then sisters tend to live and izations difficult. For one thing, a great many peoples
work together. Matrilocal residences develop as the sis- do not have a single residence pattern; rather, where
ters bring their husbands to live with them. people live varies over time. Among some Inuit (Es-
Ambilocal and bilocal patterns are most common in kimo) peoples, often couples lived neolocally in the
societies in which inheritance of important resources summer and patrilocally in the winter. For another,
passes through both sexes and the labor of both women even within a single society, different families make
and men is important to household subsistence. Most different choices. For example, China’s industrial econ-
hunter-gatherers have one of these two patterns. As omy is growing at a staggering rate, and its residence is
explained in Chapter 6, most families in a foraging transforming from the pre-twentieth-century patrilocal
band need or want to maintain access to several territo- pattern to a neolocal pattern. Yet many rural couples
ries, so the rights to gather and hunt in a particular live with the husband’s family, and even many young
area are flexible. Nuclear families may live off and on urban couples live with relatives because of housing
with the husband’s and wife’s bands, depending on shortages and the (ever-weakening) obligation to sup-
sentimental ties or short- or long-term availability of port one’s elderly parents.
resources. If all or most couples do this, the result Lest the subject of postmarital residence seem triv-
is bilocal residence. Or, the couple may settle with ial, notice that patrilocal residence has the effect of iso-
whichever parental family has the most resources or lating an in-married wife and daughter-in-law in the
with whichever they have good relations, leading to household that includes a set of brothers and their
ambilocality. wives. Notice that matrilocal keeps sisters together.
Modern industrialized nations are usually neolocal What effects might these two patterns have on women’s
for two major reasons. First, job availability forces abilities to control their own lives and make their own
many couples to move away from the place where choices?
they were born and raised. This is especially true for
“upwardly mobile” couples seeking higher incomes,
Residence and Households
better opportunities, and the more materially rewarding
lifestyle valued by many. Second, in industrialized Other reasons exist for our interest in residence pat-
countries, most workers do not rely on their family con- terns. One is that they affect the kinds of family rela-
nections for access to their livelihood but instead sell tionships that are most important in a human
their labor on an impersonal market to an employer community.
they have never met. In other words, most ordinary A moment’s reflection reveals that both matrilocal
citizens do not inherit productive property from their and patrilocal residences place a new nuclear family
parents and do not rely on their parents for their liveli- (usually created by a new marriage) with one set of
hood. This leads most couples to establish independent relatives rather than the other set. In turn, whom a
domiciles free from parental control and interference. newly married couple lives with influences whom
The result is neolocal residence and an emphasis on they will cooperate with, share property with, feel close
nuclear family ties. to, and so forth. If postmarital residence is patrilocal,
Although control over resources and form of inheri- for instance, then the husband lives with and works
tance are important overall influences, no single factor with his own consanguineous relatives (his father and
“determines” postmarital residence. For instance, if brothers, paternal uncles and cousins through his
most couples rely on the wife’s family for access to father). The wife is likely to cooperate in household
the resources they need to survive and raise children, chores, gathering, gardening, and doing other tasks
then most couples will live with the wife’s family and with members of her husband’s family, more than
matrilocal residence will be the pattern. But a multitude with her own.
of other factors also affect residence choices. In fact, in Postmarital residence also affects the relatives with
some societies, even though women have much control whom children are most likely to develop strong emo-
over land, residence is not matrilocal because these tional bonds. If residence is matrilocal, for example,
other factors are locally more important than keeping then the children of sisters (who are cousins through
their mothers) live together in a single household about relationships among individuals.) Possibly,
(much like biological sisters and brothers) and are though, those who think the nuclear family is somehow
likely to view their relationship as being like real sib- “basic” believe this only because they live in a society
lings. The children of brothers, on the other hand, will in which a couple and their offspring are the most visi-
live in different households and are less likely to play ble family form.
together and develop strong emotional attachments. There is another view: that the “basic unit” of kinship is
Most important, the prevailing form of residence a woman and her offspring. People who think this point
affects the kinds of household and family units that out that fathers are more frequently separated from their
exist among a people. Consider neolocal residence, children than mothers. Fathers may separate temporarily
for example. If all or most newlyweds set up their or permanently for many reasons. In subsistence econo-
own households, distinct from and independent of mies, men may be absent for long periods hunting, herd-
that of either of their parents, then a new household ing, trading, raiding, or carrying out other duties. In
and family unit is established with each new marriage. communities—and in modern countries—where most
This pattern emphasizes the social and economic families depend on wage labor, husbands/fathers may
importance and independence of nuclear families take jobs in distant cities or countries for many months
because mothers and fathers—and not more distant or even years. The money they send back to their families
relatives—are most likely to be the main teachers of at home (called remittances) is surprisingly large: in 2004,
their children and breadwinners for the household. around 10 million migrants (predominantly men) from
Of course, most couples maintain relationships with Mexico and other Latin American countries remitted $30
their parents, siblings, and other relatives, but neolo- billion to their home countries.
cal residence tends to lead to an emphasis on nuclear Historically, male absence for extended periods was
families as the most culturally important and stable especially common in regions that were colonies of a
family unit. major world power. In sub-Saharan Africa, especially,
In the United States, marital residence has economic European colonial powers imposed taxes on men or
consequences. Since the last half of 2007, falling real introduced new commodities that soon became virtual
estate prices and homeowner defaults on their mortgage necessities, such as kerosene lanterns, nails, metal
payments contributed to the severe recession. Even tools, and cooking utensils. In order to earn money to
homeowners who continued their payments fretted meet expenses, married men went to work for foreign
that they would not make as much money when they companies on distant diamond or gold mines or left
sold their houses as they had anticipated from past their families to work on plantations owned by Eur-
experience or forecasts. If loan defaults can have such opeans. This pattern continues in much of Africa and
widespread effects on the housing market and the econ- other regions even today. For the families left behind,
omy, think of what would happen to the construction the result is the matrifocal family, where a mother
industry and home prices if large numbers of newly (with or without a husband) bears most of the burden
married Americans began moving in with one of their of supporting her children economically and nurturing
parents—thus practicing some form of residence other them emotionally and intellectually.
than neolocal. Matrifocal families occur in modern industrial soci-
eties as well, whenever households are “female-
∏
headed,” as the U.S. Census Bureau calls them. About
Family and Household Forms half of all African American children live in households
with a female head. Some say that matrifocal families
People use relationships created by marriage and family are an important cause of poverty, crime, and other
ties to create different kinds of households, some as social problems today. Adult men would act more
small as a mother and her children, others composed responsibly if they had jobs that supported their nuclear
many dozen members. families, they say. Sons need male role models and
Matrifocal Households |
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
||
matrifocal family Family group consisting of a mother

Some people believe that the nuclear family is the basic
and her children, with a male only loosely attached or not
unit of kinship. (Notice that “individuals” cannot be the
present at all.
basic unit of kinship because kinship is inherently
= =
= = = = = = = = = =
(a) The patrilocally extended household (b) The matrilocally extended household
= = = = =
= = = = = = = =
A B C D
=
(c) The bilocally extended household (d) The avunculocally extended household
(individuals A, B, C, D are assumed to be unmarried)
Figure 8.2 Household Forms. The shaded individuals are members of a single household.
supposedly find them elsewhere if their fathers are not remain in the household of their parents. Sometimes,
around. Mothers would be much better mothers if they each son builds his own house on his parents’ land,
didn’t have to struggle so hard to pay the bills. near their dwelling, but they cooperate with one another
In modern nations, it is true that poor families are and pool or share resources. As they grow up and
more likely to be female-headed than affluent families. marry, the daughters leave to live with their husbands’
But this does not mean that matrifocal households are a parents. If all the sons and daughters of a couple do
significant cause of poverty and other social ills. Matri- this, the resulting household type is called patrilocally
focal families are also a consequence of poverty: lack extended—brothers live in a single household with their
of job skills or other factors lead to high unemployment own nuclear families and parents (see Figure 8.2a). If
among men, causing many women to decide that hav- all families in the village, town, or other settlement fol-
ing a permanent male presence is too costly. Female- low this pattern, then the settlement consists of patrilo-
headed households in the United States and elsewhere cally extended households. Notice that the residents of
are not necessarily the result of men’s refusal to act each household are related to one another through
responsibly or of women’s moral choices: they also males. The married women of the community live scat-
are adaptations that people make to their economic tered in the households of their husbands. Perhaps
and social environment. many of them have married out of the community
altogether.
Extended Households The converse occurs with matrilocal residence. The
Extended families are made up of related nuclear fami- mature sons leave as they marry, and the daughters
lies. Because the related nuclear families usually live in bring their husbands to live with them in or near their
a single household, here we use extended family and parents’ households. The household type formed by the
extended household as synonyms. Extended households co-residence of daughters and sisters with their parents
typically include three and sometimes four generations is called the matrilocally extended household (see
of family members. Figure 8.2b). The sons of an elderly couple are scat-
Many anthropologists think that the form of family tered in the households of the women they have mar-
(household) that is prevalent in a society depends on ried, either in their own home community or in another
its postmarital residence pattern. For example, with community. If most people follow this residence pat-
patrilocal residence, the married sons of an older couple tern, then the community consists of households lived
in by women related through females, plus their hus- their sister’s sons. This is called the avunculocally
bands and children. extended household (see Figure 8.2d). It includes men
The same relationship between residence and prevalent (and their wives and children) who are related to one
household form applies to the other residence patterns. another through women (their mothers). Avunculocal
With bilocal and ambilocal residence, there is no consis- residence might seem odd, but it is a product of how
tency in whether households are made up of people related people keep track of their kinship ties and property
through males or females. Some couples live with the ownership (see Chapter 9).
husband’s family, others with the wife’s family. The We can now see another reason postmarital residence
household type is bilocally (or bilaterally) extended (see patterns are important: they give rise to various household
Figure 8.2c). The community’s households are a mixture and family forms. The kinds of family and domestic
of people related through both sexes, in roughly equal groups found among a people result from where newly
frequency. With neolocal residence, the settlement—be formed families go to live. Stated differently, the preva-
it village or modern suburb—consists of relatively small lent household type in a human community represents the
domestic units made up of nuclear families. crystallization of the pattern of postmarital residence. And
The avunculocal residence pattern associates nuclear who lives with whom—the household type—is important
families with the husband’s mother’s brother. If every- because households so often hold property in common,
one resided this way (which they usually do not), then cooperate in production and other economic activities,
the settlement would consist of households composed enculturate children together, and sometimes even wor-
of older men (the household heads) and the families of ship the same ancestral spirits.
Summary
1 Discuss the main theories of the culturally cornerstone of alliances between families or larger kin
universal incest taboo. Incest taboos are rules that groups, as illustrated by the Yanomamö. The levirate
regulate who may have sex with whom. The taboo is and sororate are customs that preserve affinal relation-
more puzzling than it seems, and there are four main ships even after the death of a spouse.
hypotheses that try to account for it: “Marry Out or Die
4 Describe patterns of marriage exchanges and
Out,” “Peace in the Family,” “Inbreeding Avoidance,”
the rationale behind them. New marriages are usu-
and “Familiarity Breeds Disinterest.”
ally accompanied by the exchange of goods or services
2 Analyze why marriage is so difficult to define between the spouses and the families of the bride and
cross-culturally. The wide diversity in marriage groom. The most common forms of marital exchange
customs and beliefs makes marriage difficult to define, are bridewealth, brideservice, and dowry. These
but there is some agreement on its major functions for exchanges are used to create affinal relationships,
both individuals and societies. Some form of marriage compensate a family or larger kin group for the loss of
is nearly universal, although the particular form of one of its members, provide for the new couple’s sup-
marriage, the kinds of rights and duties it establishes, port, or provide a daughter with an inheritance that
and many other aspects of the marital relationship vary. helps her attract a desirable husband.
The Nayar and Tiwi illustrate unusual forms of mar-
5 Discuss the types of postmarital residence and
riage, and the Musuo of southern China seem to have
some influences on them. Postmarital residence
no marriage at all.
patterns refers to where newly married couples estab-
3 Describe the major forms of marriage and the lish their residence. From most common to least com-
leading ideas about their causes. Marriage systems mon, the patterns are patrilocal, matrilocal, ambilocal,
are commonly classified by the number of spouses an bilocal, neolocal, and avunculocal. There are many
individual is allowed: polygyny, monogamy, and influences on which of these forms will be most prev-
polyandry, in order of relative frequency. There are alent in a given community, including economic forces
many plausible explanations for why various peoples and inheritance patterns. But no single factor is ade-
develop one or another marriage form, but no single quate to explain the cross-cultural variation in residence
explanation seems sufficient. Marriage is often the patterns.
6 Describe the main household forms and ana- and domestic groups in a community arise out of
lyze the main influences on them. Anthropologists many couples living with one or another set of
study postmarital residence patterns mainly because relatives. Patrilocally, matrilocally, bilocally, and
where a newly married couple goes to live influences avunculocally extended families are often interpreted
which kinship relationships are most emphasized in a as the crystallization of postmarital residence
society. In particular, the prevalent forms of family patterns.
Media Resources
9 KINSHIP AND DESCENT
All the world’s cultures

