Key Terms & Concepts

• Consanguine
• Affine
• Corporate descent: Bilateral, Ambiline
• Cognitive descent: Patriline, Matriline
• Unilineal descent groups: Lineages, Clans, Phraties, Moieties
• Non-unilineal descent groups: Kindred
• Kinship terminology systems: Hawaiian, Eskimo, Omaha, Crow, Iroquois, Sudanese

Kinship

In this section, nosotros volition wait at kinship patterns. These patterns determine how we connect with others through descent and marriage. It is a basic system of social organization. Kin that are related to u.s. through descent (parent to child) are called consanguine or claret relatives. Anthropologists oftentimes hash out how many links there are between individuals. For example, between a father and a girl at that place is one link in the concatenation of familial connections. Between that girl and her sibling at that place are 2 links, one to the parent and 1 to the sibling. If that sibling had a kid and so at that place would be three links between the girl mentioned in the first case: one to the parent, one to the sibling and one to the niece or nephew. Kin that are related through matrimony are called affine. In the United States, we refer to affine every bit in-laws.

Kinship Diagrams

Anthropologists describe kinship diagrams to illustrate relationships. Kinship diagrams let cultural anthropologists to quickly sketch out relationships between people during the interview procedure. It also provides a means to visually present a culture's kinship pattern without resorting to names, which tin be confusing, and allows for anonymity for the people.

There are some basic symbols that are used in kinship diagrams. One set of symbols is used to correspond people. The other set is used to correspond relationships or connections between people.

In the diagram beneath, a circle represents a female, a triangle a male, and a foursquare represents a person cocky-identified as neither sex or both sexes.

(click on any diagram to overstate)

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To indicate that a person is deceased, a line is placed through the symbol.

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Other kinship symbols indicate relationships.

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Some anthropologists develop their own kinship symbols. This is an accepted practice as long as a key or description of the symbol is provided.

One individual, usually the informant, is designated as the starting point for the kinship diagram. This person is identified as EGO on the diagram.

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Descent Rules

Cultural recognition of children every bit kin of one or both parents is basis for the descent concept. Some societies trace through both parents (due east.k., Canada and the United States). Other societies trace descent through simply ane of the parent'south family unit line.

There are 2 basic descent systems: corporate and cognatic. Cognatic descent is also referred to as not-unilineal descent and there are two types of cognatic descent: bilateral and ambilineal. Anthropological data suggests that cognatic descent arose in cultures where warfare is uncommon and in that location is a political organization that can organize and fight on behalf of the members. In bilateral systems, children are equally descended through both parents. People from both sides of the family are considered relatives. This is the form of descent practiced in the United States.

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Ambilineal systems require children to cull either the mother or begetter's side of the family to exist reckoned relatives. Some Native American tribes use the ambilineal system. In the illustration below, if EGO chooses the father'due south side of the family, then everyone marked in blue would exist considered kin. If EGO chooses the mother'due south side, so everyone marked in orange would be considered family unit

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In corporate descent cultures only i family line is recognized as kin. The grouping typically owns property together. When family is reckoned along the father'due south line the group is patrilineal. When family is reckoned along the mother'south line the group is matrilineal. Go on in mind that this is at the cultural level. Individuals in a civilisation may call back of other people as kin even though they are non formally recognized by the civilisation itself.

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(patrilineal descent)

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(matrilineal descent)

Descent Groups

In all societies there are social groups whose membership is based on descent; members share a mutual ancestor or living relative. Descent groups help to define the pool of potential mates, the group of people who are obligated to help in economic and political issues, and may fifty-fifty dictate which religion is followed, particularly in unilineal descent groups.

Unilineal Descent Groups

Lineages trace lines of descent to the same ancestor. A matriline is traced through the mother'south family line and partrilines are traced through the father's. Ambilines are traced through either the female parent'south or begetter'south line; the option, which might be made based on friendship or availability of resources, is left open up.

Clans are groups who acknowledge a common antecedent but the verbal genealogy might not be remembered. Oftentimes, the ancestor may be and so far back in time that history becomes distorted so that the antecedent takes on heroic proportions. For instance, Native American groups take clans, an ancient lineage that is often just referred to every bit an beast (wolf, raven). Clans tin can be quite big, with a large number of people.

Phratries are groups of clans (at to the lowest degree 3 clans) who are believed to be related past kinship. There are not ordinarily economic ties between the clans.

Moieties are also linked clans; nevertheless, in this case, there are merely ii clans involved. There may exist economical ties between moieties.