recognize and keep
© William Albert Allard/NGS/Getty Images track of relationships
between family mem-
Introducing Kinship Nonunilineal Descent
bers, but they do so in
Why Study Kinship? Cognatic Descent several ways. This is an extended family
Cultural Variations in Kinship Bilateral Kinship in Mumbai (formerly "Bombay"), India.
Unilineal Descent Cultural Construction of

Kinship
Unilineal Descent Groups
Logic of Cultural Constructions
Descent Groups in Action
Varieties of Kinship Terminology
Avunculocality Revisited
Why Do Terminologies Differ?
191
Learning Objectives
1 Discuss why kinship relationships are important in forming groups and
organizing activities in so many premodern cultures.
2 Describe the two main forms of unilineal descent and the kinship groups that
result from them.
3 Describe the two main forms of nonunilineal descent.
4 Elaborate on the cultural construction of kinship, and explain the wider
associations of four of the major terminological systems.
Humans are among the most social mammals. We are kinds of activities. For example there are economic
born into, live with, and die among other people. groups (small businesses, corporations), religious
Young children rely on parents and other adults for groups (churches, synagogues, mosques, temples), and
the food, shelter, protection, and socialization needed educational groups (schools, colleges). Each of these
to raise them to social maturity. Even as adults, we groups organizes different realms of our lives, and indi-
rely on cooperation with others for survival, economic viduals belong to several such groups and associations.
well-being, and emotional gratification. When we die, Some groups are formal, meaning its members are
relatives, friends, and coworkers mourn our passing. organized as a group, with officers, membership crite-
Social groups based on kinship are those whose ria, explicit goals, rules, and so forth. You might
members culturally recognize themselves as biologi- belong to formal groups such as a university, conserva-
cally related according to some principle. In this chap- tion organization, church, political party, and business.
ter, we cover how kinship relationships are used in a At the same time, you are active in informal networks
variety of ways by different peoples to organize rela- made up of fellow students, neighbors, friends, and per-
tionships and create cooperative groupings. We also haps coworkers if you socialize with them after work.
describe some of the main ways that members of dif- The members of your social network do not necessarily
ferent societies culturally construct their kinship sys- have any relationship to one another, but you have per-
tems and kinship terminologies. sonal relationships with each of them as individuals.
Notice two important characteristics of these groups
∏
and networks. First, they are voluntary: if your interests
Introducing Kinship change, or if you find another group or network that
satisfies you more, you are free to change jobs,
Like relationships established by marriage and family/ churches, neighborhoods, and friends. Second, for the
household forms, relationships and groups defined by most part, the groups have nonoverlapping member-
kinship organize a variety of tasks and activities. The ship: each typically consists of a different collection
kind of tasks and activities, and the kinds of relation- of people. We cooperate and interact with different
ships and groups, vary from people to people, as you individuals in the various groups to which we belong.
have come to expect. Members of each group have varying and sometimes
contradictory expectations about how we should
behave because we perform different roles in each.
Why Study Kinship?
Our behavior differs according to the identity and
Why are anthropologists concerned with kinship? In expectations of the particular persons (the social con-
Western society and that of developed nations, kinship text) we are associating with at the moment—we act
relationships certainly are important in individuals’ one way at home, another at church, and yet another
lives. But, compared to many other peoples that anthro- at work. Fortunately, our fellow church members sel-
pologists work among, kinship is not an important dom observe how we act on the job.
organizing principle of society as a whole. Instead, dif- In contrast, among many indigenous peoples, one
ferent kinds of specialized groups organize different lives with, works with, socializes with, and often
192
Chapter 9 KINSHIP AND DESCENT g 193
worships with the same people, most of whom are rela-

tives. Kin groups and kin relationships are multifunc-
tional, meaning that the same groups organize many
aspects of peoples’ lives, such as who cooperates in
work, who owns which lands, who carries out rituals
together, and who quarrels with whom. We could not
understand modernized nations without knowing about
businesses, schools, churches, governments, and laws.
Similarly, we cannot understand how kinship-based so-
cieties work without understanding their kinship groups
and relationships.
Cultural Variations in Kinship

In over a century of studying kinship systems and ana-
lyzing their role in cultures, anthropologists have dis-
covered surprising variations. Among the most
important variations are the following.
© James Peoples
Ways of Tracing Kinship Ties
In most of North America and Europe, people believe
they are related equally and in the same way to the
extended families of both their mother and father. Par- One way kinship systems vary is in whether the most im-
ticular persons develop closer ties with one or another portant relationships are traced through males, females, or
side of their family according to circumstances and per- both sexes. On this Micronesian woman’s home island,
sonal preferences, such as whether only one set of relationships through females are emphasized.
grandparents live nearby. But there is no systematic
cultural pattern of feeling closer to or socializing with
relatives according to whether they are paternal or but must show utmost respect toward his paternal
maternal kin. uncle; and in which people are expected to marry one
In many other parts of the world, people place pri- kind of cousin but are absolutely forbidden to marry
mary importance on one side of the family—either the another kind of cousin. In brief, many social behaviors
paternal or the maternal side—in preference to the toward relatives that members of one culture regard as
other. For example, in many cultures, individuals normal are different in other cultures.
become members of only their father’s kin group. In
such systems, relatives through one’s mother are con- Cultural Construction of Relatives
sidered kin, but kin of a fundamentally different and Except for fictive kinship (see Chapter 8), kinship
less important kind than paternal relatives. There are relationships are created through biological reproduc-
also systems in which kin groups are organized around tion. When a woman gives birth, her relatives and those
maternal relationships, and paternal kin are culturally of her mate become the biological relatives of the child.
deemphasized. The kinship relationship between any two people
appears to depend on how these individuals are related
Normative Expectations of Kin Relationships biologically.
The kinds of social relationships a people believe they Yet anthropologists claim that kinship is a cultural—
should have with various kinds of relatives are part of as opposed to a biologically determined—phenomenon.
the norms of kinship. Kinship norms are surprisingly Peoples differ in how they use the biological facts of
variable from people to people. There are societies in kinship to create groups, allocate roles, and classify
which brothers and sisters must strictly avoid one relatives into various kinds. In North America, whether
another after puberty; in which sons-in-law are not sup- a woman is our maternal or paternal aunt makes no
posed to speak directly to their mother-in-law; in which difference: we still call her aunt and think of both our
a boy is allowed to joke around with his maternal uncle maternal and paternal aunts as the same kind of
relative. But the side of the family makes a difference relationships, and (2) by emphasizing some kinds of kin-
in some other kinship systems, where the father’s sis- ship relationships and deemphasizing others. All peo-
ters and mother’s sisters are considered different kinds ples use the first method, or they would recognize tens
of relatives and are called by different terms. A peo- of thousands of relatives. In the West, most people have
ple’s kinship system is, in part, culturally constructed. little reason to keep track of relatives more distant than
Keeping this overview of kinship diversity in mind, second cousins because there is so little interaction with
let’s look at kinship in more detail. them. (As an exercise, try to name your second cousins.)
Many peoples also use the second method: they place
∏
more importance on some relatives than on others. The
Unilineal Descent most common way of doing this uses the sex of con-
necting relatives as the basis for defining which kin are
Consider what it means to be consanguineous relatives. close or most socially important. For example, if a given
If “kin” are defined in strictly biological terms, then culture places more importance on relatives traced
someone is your relative because you and that person through males, then individuals will think that their
share a common ancestor in an earlier generation. Thus, father’s relatives are more important than their mother’s
your sister is the female child of your parents, your relatives—for some purposes at least. Relationships
aunts and uncles are the children of your grandparents, through females will be deemphasized and perhaps for-
your first cousins are the grandchildren of your grand- gotten in two or three generations. If you lived in such a
parents, and your second cousins have the same great- culture, your second cousins on your father’s side might
grandparents as you. Stated differently, people are bio- be quite important relatives, but you might barely know
logical relatives if they are descended from a common your second cousins through your mother.
ancestor who lived some number of generations ago. Culturally speaking, then, kinship relationships are
Notice that you are descended from 4 grandparents, defined by how people trace (keep track of) their
8 great-grandparents, 16 great-great-grandparents, and descent from previous generations. How people in a
32 great-great-great-grandparents. Everyone alive today given culture trace their descent is called their form
who is descended from these 32 people is related to you of descent. Descent can be traced through males,
to some degree. Going back in time, the number of females, or both sexes.
your ancestors doubles every generation. So, even if Cultures that trace relationships through only one
you count back only four or five generations, you sex have unilineal descent: people place importance
have an enormous number of living biological relatives on either their mother’s ancestral line or their father’s
descended from those ancestors. This is why it’s not a ancestral line, but not both. The two main categories of
big deal if you are descended from George Washington unilineal descent are:
or another founding father or mother.
1. Patrilineal descent—People trace their primary
Obviously, no society keeps track of all biological
kinship connections to the ancestors and living
kin. From the total range of potential relatives, all cul-
relatives of their father. In cultures with patrilineal
tures consider some as more important than others.
descent, a person’s father’s relatives are likely to be
The number of relatives is reduced in two main ways:
most important in his or her life. Individuals are
(1) by forgetting or ignoring the more remote kinship
likely to live among their father’s kin, and most
property is inherited by sons from fathers.
|
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
||
2. Matrilineal descent—People trace their most impor-
form of descent How a people trace their descent from
previous generations. tant kinship relationships to the ancestors and living
relatives of their mother. In matrilineal descent, it is
unilineal descent Descent through “one line,” including
patrilineal and matrilineal descent.
the mother’s relatives who are most important in a
person’s life. People are most likely to live with or
patrilineal descent Form of descent in which indivi-
near their mothers’ relatives and usually inherit prop-
duals trace their most important kinship relationships
through their fathers.
erty from their mother or mother’s brothers.
matrilineal descent Form of descent in which indivi- Of these two forms of unilineal descent, patrilineal is
duals trace their primary kinship relationships through the most common. There are about three times as many
their mothers. patrilineal as matrilineal cultures.
Patrilineal kin of Ego

Founder = =
= = = = =
= = = = = Ego = = = = =
Figure 9.1 Patrilineal Descent.
Let’s look at each form of unilineal descent more receive land rights. Your mother’s father would pass
closely to see which relatives are considered most im- his property on to his sons and sons’ sons—not to
portant for an individual. In Figure 9.1, the patrilineal you because you are related to him through his daugh-
relatives of the person labeled Ego are shaded. The kin- ter, not his son. A similar distinction would exist be-
ship diagram shows that Ego’s patrilineal kin include tween paternal and maternal uncles: paternal uncles
only those relatives related to Ego through males. For would be far more important.
instance, Ego’s father’s brother’s children are related to In patrilineal kinship systems, individuals have
Ego through males, whereas Ego’s other first cousins greater obligations to patrilineal relatives. People
(through Ego’s mother or father’s sister) are not. know their mother’s family, of course, and often have
Looking at patrilineal descent another way, we see close emotional ties with them depending on residence
that Ego’s patrilineal kin include all the people des- and individual circumstances. But one’s primary duties
cended through males from the man labeled Founder are to relatives through the father, not through the
in Figure 9.1. In fact, any two individuals shaded in the mother. For example, if you are a man, you mainly
diagram are related to each other through males. work the land or care for the livestock of your father’s
Women as well as men are patrilineal kin. But because family, you remain with or near your father’s house-
incest and exogamy rules usually prohibit sex and mar- hold through most of your life, you are obliged to
riage between patrilineal relatives, the children of the care for your parents in their older years, and so forth.
women are not patrilineal kin. Because most patrilineal peoples are also patrilocal,
How does patrilineal descent affect behavior most often a woman leaves her own family when she
between different relatives? In all sorts of ways, but marries to join her husband’s family. In regions like
the most widespread and important effects are the in- East Asia and most of South Asia, families who had
heritance of property and obligations to relatives. In daughters brought them up only to have them leave
patrilineal societies, property is passed down through upon marriage, so a great many families preferred
the male line or, in other words, from fathers to sons. male children to female children. The Globalization
We can see the significance of this effect by contrasting box discusses some consequences of the preference
it with inheritance in North American society. You for sons in China’s recent history.
think of yourself as related in the same way to both In contrast, if you lived in a matrilineal society, your
your grandfathers. But if you lived in a patrilineal soci- most important relatives would be your mother,
ety, your father’s father would play a far more signifi- mother’s mother, mother’s mother’s mother, plus the
cant role in your life, and it would be from him and daughters of all these women and their children. In Fig-
your father that you would expect to inherit wealth or ure 9.2, Ego’s matrilineal relatives are shaded. Note
Matrilineal kin of Ego

= = Founder
= = = = =
= = = = = Ego = = = = =
Figure 9.2 Matrilineal Descent.
that only one set of cousins—Ego’s mother’s sisters’ and your father’s brothers’ children. People are cross
children—is shaded in the diagram. They are all related cousins if their parents are siblings of the opposite
to Ego through female links, and therefore Ego is likely sex, so your cross cousins are your father’s sisters’ chil-
to have closer relationships with them than with other dren and your mother’s brothers’ children. The signifi-
cousins. Property is most likely to be inherited from cance of this distinction is that in unilineal descent
one’s mother and maternal grandmother and from the systems, one set of parallel cousins always belongs to
brothers of these women. In matrilineal societies, men the same kin group as Ego, as you can see by contrast-
usually leave most of their property not to their own ing the cousins shaded in Figures 9.1 and 9.2. On the
children but to their sister’s children. As a result, ma- other hand, no cross cousin is ever in Ego’s kin group
ternal uncles (mother’s brothers) are important figures in a society with a unilineal descent form.
in one’s life, and in some respects they assume the role
with its rights and duties that we usually associate with
Unilineal Descent Groups
fathers.
In unilineal descent systems, relationships such as In Chapter 8, we saw how various peoples form house-
aunt, uncle, and cousin differ from those to which hold groups by associating nuclear families together in
most of our readers are accustomed. Some cousins, in patterned ways. Much larger kin groups of people—
particular, are more important relatives than other cou- also known as descent groups—can be established
sins: father’s brothers’ children in patrilineal systems, on the basis of kinship ties.
mother’s sisters’ children in matrilineal systems. Not all Take matrilineal descent, for example. A matrilineal
cousins are culturally perceived as the same kinds of descent group exists when people who are descended
relatives in unilineal societies. This fact leads anthro- from the same woman through females recognize their
pologists to distinguish between parallel cousins and group identity and cooperate for some purposes. When a
cross cousins. Two sets of cousins are parallel cousins matrilineal rule of descent establishes a group of people
if their parents are siblings of the same sex, so your all related to one another through females, we say that
parallel cousins are your mother’s sisters’ children the group is created using the matrilineal principle. We
can state the matrilineal principle as “everyone joins the
descent group of his or her mother.” Alternatively, we
|
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
||
can say, “only children of the female members of a
descent group A group whose members believe them- group become members.” Looking back to Figure 9.2,
selves to be descended from a common ancestor.
we see that all the individuals in the diagram are
members of a single descent group. The children of the

group’s men join the descent groups of their own
mothers because of incest and exogamy rules.
Conversely, groups can develop by repeated appli-
cation of the patrilineal principle: In any given genera-
tion, only males transmit their membership in the group
to their offspring. The result of applying this principle
for several generations is a group of people related to
one another through males, as you can see in Figure
9.1. Assuming the patrilineal kin group is exogamous,
the children of the group’s women become members of
their father’s patrilineal group.
A unilineal descent group is a group of relatives
all of whom are related through only one sex. A matri-
lineal descent group is a group whose members are (or
© Jeffrey L. Rotman/Peter Arnold/Photolibrary