Non-Unilineal Descent Groups

There is only one blazon of not-unilineal descent group, the kindred. Kindreds count all individuals from each parent as relatives. This kind of descent group is unremarkably seen where small family groups are more adaptive than large ones and individual mobility is high, e.k., industrial societies. Often, kindreds autumn apart when the unifying individual dies.

Kinship Terminology

"Cross-cultural comparisons of categories of kin terms (words used to place relatives) can sometimes reveal basic similarities and differences in worldview and feel" (Bonvillain 2010: 201). Terminology systems take a myriad of things into business relationship (although they may not take all of these things into business relationship):

• paternal vs. maternal kin
• generation
• differences in relative historic period
• sex
• consanguine vs. affinal ties
• person's descent line vs. linked
• descent line
• sexual practice of linking relative

Terminology Systems

While the bodily form of the words vary from culture to civilization, anthropologists have identified only six terminology systems.

The Hawaiian Organization. This system is the simplest in that information technology has the fewest terms. The primal distinctions are generation and gender. For case, all the males of the biological father'due south generation are chosen father, while all the females are called female parent. The Hawaiian system is common where nuclear families are dependent on other kin; the system emphasizes cohesion of the extended family. It is mutual amidst Pacific Island peoples.

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The Eskimo System. The nuclear family is emphasized in this system. Relatives outside of the nuclear family are distinguished by gender. Terms like female parent, father, sister, and brother are not used for relatives outside of the nuclear family. On the other hand, terms for aunt, uncle, cousin, granddaddy and grandmother are used for both sides of family. The Eskimo system is associated with societies where nuclear family is economically contained.

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The Omaha System. In this system, terms create a dissimilarity between paternal and maternal relatives. It is found in patrilineal societies and has a small number of terms to refer to many different kin. On the father's side of the family, members are grouped by sex and generation. On the female parent's side of the family, members are lumped by sex but; there are no generational distinctions.

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The Crow Arrangement. This arrangement is the flip side of the Omaha system. It is associated with matrilineal societies. In this system, relatives on the mother's side of the family are lumped past sex and generation, while on the father's side, people are categorized by sex only.

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The Iroquois System. The Iroquois system, found only in matrilineal societies, has dissimilar terms for maternal and paternal relatives based on sex and generation. It makes distinctions between parental siblings of opposite sexes. What this means is that any sisters the mother has are as well called mother and any brothers of the begetter are called father. Notwithstanding, brothers of the female parent are chosen uncle and sisters of the father are called aunt. Offspring of the mother'due south sis or father's brother are consider siblings, while children of the parents' siblings of the opposite sexual practice are called cousin.

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The Sudanese Arrangement. This is the largest terminology arrangement. It has a descriptive term for each relative. There are nuclear family terms as well every bit terms for both maternal and paternal uncles, aunts, and cousins. This blazon of organisation is used in cultures that have both class stratification and occupational specialization along with political complexity (Ember and Ember 2011).

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Some anthropologists recognize fictive kin (Bonvillain 2010), or people who are not relatives past descent or wedlock. This type of kin may include adopted relatives, ceremonial relatives such as godparents and occupational brotherhoods and sisterhoods.

References

Bonvillain, Nancy. 2010. Cultural Anthropology, 2^nd edition. Boston: Pearson Educational activity, Inc.

Crapo, Richley. 2002. Cultural Anthropology: Understanding Ourselves and Others. Boston: McGraw Colina College Education.

Ember, Carol R. and Melvin Ember. 2011. Cultural Anthropology, 13^thursday edition. Boston: Pearson Teaching, Inc.

Harris, Marvin and Oran Johnson. 2007. Cultural Anthropology, 7^th edition. Boston: Pearson Education, Inc.

Lavenda Robert H. and Emily A. Schultz. 2010. Core Concepts in Cultural Anthropology, 4^th edition. Boston: McGraw Hill College Education.

Rassumussen, Susan J. 1996. Tuareg. In Encyclopedia of Earth Cultures, Vol. 9., Africa and the Center E. New York: Macmillan Reference USA, p. 366-370.

Schwimmer, Brian. Turkish Kin Terms. 1995. http://www.umanitoba.ca/faculties/arts/anthropology/tutor/case_studies/turkish/turkterm.html, accessed February 24, 2015.

Schwimmer, Brian. 2001. Systematic Kinship Terminologies. http://world wide web.umanitoba.ca/faculties/arts/anthropology/tutor/kinterms/termsys.html, accessed February 24, 2015.