believe themselves to be) related through females, or
who trace their descent through female links from a
common female ancestor. A patrilineal descent group
comprises people who trace their descent through males
from a common male ancestor.
Unilineal descent groups can be small or enormous,
depending mainly on the genealogical depth of the
group—that is, on how far back in generational time
any two members of the group must go to trace their
In patrilineal societies, relationships traced through males can
relationships to each other. A small matrilineal group
be used to form large groups of people, such as lineages and
with a few dozen members might consist of people clans.
descended matrilineally from a woman who lived four
or five generations ago. A large matrilineal group with
many hundreds of members might consist of people
who trace their ancestry back to a woman who lived must be able to state how they are related to one an-
nine or ten generations ago. Anthropologists often use other for anthropologists to call the group a lineage.
genealogical depth as a way to define different kinds of Lineages may be either patrilineal (patrilineages) or
unilineal groups. From “shallowest” to “deepest,” these matrilineal (matrilineages), depending on the form of
groups are called unilineally extended families, descent prevalent among a given people.
lineages, and clans. (There are other types, but they Clans are unilineal descent groups whose members
are not discussed here.) believe they are descended from a common ancestor
Unilineally extended families consist of people through either the male line (patriclans) or the female
who cooperate and have mutual obligations based on
their descent from an ancestor who lived only three or
|
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
||
four generations ago. Extended families may be defined
unilineal descent group A group of relatives, all of
either patrilineally or matrilineally. Such families may
whom are related through only one sex.
or may not live in the same household (see Chapter 8),
but they recognize their close ties, may hold common unilineally extended families Family grouping formed
by tracing kinship relationships through only one sex,
property, may cooperate in work, and may have shared
either female or male, but not both.
ritual responsibilities.
Lineages are unilineal groups composed of several lineage A unilineal descent group larger than an
extended family whose members can actually trace how
unilineally extended families whose members are able
they are related.
to trace their descent through males or females from a
common ancestor who typically lived four or five or clan A named unilineal descent group, some of whose
members are unable to trace how they are related, but who
more generations in the past. By the conventional defi-
still believe themselves to be kinfolk.
nition, the extended families that make up the group
Globalization PATRILINEALITY AND GLOBALIZATION IN CHINA
C
hina has one of the world’s oldest civilizations, Chinese trade with the West and Japan intensified in the
going back at least to the Shang dynasty of about 1800s and 1900s. It did not improve the lives of most of China’s
3,500 years ago. For most of this history, the Han peasants. After decades of political disorder and poverty, in 1949
Chinese, the most numerous cultural/ethnic and linguistic Chairman Mao Zedong’s Communist forces won a civil war. The
group, were rather rigidly patrilineal and patrilocal. Property Chinese Communist Party soon instituted government ownership
inheritance, family names, responsibilities to honor ances- of land and most other productive property. Chairman Mao’s
tors, obligations to others—all these and more passed from reforms helped China become more independent of Western
fathers to sons. When their parents arranged their marriages dominance. He also helped restore law and order and undertook
with a suitable man and his family, women left their own specific policies to improve the lives of women. To aid the goal
homes and families. When they moved into their husband’s of socialist development, the Chinese government placed great
family, they became subject to the authority of his parents emphasis on public education for both sexes.
(as was he) and worked hard to keep the family prosperous In the last half of the twentieth century, the lives of women
(as did he). A woman was not completely separated from her (relative to those of men, at least) improved substantially. This
own biological family. A wife was allowed to visit her par- happened even in rural areas, according to anthropologist Yun-
ents and brothers, provided it was not too often and she xiang Yan. Young women have a stronger voice in choosing
didn’t remain too long. their husbands and now usually make the final decision about
However, a woman’s main duty was to her husband’s whom to marry, if only by vetoing her parents’ selections. Cou-
family. This was symbolized by her bowing before the ances- ples can go out together, which means that marriages are more
tral shrine and tablets of his family after they married. If he likely to be based on romantic love rather than formally arranged.
was wealthy enough to support them, a man could take con- Women’s education exposes them to new ideas and gives many
cubines into his household. His wife was not supposed to of them new economic opportunities by helping to level the play-
object provided he lived up to his obligations to support her ing field in the competition for jobs.
and her children. All these practices and beliefs were rein- After Mao’s death in 1976, his successor, Deng Xiaoping,
forced by the philosophical tradition called Confucianism. began the economic reforms that led to China’s phenomenal
Some scholars even call the above characteristics the “Confu- growth by exporting factory goods to the global economy. Chi-
cian family.” na’s powerful leaders had long realized that they had to do some-
Going along with the patrilineal and patrilocal system was a thing to reduce the rate at which the nation’s population was
strong cultural preference for sons. Girls were expensive to raise growing if China was to avoid a food crisis and develop its econ-
and could not carry on the family name. The resources and time omy. In 1979, they instituted a law that became known as the
expended on a girl’s childhood usually brought little return when “one-child policy.” Under it, couples who lived in cities could
she married out. Chinese strongly desired male children. In fact, have only one child. Generally, in rural areas, couples were
one reason for taking a concubine was if the wife did not produce allowed two children. The law was further relaxed for China’s
a son. The failure to bear a son was one of the seven reasons a 56 minority peoples. Knowing the continued cultural preference
man could divorce his wife, if he so desired. for sons, in practice officials in rural regions allowed a couple to
line (matriclans). The major difference between a clan animals, plants, and natural forces such as lightning,
and a lineage is generational depth. With clans, the the sun, and the moon. Clans commonly take the
common ancestor lived so far in the past that not all name of their primary totemic symbol, and thus have
the members of the clan are able to state precisely names such as the bear clan, the sun clan, the reed clan,
how they are related to one another. Like lineages, and the eagle clan. Commonly the association with par-
clans are usually exogamous. Members of the clan ticular supernatural powers entitles specific clans to or-
think of themselves as relatives and frequently refer to ganize particular religious rituals. Although the
one another as “clan brother” or “clan sister.” In many functions of clans varies from people to people, they
societies, clans own or control land and other forms of are usually among the most significant economic,
property. Generally, each clan is further subdivided into social, and political units in the society.
two or more lineages. Often people need to call upon different numbers of
Among many peoples, clans are totemic, meaning relatives for different purposes. A woman may need
that their members are symbolically identified with cer- help with her gardening chores and will ask her
tain supernatural powers associated with particular extended family members for help. Or a group may
198
try again for a boy if the first child was female. But there were than among North Americans, and this extends to parents’
penalties for having extra children: state-owned employers penal- wishes about colleges and careers. Some Chinese call the result
ized people in pay and promotions, extra fees were imposed for of the one-child policy “4-2-1”: 1 child is the center of attention
health care and education, fines could be imposed, and extreme of 2 parents and 4 grandparents. But 4-2-1 cuts both ways: the
social pressure was applied to encourage conformity. same 6 adults have such high expectations for success that many
Still, the old preference for sons remained. In the 1980s and children who don’t measure up feel terrible about disappointing
1990s, many couples found ways of eliminating unwanted female their older relatives. Parents care about their children’s success
pregnancies and children. These included abortions, hiding second because they love their little emperors, of course, but also
pregnancies from officials, and leaving one’s community during because they rightly expect that their children will become their
late pregnancy to have a secret baby that, if female, was often main source of support in their elder years. As Vanessa Fong
placed in an orphanage. In the 1980s and 1990s, significantly discusses in her 2004 book, Only Hope, rising expectations for
more boys than girls were born. As a consequence, projections upward mobility by both parents and children results in intense
suggest that by about 2020, China will have approximately 30 competition in schools, but also in new frustrations when rising
million more males than females. Where these men will find their hopes are not realized.
spouses is a problem that receives little Western media coverage, As is also true in Japan and South Korea, Chinese parents
but it is potentially important to China’s future stability. make large sacrifices to maximize the life chances of their chil-
The one-child policy helped lower China’s population dren. Some spend hours a week going over lessons. They try to
growth, although other factors also contributed heavily to cou- get their 6-year-olds into the best elementary schools so they will
ples’ choice to have fewer children. The policy also resulted in have a head start. They pay big bucks to send their children to
tens of millions of Chinese who have no sisters or brothers. The cram schools, which offer extra lessons after the regular school
publicity (some say “propaganda”) campaign that accompanied day that will give a leg up on the intense competition over the
the policy, along with a multitude of other factors, significantly college entrance exams. Private companies, both Chinese and
raised the status of females in China. Today, whether you have a foreign, specialize in selling educational materials to Chinese
boy or girl matters much less than it used to—what matters most families. Learning English is viewed as one key to a successful
now is that your only child receives the education that will allow future. In 2003, Disney was selling packages titled “Magic
her or him to get ahead in their careers. Many parents, along with English” and “Baby Einstein,” and Time-Warner was market-
grandparents, are quite attentive to their only son or daughter. testing a 40-CD interactive set of English lessons in Shanghai
Some Chinese call the only children “little emperors,” especially that sold for around $3,300.
if they are boys, because of what they view as extreme parental
Critical Thinking Question
indulgence.
However, unlike real emperors, children are under a lot of 1. Why do Chinese parents and grandparents seem so con-
pressure to succeed in school and to pass the national exams cerned that their children do well in school?
that lead to placement in Chinese colleges. Obligations to live SOURCES: China Daily (November 5, 2003); Fong (2004); Jackson and Howe
up to parental expectations generally are greater among Chinese (2006); Yan (2006)
need to defend itself against enemies, for which pur- in turn is a segment of a patriclan. Using this segmen-
pose they need to mobilize dozens or even hundreds tary organization, dozens, hundreds, or even thousands
of men to serve as warriors, so they call upon their of relatives can be mobilized, depending on the circum-
lineagemates or clanmates for aid. Unilineal descent is stances. The flexibility of segmentary systems makes
a useful organization for these and many other purposes them useful for many economic and political purposes
because it allows people to mobilize varying numbers (see Chapter 12).
of their relatives when they need assistance. Using one
of the unilineal descent principles, smaller kin groups
Descent Groups in Action
can be nested inside larger ones.
For example, in a patrilineal society, a nuclear fam- The preceding description is abstract. Realize that, like
ily is a part—a “segment”—of a patrilineally extended families, descent groups are made up of living people
family. In turn, the extended family is a segment of a who work in gardens, conduct rituals, teach their
larger group (a small patrilineage), while the small children, construct their dwellings, and carry out innu-
patrilineage is a segment of a larger patrilineage, which merable other activities together. When people work
199
together for common purposes, they have ways of cre- within it. One lineage of each clan is considered the
ating groups and ensuring their continuity over time; highest-ranking and senior lineage, because the
they have ways of assigning group members to roles Tikopia believe its living members are descended
and allocating tasks to them; they have ways of making (through males) from the founder of the clan.
decisions that affect the members. In a word, they are Because of its superior rank, the senior lineage also
organized. In many regions even today, descent groups has the right to select one of its male members to
and kinship relationships provide and organize a variety serve as the chief for the whole clan. Tikopian kin-
of cooperative activities. ship thus has a political dimension because authority
Two examples illustrate this. One is a patrilineal over others is gained largely through lineage mem-
people of a Pacific island who call themselves the Tiko- bership and rank.
pia. The other is the Hopi, a matrilineal Native Ameri- Like people everywhere, Tikopians believe in super-
can people of the Southwest. natural powers. These beliefs are also tied to the kin-
ship system. Each clan has specific ritual duties to
Tikopia: A Patrilineal Society perform. Each of the four clan chiefs serves as the reli-
Tikopia is a western Pacific island with only 6 square gious leader and organizer of important religious cere-
miles of land area. In the late 1920s, when Raymond monies. Each clan has its own ancestral spirits, who
Firth studied it, about 1,200 people lived on the island. were the deceased former chiefs of the clan. Each
All Tikopians belong to one of four patriclans, each clan also has its own gods, with whom its chief acts as
with its own name. Each patriclan is subdivided into intermediary.
several patrilineages, averaging 30 to 40 members. One religious duty of clan chiefs is to carry out
The members of each patrilineage trace their descent rituals that ensure the availability of food. Each of the
back to a common ancestor—the founder of the patri- four major subsistence crops is mystically associated
lineage—who lived four to six generations ago. The with one of the clans. The gods of this clan control
oldest male member of a patrilineage is usually its the crop. The clan chief performs the rituals that ensure
head. Lineages are exogamous, so the children of a the continued supply and fertility of whichever crop
lineage’s women are not members of it. “listened to” (as the Tikopia phrase it) the gods of his
What are the functions of Tikopian lineages and clans? clan. Thus, each clan—in the person of its chief—has
The lineage controls rights to land and certain other kinds ritual responsibilities toward the other three clans. A
of property. Each lineage owns house sites and several patrilineage, too, has an ancestral home with sacred
parcels of land planted in the four major crops, including shrines where its members gather to honor their
yams, taro, coconut, and breadfruit. The families of the ancestors.
lineage have the right to plant and harvest crops on lineage Tikopians exemplify the diverse functions that are
land. They cannot, however, sell, trade, or give it away to often assigned to kin groups. Patrilineages control use
members of other lineages. Thus, patrilineages own land rights to land and some other kinds of property and
and allocate use rights to parcels among their members, influence an individual’s social rank. Patriclans have
and each family acquires most of its food through farming political functions, and their chiefs carry out rituals
the land of their lineage. that Tikopians believe are essential for the well-being
Each nuclear family cultivates mainly the lineage of all islanders.
land of its husband-father. Although Tikopia are patri-
local, the female members of a patrilineage retain their Hopi: A Matrilineal Society
use rights to their own lineage’s land even after they In northeastern Arizona live a matrilineal people known
marry. When a woman marries, a parcel of the land of as the Hopi. The Hopi divide themselves into about
her lineage is divided off for the use of her nuclear 50 exogamous matriclans (some of which are now
family. A woman may not, however, pass any rights extinct). Clans are not residential groups; most clans
to this land along to her children, for it bellongs to have members who live in more than one of the Hopi’s
her patrilineage as a whole. Thus, each patrilineage al- nine pueblos. A Hopi pueblo, or village, often is a sin-
lows its married female members to use plots of land gle large apartment-like building divided into many
for subsistence during their lifetimes but not to transmit rooms in which families reside. Each clan is subdivided
rights to the land to their offspring. into several matrilineages. The female members of a
The social rank of individuals is also determined Hopi matrilineage usually live in adjoining rooms
largely by their lineage membership and their status within a single pueblo.
Traditionally the Hopi are matrilocal, so after mar- of a clan teaches his younger brothers or sister’s son
riage a man usually joins his wife, her sisters, and her the ritual knowledge they will need to know to perform
other matrilineal relatives to form a matrilocally the ceremonies properly. In this way, culturally impor-
extended household. Most Hopi extended families con- tant ritual knowledge is kept within the clan.
sist of one or more older women, their daughters As with most other matrilineal peoples, among the
together with their husbands, and sometimes even their Hopi the roles of father and husband differ from those
granddaughters and their husbands. Because of lineage in patrilineal systems. When a husband moves in with
and clan exogamy and matrilocal residence, husbands his wife and her relatives after marriage, he brings little
are outsiders, and—as the Hopi say—their real home property other than his clothing and a few personal
is with their mother’s extended family. The women of items. The house, its furnishings, the food stored there,
a matrilineage usually live close to one another and other goods remain the property of his wife’s fam-
throughout most of their lives. The married men of ily. A man provides food for himself and his family by
the matrilineage live scattered among the households working in the fields of his wife, but the products of his
of their wives. Men remain members of their mother’s farm labor belong to his wife.
lineage and frequently return to their matrilineal home Finally, the combination of matrilineal descent and
for rituals and other responsibilities or in case of matrilocal residence affects relationships between
divorce. fathers and children. A child’s relationship with her or
Most property, including ceremonial objects, is inher- his father is usually close and tolerant. A father seldom
ited matrilineally. Living space, for instance, passes punishes his own children. Culturally, this is not
from mothers to daughters. Traditionally, the Hopi considered his appropriate role because—after all—
were horticultural, skillfully working the arid land to children and fathers belong to different matrilineages
produce corn and other crops. Each lineage has use and matriclans. The father’s sisters and brothers
rights over particular parcels at any one time. The hus- likewise exhibit warm feelings for their nieces and
bands of the lineage’s women do most of the farming to nephews, often providing them with gifts and affec-
support their families, turning most of the crops over to tion. The main disciplinarians of children are their
their wives. mother’s brother and other members of their mother’s
Membership in a matriclan also establishes one’s kin group. This is partly because a child’s behavior
relationships with the supernatural world. Each clan is reflects well or poorly on the kin group of the mother,
mystically associated with a number of supernatural so members of this group have the primary duty of
powers called wuya. Clans usually take their name monitoring and correcting children.
from their principal wuya, such as bear, rabbit, corn, Hopi illustrate how the matrilineal principle recruits
badger, snake, cloud, sun, and reed. In prayers to their people into kin groups in which they perform various
wuya, members of a matriclan ask for protection and economic, political, and religious, roles. They also show
for bountiful harvests. how the form of descent found among a people influences
Hopi religion features a ritual calendar that includes interpersonal relationships, including between fathers
a large number of annually required ceremonies. In and children and maternal uncles and their nieces and
most cases, each ceremony is “owned” by the members nephews.
of a certain clan, meaning in Hopi culture that this clan Neither the Tikopia nor the Hopi “typify” patrilineal
has primary responsibility to see that the ceremony is and matrilineal kinship. A wide range of diversity
performed on time and in the proper manner. Every occurs in patrilineal and matrilineal systems. The two
clan represented in a particular village has a clanhouse, peoples do illustrate some of the main differences
in which the masks, fetishes, and other sacred items between patrilineal and matrilineal peoples with respect
used in the ceremonies it owns are kept when not in to recruitment into groups, allocation of roles, nature of
use. The clanhouse usually consists of a room adjoining emotional attachments, and organization of important
the dwelling of the senior female member of the clan. activities.
This woman, the clan mother, is in charge of storing
ritual objects and seeing to it that they are treated with
Avunculocality Revisited
the proper respect.
There is also a male head of each clan with religious Hopi women have a great deal of influence on domestic
duties. He is in charge of organizing the men of the life and control over property—land in particular. (As
clan to perform the clan ceremonies. The male head we discuss in Chapter 11, Hopi women owe their
The unmarried status of

these young Hopi
women is shown by
their hairstyle. In Hopi
villages, traditionally
the husbands of women
worked the land of their
wives’ families and
moved into their wives’
house-holds. Hopi
matrilineages and
matriclans also orga-
nize many other
economic and
ceremonial activities.
© Bettmann/Corbis
relatively high status partly to their control over land in land and common property? The answer is avuncu-
and partly to matrilineality and matrilocality.) Because local residence (see Figure 8.2d in Chapter 8). If a man’s
Hopi are matrilocal, sisters live together and their hus- maternal nephews bring their wives to live with them in
bands live apart from their matrilineal relatives for as a common residence, then the elder and young male
long as the marriage lasts. members of a single matrilineage live in a single place.
Although most matrilineal people are matrilocal, more The married women of the matrilineage are scattered
than one-third of all matrilineal societies have avunculo- among the households of their own husbands’
cal residence, in which married couples live with or mothers’ brothers. The children of the matrilineage’s
near the husband’s mother’s brother (see Chapter 8). women are likewise scattered among the households
Now that we are aware of matrilineal descent and know of their fathers, so long as they remain unmarried. But
that matrilineages and matriclans often control property, as they marry, they return to their own mother’s broth-
we can understand this unfamiliar residence pattern. ers’ households—the place of their own lineage.
The mere fact that a people are matrilineal does not In short, avunculocal residence has the effect of
necessarily mean that women control property and poli- localizing male matrilineal relatives who have a com-
tics. That is, matrilineality—descent through females— mon interest in land, wealth, or other material property
should not be confused with matriarchy—rule by and/or who share ritual responsibilities. It therefore
women or dominance by women. Even in most matrilin- makes perfect sense once we see how the matrilineal
eal societies, elder men control and make decisions principle forms kin groups that hold common prop-
about the use and allocation of land and other forms of erty, and once we realize that men have control over
wealth and have more of a say than women in public wealth and public affairs among most matrilineal
affairs. Of course, in contrast to patrilineal peoples, in peoples.
a matrilineal society, a lineage elder has authority over
∏
his sister’s children rather than his own children. This is
because a man’s children supposedly have their property Nonunilineal Descent
and loyalties with the group of their mother.
How can a male lineage elder have his sisters’ sons Once you understand how people become members of
living with or near him, where he can keep an eye on various kinds of unilineal groups, they seem simple
them, and where they can look after their own interest enough. If your society is matrilineal, for instance,
you and everyone else joins their mother’s kin groups Cognatic descent is found in all world regions, but it
and, as a consequence, everyone in your lineage or clan is especially prevalent among Polynesians, including
is related through females. Samoans, Hawaiians, Tahitians, and the Maori of
But actual social life is rarely so rule-governed. In New Zealand. Details vary from island to island, but
real societies where either unilineal principle is the generally speaking, people can join any cognatic group
norm, the actual membership of lineages and clans is or groups to which they can trace ancestry. Member-
not as well defined as the principles make them appear. ship in the group bestows rights to agricultural land,
For instance, in matrilineal systems, circumstances vary house sites, and some other kinds of property.
and change: adoptions, childless women, inability to In contrast to unilineal systems, in cognatic systems,
get along with one’s matrikin, insufficiency of land everyone potentially belongs to several groups because
owned by the matrigroup, and other factors make it everyone has the opportunity to join all the groups to
likely that some individuals will join a group other which their parents belong, and each parent is a mem-
than that of their mother. More generally, even in uni- ber of at least two groups. So, cognatic descent groups
lineal systems, there is some degree of choice about have overlapping membership. This potentially poses a
which group to join, depending on personal preferences problem for access to land and other culturally valued
and circumstances. Still, there is a norm or rule about things. For example, if all members of a group have
what “should” happen. rights to the land collectively owned by this group,
In societies with nonunilineal descent, individuals and if one-half or more of the entire population poten-
do not regularly associate with either matrilineal or pat- tially has such rights, then the “right” does not mean
rilineal relatives, but make choices about whom to live much.
with, whose land to use, and so forth. There are differ- In Polynesia, most people keep up their membership
ent forms of nonunilineal descent, two of which are in several groups simultaneously by contributing labor
most common: cognatic and bilateral. and foods to feasts sponsored by the groups and gener-
ally showing their interest in and commitment to the
groups. The islands of Samoa provide an example.
Cognatic Descent Each Samoan village has a council that plans public
Cultures with cognatic descent (also called ambilineal activities, levies fines, and performs other functions
descent) have no formal principle or rule about whether for the whole community. Each village includes several
individuals join the group of their mother or father. cognatic kin groups known as ’aiga. Although each
Some people join with their father, others with their ’aiga has branches represented in several villages,
mother, entirely or largely according to preferences every ’aiga has an ancestral village that its members
and circumstances. A cognatic descent group consists consider their homeland. In its homeland village, each
of all the individuals who can trace their descent back ’aiga has the right to select one or more of its men to
to the common ancestor (founder) of the group through hold important titles. These title holders serve as the
either female or male links. Some people have a female ’aiga’s representatives to the village council. Acquisi-
ancestor in the group; others join through male ances- tion of a title carries great honor as well as authority to
tral links. regulate use of the ’aiga’s land, resolve disputes among
More than in unilineal systems, in cognatic descent, the ’aiga’s members, organize feasts and ceremonial
people make choices about the groups they want to gifts, and assess the members for contributions to mar-
join. The choice is commonly based on factors such riages, funerals, and other events.
as chances of inheriting rights to land use or other
forms of property or wealth, the desire to associate
|
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
||
with a relative of high status or rank, childhood resi-
nonunilineal descent Form of descent in which indivi-
dence, and emotional ties. For example, you might
duals do not regularly associate with either matrilineal or
decide to reside and cooperate with your mother’s rela-
patrilineal relatives, but make choices about whom to live
tives if her kin group has a lot more land available for with, whose land to use, and so forth.
you to cultivate than does your father’s group. Or if a
cognatic descent Form of descent in which relation-
coveted political office or honorific title is about to be-
ships may be traced through both females and males.
come vacant in your father’s group, you might decide
cognatic descent group A group of relatives created by
to try to acquire it by moving in and working with his
tracing relationships through both females and males.
relatives.
© Mark Segel/Getty Images

In bilateral societies, kindred are ego-focused and usually come together only on special occasions, such as weddings,
funerals, and, as here in Maine, family reunions.
When a title becomes vacant because of death or activities, and serve as the basis for acquiring honored
some other reason, all members of the entire ’aiga and authoritative political roles. In these respects, they
have a voice in choosing the new holder of the title, are similar to the lineages and clans of unilineal sys-
whether they live in the homeland village or not. tems. But in cognatic systems, the range of individual
Because people belong to several ’aiga at the same choice about group membership is much wider than in
time, they have a voice in choosing the new title unilineal descent.
holder for several groups, although they do not nec-
essarily exercise their rights in every ’aiga to which Bilateral Kinship
they belong. Because men belong to several groups,
they have the right to compete for and gain a title in Bilateral (two-sided) kinship systems differ from uni-
these groups. A young man might anticipate a future lineal descent in that bilateral kinship relationships are
title vacancy in one of his ’aiga and decide to move traced through both genders. Individuals regard their
to the village where that ’aiga is represented on the relatives through both parents as equal in importance.
council to concentrate his energies on acquiring that Bilateral kinship differs from both unilineal and cogna-
particular title. This general kinship and village-level tic descent in that no large, well-defined, property-
political organization persists in much of rural Samoa holding groups exist. Rather than lineages and clans,
to this day. the tracing of kinship relationships bilaterally produces
The Samoan ’aiga illustrates some of the common networks of relatives known as the kindred. A kindred
functions of cognatic kin groups: They can hold prop- consists of all the people a specific person recognizes
erty and regulate access to land, organize cooperative as relatives through both sides of the family.
Bilateral kinship exists in most contemporary West-
|
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
||
ern countries, but it is also common in other parts of the
world. To understand bilateral kinship and the kindred,
bilateral kinship kinship system in which individuals
trace their kinship relationships equally through both imagine a Canadian named Liz, who recognizes her
parents. relatives through her father and mother as equivalent
and interacts with them in much the same way (unless
kindred All the bilateral relatives of an individual.
she has established strong bonds with someone because
Concept review F ORMS OF D ESCENT AND K INSHIP
Forms Defining Characteristics Associated Kin Groups

Unilineal
(a) Patrilineal through male line (patri)lineages and (patri)clans
(b) Matrilineal through female line (matri)lineages and (matri)clans
Nonunilineal
(a) Cognatic through either male or female line cognatic descent groups
(b) Bilateral equally through both parents of Ego none: members of Ego’s kindred associate
only temporarily, on Ego’s behalf
he or she lives close by, or for some other reason). The relatives through mothers than through fathers? The A
more distant the relationship, the less likely Liz is to Closer Look feature presents some of the most influen-
interact with or even know who her relatives are. The tial ideas about the causes of diversity in kinship and
only times she is likely to see many of her kindred in descent.
the same place are at events such as weddings, funerals,
∏
and family reunions. Many of Liz’s relatives do not
know one another (her cousins on her mother’s side
are unlikely to know her cousins through her father, Cultural Construction
for example). All the members of her kindred do not of Kinship
consider themselves relatives, and they certainly do not
own any common property. The only thing that ever In Chapter 2, we noted that one of the major compo-
brings them together is the fact that they are related to nents of cultural knowledge is the way a people con-
Liz. As this hypothetical example shows, a kindred is struct the real world, both natural and social. Kinship
ego-focused, meaning that each individual is the center relationships and groups are an important part of social
of his or her own set of relatives. Only you and your reality in all human cultures. Just as cultures differ in
siblings share the same kindred; your mother has a dif- the ways they trace their descent and form social group-
ferent kindred, as do your father and all your cousins. ings of relatives, so do they differ in how they place
Both unilineal and cognatic descent groups, in contrast, relatives into kinds, with labeled categories. The la-
are ancestor-focused, meaning that people are members beled categories are called Kin terms, and the way a
of a descent group by virtue of the fact that they recog- people classify their relatives into these categories is
nize descent from a common ancestor whose identity is called their kinship terminology.
known or assumed. You might think that kin terms reflect the way those
The Concept Review will help you keep track of the relatives are related to biologically (genetically). In
various forms of descent and the kinds of groups that English, this is true for some terms: mother, father, sis-
are associated with each. ter, brother, son, and daughter all define individuals
We have presented four of the major forms of descent related to you in distinct (unique) biological ways.
and kinship found among humanity. This diversity is For example, no other female relative other than your
surprising and puzzling. Surprising, because genetically sister shares your parentage (setting aside considera-
your biological relatives are determined by your parent- tions of fictive kinship, such as adoption, foster parent-
age, so why would some peoples emphasize their ing, and step relatives).
mother’s line, others their father’s line, and others both
lines equally? Puzzling, because so far no general expla- |
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
||
nation of descent and kinship has emerged, despite
kin terms The words (labels) that an individual uses to
many attempts. Asking the people themselves why refer to his or her relatives of various kinds.
they have one kind of kinship rather than another usually
kinship terminology The logically consistent system by
does not help. If you are from a bilateral society, you
which people classify their relatives into labeled catego-
will see this by trying to answer the following question: ries, or into “kinds of relatives.”
Why doesn’t your society attach more importance to
205
A closer look INFLUENCES ON KINSHIP SYSTEMS
A
nthropologists have wondered for decades why together in a single location, whereas it disperses females.
cultures have the form of kinship they do. Why Over many generations, patrilineal descent develops as a con-
are the Tikopia patrilineal, the Hopi matrilineal, sequence because men who stay together through most of their
the English bilateral? Are there any general explanations? lives tend to form close relationships and to pass ownership
So far no one has identified a single factor or even a small along to sons.
number of factors that account for why different cultures Patrilineal descent has also been viewed as a way to
develop different kinship systems. There are, however, a improve success in intergroup warfare. Examples include
number of factors that influence (as opposed to cause) which the Maring of New Guinea (see Chapter 7) and the Yano-
form of kinship a people will have. mamö of the Amazon (see Chapter 8). Patrilineal descent
One influence is how people relate to their environment. encourages male solidarity (bonding) and thereby increases
For example, about 60 percent of foraging peoples are non- male willingness to cooperate in battles, as well as decreases
unilineal. Why? Nonunilineal kinship gives individuals and the chances of male relatives becoming antagonists. Evolu-
nuclear families a lot of choice about which of their many tionary psychology (see Chapter 4) might explain patrilineal
kin relationships to activate at any given time. The Ju/’hoansi descent in these terms. Several cross-cultural studies have
(see Chapter 6) and most other foragers must adapt to sea- found an association between patrilineal descent and warfare
sonal, annual, and spatial fluctuations in wild food availabil- frequency. But exactly why this correlation exists is a subject
ity. So, it is beneficial to keep your options open by of much dispute, especially because war also is important
maximizing the number and range of people to whom you among many matrilineal peoples.
can trace kinship connections, which is done with nonunili- What sorts of factors influence the formation of matrilin-
neal kinship. Note that this influence is consistent with mate- eal descent? Some anthropologists think it is connected to the
rialist approaches (see Chapter 4). way peoples acquire their food. Matrilineal descent is more
Relationships with the environment affect other descent likely to be found among horticultural peoples than among
forms, too. About three-fourths of pastoral societies are patri- foragers or intensive agriculturalists (see Chapter 6); nearly
lineal. According to one hypothesis, nomadic herding is asso- 60 percent of matrilineal cultures are horticultural. This asso-
ciated with patrilineal descent because livestock are most ciation is probably related to the fact that women perform so
commonly owned by men, although among many peoples much of the daily subsistence work in most horticultural
wives and daughters actually care for the herds or flock day populations, as we discuss in Chapter 11.
by day. To conserve labor in protecting and moving animals A cross-cultural study by Melvin Ember and Carol
to seasonally available pastures, brothers often combine their Ember suggests that horticulture plus long-distance warfare
animals into a single herd. This is one reason ownership of or trade often leads people to develop matrilineal descent.
animals typically passes from fathers to sons. Brothers tend The reasoning is that if men are far away fighting or trading
to stay together to cooperate in herd management and look much of the time, they have less time for garden work, so
after their common inheritance; therefore, they will reside pa- women take over most of the garden labor. Women are
trilocally. Patrilocal residence associates male relatives more likely to work effectively if they cooperate with close
However, other English kin terms do not faithfully Even terms with seemingly unambiguous biological
reflect genetic relatedness. Consider uncle and aunt. referents like sister and brother are treated in varying
They refer to siblings of your parents, distinguished ways. In old China and Korea and many other places,
only by their gender. But the individuals you call aunt terms for siblings were modified by birth order, produc-
and uncle are related to you in four different ways: your ing distinctions like first brother, fourth brother, and
father’s siblings, your mother’s siblings, your father’s second sister. The Chinese and Koreans applied the
siblings’ spouses, and your mother’s siblings’ spouses. Confucian respect for elders to sibling terminology:
Note that both consanguineous and affinal relatives are the fact that elder brothers outranked younger ones
included in the English terms uncle and aunt. The was reflected in how they addressed one another.
same idea applies to some other terms: a particular Thus, a people’s kinship terminology only imperfectly
term may group together several individuals related to reflects the biological relationships among individuals.
you in different ways. Thus, grandfather and grand- More fundamentally, kin terms reflect the various norms,
mother includes both your mother’s and our father’s rights and duties, and behavioral patterns that characterize
father. First cousin refers to a wide range of people social relationships among kinfolk. Speaking broadly, col-
connected to you biologically in different ways. lapsing relatives of different kinds into a single term
206
female relatives than if they are working with or for their are related to him. But if there is about a 75 percent chance
husbands’ relatives. Also, a middle-aged or elderly couple that he is not the father of his wife’s children, then few of
will want to keep their daughters around after they marry, to his own children are genetic relatives. Therefore, it pays off
work their land and help support them in their old age. So, genetically to support his sister’s children rather than those
postmarital residence is typically matrilocal in horticultural of his wife.
cultures in which men are often absent. Matrilocality places Around one-sixth of human societies are matrilineal. Is it
a group of sisters and other female matrikin in a single likely that there are this many societies with a paternity prob-
household or village. Their brothers move away after their ability lower than 0.25? No, because this assumes that in the
marriage, and the children of these brothers develop closer matrilineal one-sixth of all societies, a woman is roughly
relationships with their mother’s family than with their three times more likely to be impregnated by a man other
father’s relatives. This ultimately leads to the tracing of than her husband. Although sexual behavior, and especially
descent through females. extramarital sexual behavior, is difficult to research, this
For evolutionary psychology (sociobiology), the most number is unrealistic.
puzzling aspect of matrilineal descent is that most men give However, evolutionary psychology can potentially help
more material support to their sister’s children than to their us understand why there are so many societies whose
own children. This is “puzzling” because ordinarily men are social organization is based on kinship. Groups that own
more closely related to their own children than to the children resources, cooperate in labor, raise children together, go to
of their sisters, and evolutionary psychology predicts that war together, and the like are most often relatives in pre-
people are more likely to help closer genetic relatives than modern societies, which is consistent with evolutionary
more distant ones. Back in 1974, Richard Alexander sug- psychology. Critics of the approach argue against this idea
gested that matrilineal descent can be explained in terms of in several ways, most notably that humans are more likely
genetic relatedness. Under some conditions, a male is more to cooperate with people they trust. We tend to trust people
likely to be more closely related to the children of his sister we know well, and whom do we know better than those we
than to the children of his wife. were raised with, regardless of whether they are our biolog-
When will an average man be more closely related genet- ical relatives?
ically to his sister’s children than to his own? The answer: As you can see, there is a lot of controversy about the
when the “probability of paternity” falls below about causes of kinship systems, and probably most anthropologists
0.25—that is, when an average man is only about 25 percent doubt that any universal explanation exists. It may be that
sure that the children of his wife are, in fact, his children. cross-cultural variations in kinship systems are influenced
The mathematics of this are outside our scope. But the idea by so many kinds of factors that no generalized explanation is
is that a man and his sister know that they have the same possible.
mother, so they automatically have some genetic relatedness
SOURCES: Aberle (1961); Alexander (1974); Divale (1974); Divale and Harris
even though there is good chance they have different (1976); C. Ember (1974), Ember and Ember (1971); Ember, Ember, and
fathers. Therefore, a man knows that his sister’s children Pasternak (1974)
reflects the cultural fact that people think of them as the culture classifies “relatives” into categories, and (2)
same kind of relative. In turn, people conceive of them as those categories do not simply reflect biological/
the same kind of relative because they have similar kinds genetic relationships. (If they did, we might be justi-
of relationships with them. fied in saying that kinship is biologically determined.)
As already described, peoples vary in the ways In fact, as we’ll see in a moment, the labeled catego-
they trace their main kin ties, in the kinds of relation- ries of kinship sometimes hardly match up at all with
ships and groups created by those ties, and in how biological relationships.
they classify relatives into labeled categories. These
variations do not perfectly reflect the degree of ge-
|
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
||
netic relatedness between relatives, so anthropologists
commonly say that kinship is culturally constructed. cultural construction of kinship The idea that the
The cultural construction of kinship implies two kinship relationships a given people recognize do not
things: (1) as children grow up in a certain commu- perfectly reflect biological relationships; reflected in the
kinship terminology.
nity, they socially learn the logic by which their
207
Logic of Cultural Constructions your father. As we know, many other cultures place
special emphasis on relationships through females
Before we can discuss particular kinship terminologies, (mothers—matrilineal) or males (fathers—patrilineal).
we need to understand the logic by which they are cul- As you suspect, this emphasis is reflected in termino-
turally constructed. By “logic” we mean the principles logical systems.
that people use to distinguish one kind of relative from These five principles are among the ones that vari-
others. There are many principles, but only five are ous peoples use to culturally construct kinship. The
relevant for our purposes. most general point is that different peoples combine
First, every kin term has a reciprocal term. For these logical principles—as you can see, they are logi-
example, the reciprocal term for grandfather is either cal possibilities—in various ways to form categories or
granddaughter or grandson. If you call a woman kinds of relatives.
mother, she will call you son or daughter.
Second, for some terms, the gender of the indivi-
duals to whom the term applies makes a difference. In Varieties of Kinship Terminology
English, gender matters for terms like brother and sis- The world’s diverse peoples have developed many ways
ter, uncle and aunt, and grandfather and grandmother. of classifying relatives into labeled categories. The classi-
Indeed, gender is the only criterion that distinguishes fication systems have names like Eskimo, Hawaiian,
the relatives just mentioned from one another. Gender Sudanese, Iroquois, Omaha, and Crow. (Don’t be misled
is irrelevant, however, for cousin. by the names of these systems. The American anthropolo-
Third, kinship terms usually reflect whether the gist Lewis Henry Morgan developed the classification sys-
individual referred to is of the same or a different genera- tem for kinship terminology in 1871. He named each
tion than Ego’s. In English, specific terms are used for system after the first people among whom he encountered
relatives in Ego’s own generation (like cousin), in Ego’s it. In fact, all the systems are found on many continents,
parents’ generation (aunt), and in Ego’s children’s gener- although four of them were named after the Native Amer-
ation (niece). In describing kinship terminologies, we call ican peoples that Morgan learned about.)
Ego’s parents’ generation the first ascending generation Here we cover only four systems: Eskimo, Hawaiian,
and Ego’s children’s generation the first descending gen- Iroquois, and Omaha. We further simplify things by con-
eration. Although the terms used in most kinship termi- sidering only terms used for consanguineous relatives in
nologies reflect generational differences, some systems Ego’s generation and in Ego’s first ascending (parental)
use terms that transcend generations. generation. To make these systems easier to understand,
Fourth, the sex of the relative who connects Ego to we translate the terms into their closest English equiva-
another relative usually matters. The distinction between lents. Keep in mind that these translations are only rough
cross and parallel cousins illustrates this logical principle: approximations and that some terms have no exact
among many peoples, mother’s brother’s daughter is English equivalents.
called by a different term than mother’s sister’s daughter.
Often, too, father’s sister and mother’s sister have differ- Eskimo
ent labels. Eskimo terminology is the easiest for English speakers
Side of the family is a fifth criterion by which kin to understand because this is the system most of us are
terminologies are constructed. In English, side of the familiar with (see Figure 9.3). In this system, Ego’s biolog-
family is irrelevant: your relatives through your ical mother is called mother, and Ego’s biological father is
mother receive the same terms as relatives through called father. These are the only two persons to whom
these terms apply. The term aunt is used for both Ego’s
father’s sister and Ego’s mother’s sister, and the term uncle
|
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
||
is used for Ego’s father’s brother and mother’s brother. The
eskimo terminology Kinship terminology system in terms brother and sister are used for only the children of
which no nuclear family kin term is extended to more
Ego’s mother and father. The term cousin is used for all
distant relatives; nuclear family members have unique
children of Ego’s uncles and aunts.
terms.
hawaiian terminology Kin terminology system in Hawaiian
which only sex and generation are relevant in defining
Hawaiian terminology uses the fewest terms (see
labeled categories of relatives.
Figure 9.4). All of Ego’s relatives in the first ascending
= = = = =
Aunt Uncle Father Mother Aunt Uncle
Ego
Cousin Cousin Cousin Cousin Brother Sister Cousin Cousin Cousin Cousin
Figure 9.3 Eskimo Kinship Terminology.
= = = = =
Mother Father Father Mother Mother Father
Ego
Brother Sister Brother Sister Brother Sister Brother Sister Brother Sister
Figure 9.4 Hawaiian Kinship Terminology.
generation are called either mother or father: the term system distinguish between parallel and cross cousins.
mother is extended to include Ego’s mother’s sister and They give their parallel cousins the same terms they use
Ego’s father’s sister, and father is extended to include for their own brothers and sisters. They distinguish
father’s brother and mother’s brother. In Ego’s own cross cousins from parallel cousins, calling cross cou-
generation, all relatives are called either brother or sis- sins by a unique term (here we translate the term as
ter. Thus, Hawaiian terminology includes no terms cousin, although obviously it has no exact English
equivalent to the English terms uncle, aunt, and cousin. equivalent).
Although the Hawaiian system extends the terms To understand the logic behind calling parallel cou-
mother and father, this does not mean that individuals sins brother and sister and cross cousins by a different
are unable to distinguish their biological parents from term, go back to the terms used for Ego’s parents’ sib-
their other relatives of the parental generation. lings. Ego’s father’s brother and mother’s sister are
called father and mother, respectively. Thus, it is logi-
Iroquois cal to call their children brother and sister. (What do
People who use the Iroquois terminology categorize you call the children of the people you call mother and
relatives very differently than the Hawaiian and Eskimo father?) Ego calls his father’s sister by a term that
systems (see Figure 9.5). The term father includes might be translated as aunt, although the indigenous
father’s brother but not mother’s brother. Mother term is often something close to “female father.”
includes mother’s sister but not father’s sister. Mother’s Ego’s mother’s brother is uncle (or “male mother”).
brother and father’s sister have their own unique terms.
Looking at Ego’s own generation, we also see a differ-
ence. The children of father’s brother and mother’s sis- |
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
||
ter are called brother and sister. The children of iroquois terminology Kinship terminology system in
mother’s brother and father’s sister are called by a which Ego calls parallel cousins the same terms as
term that might be translated as cousin. siblings, calls father’s brother the same as father, calls
Although this distinction may seem unusual to us, it mother’s sister the same as mother, and uses unique
also exists in the Omaha system, so we need to under- terms for the children of father’s sister and mother’s
brother.
stand the logic behind it. Peoples who use the Iroquois
= = = = =
Father’s Father Father Mother Mother Mother’s
sister brother
Ego
Cousin Cousin Brother Sister Brother Sister Brother Sister Cousin Cousin
Figure 9.5 Iroquois Kinship Terminology.
So, it is logical to call their children (who are Ego’s male, they would call him uncle, and therefore he
cross cousins) by another term we might translate as would call them niece or nephew.
cousin. There are other systems, but these four are the most
common and widespread. This diversity is surprising,
Omaha and some of the ways of classifying relatives are puz-
Omaha terminology is difficult for English speakers zling. Can we account for them?
to grasp (see Figure 9.6). The terms used in the first
ascending generation are identical to the terms in the
Iroquois system, and parallel cousins are called brother Why Do Terminologies Differ?
and sister. The difference between Iroquois and Omaha
is how cross cousins are treated. Omaha terminology In previous chapters, we emphasized that cultures are
has no term similar to English cousin. In addition, in integrated: one aspect “fits” with others and sometimes
makes sense only when understood in context. Kinship
Omaha terminology, a distinction is made between
cross cousins on the mother’s side (the children of terminology systems are an example of cultural
mother’s brother) and cross cousins on the father’s integration.
First, notice that the four terminologies described
side (the children of father’s sister). Mother’s brothers’
daughters are called mother, and mother’s brothers’ can be separated into two types. In the Eskimo and
sons are called mother’s brother. Thus, Ego’s maternal Hawaiian, the side of the family does not matter in
classifying relatives; in the Iroquois and Omaha, it
cross cousins are grouped with individuals in Ego’s
parents’ generation. For Ego’s paternal cross cousins, does. Stated another way, among the diverse peoples
the term depends on Ego’s sex. If Ego is a male, he who use the Eskimo or Hawaiian system, the principle
of distinguishing relatives according to the side of
calls his father’s sisters’ children niece and nephew. If
Ego is a female, she calls her father’s sisters’ children Ego’s family is irrelevant; they could recognize the dis-
son and daughter. tinction between mother’s and father’s kin, but they do
not. Among the many cultures who use the Iroquois or
Why are there two separate terms for father’s sisters’
children, depending on the sex of Ego? This distinction Omaha system, the principle of distinguishing relatives
is perfectly logical. Remember that kinship terms are according to family side is relevant. Why should the
side of the family matter in some terminological sys-
reciprocal and that Figure 9.6 shows only the terms
used by Ego. To understand why the sex of Ego is tems but not in others?
important in this relationship, ask: What would father’s As you’ve guessed, the side of the family matters in
some terminologies because some people trace their
sisters’ children call Ego? In Figure 9.6, you see that
Ego is their mother’s brother’s child. Thus, if Ego is descent through only one of their parents. The side of
female, they would call her mother, and she would the family makes no difference in other systems
because these populations trace their kin connections
reciprocate by calling them son or daughter. If Ego is
equally through both parents. In general—there are
exceptions—the way a people trace their descent
|
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
||
affects the relationships between kin, which affects
omaha terminology Kinship terminology system the terms used to refer to various kin.
associated with patrilineal descent in which Ego’s
Consider the Eskimo classification. Contrasting to
mother’s relatives are distinguished only by their sex.
other terminologies, it differs in two main ways: (1) it
= = = = =
Father’s Father Father Mother Mother Mother’s
sister brother
Ego = =
Son Daughter Brother Sister Brother Sister Brother Sister Mother’s Mother
or or brother
nephew niece
Mother’s Mother Brother Sister

brother
Figure 9.6 Omaha Kinship Terminology.
makes no distinctions between Ego’s father’s and nuclear family is submerged or embedded in larger ex-
mother’s relatives, and (2) no other relatives of any tended households. Ego should have important relation-
kind are lumped together with nuclear family relatives. ships with the siblings of his or her parents and with
Assume that these two features mirror people’s ideas their children. Despite this logic, the Hawaiian termi-
about how various kin are related. We might conclude nology is not as consistently associated with cognatic
that people think (1) that both sides of the family are or bilateral kinship as is the Eskimo terminology; in
equally important to an individual (or, rather, there is fact, about 40 percent of societies with the Hawaiian
no systematic social pattern of importance through one classification are unilineal. The Hawaiian system is
side over the other) and (2) that nuclear family relatives apparently also compatible with unilineal descent.
are somehow special and thought of differently than are And the Iroquois? Ego’s father and father’s brother
other kinds of relatives. In the case of North America, are assigned a single term, which is different from
our surnames are inherited mainly through males, but mother’s brother. Mother and mother’s sister are given
other than this, we are no more likely to have special the same term, which is not the same term that Ego uses
relationships with our kin through our fathers than for father’s sister. Thus, Ego distinguishes between
through our mothers. And, generally, the members of maternal and paternal aunts and uncles in the first
our nuclear families are special: we do not expect to ascending generation. The fact that the side of the family
inherit much, if anything, from other relatives; we usu- matters in this generation seems to imply unilineal
ally do not live in extended households; kin groups descent. And, the Iroquois system is usually found
larger than the nuclear family do not usually own prop- among peoples who trace their descent unilineally:
erty in common; and so on. about 80 percent of all Iroquois terminologies occur in
More generally, we expect the Eskimo classification unilineal descent forms. If you look back at Figure 9.5,
of relatives to be associated with cognatic or bilateral you will see that Ego classes with his own brother and
kinship. And usually it is: about 80 percent of all soci- sister the children of relatives he classes with his mother
eties that use the Eskimo terminological system have a and father. This certainly makes logical sense—if you
nonunilineal kinship system. This is because neither call someone mother, it follows that you will call her
side of the family is consistently emphasized, so people son brother. The cross cousins have a separate term
do not think of their mother’s or father’s relatives as because their parents are not classed with Ego’s own
being any different. The absence of a special relation- biological parents, which again is logically consistent.
ship with kin through either parent is reflected in the The Omaha system carries the distinctions between the
terminology. mother’s and father’s side “down” into Ego’s own gener-
What about the Hawaiian system? As in the Eskimo ation. If you compare Figures 9.5 and 9.6, you will see
system, family side is irrelevant. Logically, then, it that the Omaha differs from the Iroquois by distinguish-
ought to be associated consistently with cognatic or ing cross cousins according to whether they are related to
bilateral kinship. The fact that it lumps other relatives Ego through Ego’s mother or father. Mother, mother’s
with nuclear family members seems to indicate that the sister, and mother’s brother’s daughter are lumped
together, although they are members of different genera- Thus, terminological systems make sense once we
tions. Mother’s brother and mother’s brother’s son like- understand that they reflect the prevalent relationships
wise are lumped together under a single term. and groupings produced by various ways of tracing
What can explain this way of classifying relatives? kinship connections. The ways various people cultur-
The fact that these relatives are all related to Ego ally construct and label their relatives reflect the social
through Ego’s mother must mean something, and the realities of their kinship system, though not perfectly.
fact that they are classified together and distinguished These ways look mysterious until we understand these
only by their gender must be significant. Indeed, both classifications and labels in the context of the kinship
these features are clues to the logic behind the Omaha systems that give rise to them. The Eskimo terminology
terminology. It is found among peoples who use the used by Americans would probably look strange to
patrilineal principle to form kin groups. people who use, say, the Omaha terminology. Our fail-
How does patrilineal descent make sense of the ure to distinguish between relatives through one’s
Omaha system? In Figure 9.6, we have lightened the mother and father would be strange because to them
background around those relatives in the diagram who these relatives are clearly differentiated, given the way
belong to Ego’s own patrilineal group. Notice that the their kinship systems place people in different kin
cousins in Ego’s group are called brother and sister, groups.
which reflects the social fact that they are in Ego’s The various peoples who use one or another of these
own lineage. We have also lightened the background kinship classification systems cannot state the logic of
of those relatives who are members of Ego’s mother’s their classifications in the same way we just did. For
patrilineal group. Notice that all the members of this instance, people who use the Omaha terminology can-
latter group are assigned only two terms—one for the not tell you why they label their relatives as they do
male members of the group and one for the female because they lack a comparative perspective of their
members of the group. The two terms have no English own kinship system. To them, their mother, mother’s
translation, but they mean roughly “female member of sister, and mother’s brother’s daughter are called by the
my mother’s group” and “male member of my mother’s same term because all these women are the same kind
group.” Their common social identity as members of of relative, just as aunts are all the same kind of relative
Ego’s mother’s kin group overrides the biological fact in some other cultures. They do not realize that in
that they are members of three generations. If you have Eskimo systems these females all have separate terms;
followed the argument, you will agree that the Omaha nor are they aware that their terminology reflects the
system makes perfect sense, provided it is associated groupings and relationships of their kinship system.
with patrilineal descent forms. And, indeed, more than But then again, people who use the Eskimo system
90 percent of all cultures that use the Omaha termino- cannot account for our own classification system either
logical system are patrilineal. until, of course, they become aware of the diversity in
Another system, the Crow, is essentially the mirror human kinship systems discovered in the past century
image of the Omaha. You will not be surprised to learn by anthropologists. The way we classify kinfolk seems
that the Crow system is strongly associated with socie- quite natural until we learn that other people do it
ties that have the matrilineal form of descent. differently.
Summary
1 Discuss why kinship relationships are impor- 2 Describe the two main forms of unilineal
tant in forming groups and organizing activities in descent and the kinship groups that result from
so many premodern cultures. Many of the functions them. Although kinship derives from biological
and activities organized by specialized groups in relatedness, societies vary in their kinship systems. One
modernized, urbanized societies are organized by variation is how people trace their relationships back to
kinship groups in many premodern cutures. Kinship previous generations—in how they trace their descent.
groups often organize economic, political, military, In unilineal descent, relationships traced only through
ritual, and other activities. Kinship ties also help form a one sex are emphasized. Unilineal descent groups may
person’s social identity and determine social rank. be formed using the matrilineal or patrilineal principle,
which yields kin groups composed of people related overlap so much. Unlike unilineal descent, kindreds
through females and males, respectively. In order of are ego-focused, and large numbers of Ego’s
increasing inclusiveness and genealogical depth, the relatives are likely to congregate only on certain
main kinds of descent groups are extended families, occasions, such as weddings, funerals, and family
lineages, and clans. The avunculocal residence pattern reunions.
is understandable once we realize that it consistently
4 Elaborate on the cultural construction of
occurs in matrilineal cultures.
kinship, and explain the wider associations of four
3 Describe the two main forms of nonunilineal of the major terminological systems. A people
descent. In cognatic descent, people trace their culturally construct their kinship systems by applying
ancestry through both males and females. Cognatic logical principles in diverse ways. This application
descent groups exist that own common property and produces several systems of kin terminology, of which
cooperate in various contexts. Individuals are able to we discuss four: Eskimo, Hawaiian, Iroquois, and
join all the groups to which they can trace ancestry Omaha. Generally speaking, the ideas people have
and can choose those groups with which they want about how they are related to one another are strongly
to associate closely, as illustrated by the Samoan influenced by how the descent form of their society
’aiga. People who trace their kinship relationships sorts people into groups and establishes relationships of
bilaterally have no kin groups larger than extended certain kinds between kinfolk.
families because the kindreds of different individuals
Media Resources

Selection PDF

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Selection PDF

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

1 THE STUDY OF HUMANITY

Archaeology developed were independent—meaning that the people

© Robert Brenner/Photo Edit

melanin that once protected their ancestors turned

© Volker Steger/Photo Researchers, Inc.

The family is a funda-

Defining Marriage Postmarital Residence Patterns Pradesh.

Functions of Marriage Influences on Residence Patterns

© Annie Griffiths Belt/CORBIS

We emphasize again that both the Nayar and the

∏ Variations in Marriage Beliefs

century, when the nation was “opened up” by the Americans

© Emil Muench/Photo Researchers, Inc.

the houses of the bride and groom. Dowry thus became a

4. Bilocal—Couples move back and forth between the

Influences on Residence Patterns

matrifocal family Family group consisting of a mother

All the world’s cultures

Unilineal Descent Cultural Construction of

worships with the same people, most of whom are rela-

Cultural Variations in Kinship

Patrilineal kin of Ego

Figure 9.1 Patrilineal Descent.

Matrilineal kin of Ego

Figure 9.2 Matrilineal Descent.

members of a single descent group. The children of the

© Jeffrey L. Rotman/Peter Arnold/Photolibrary

The unmarried status of

© Mark Segel/Getty Images

Forms Defining Characteristics Associated Kin Groups

Figure 9.3 Eskimo Kinship Terminology.

Figure 9.4 Hawaiian Kinship Terminology.

Figure 9.5 Iroquois Kinship Terminology.

Mother’s Mother Brother Sister

Figure 9.6 Omaha Kinship Terminology.

You might also like