Kinship, Marriage, and Family Lecture Review

Flashcards covering key concepts, definitions, and examples related to kinship, marriage, and family from the lecture notes.

How did Charles Dickens describe family in Nicholas Nickleby?

Family need not be defined merely as those with whom we share blood, but as those for whom we would give our blood.

What are social systems that organize people into family groups based on descent and marriage?

Kinship

What is the socially established affiliation between members of a group based on their perceived relatedness?

Descent

How many basic kinship structures did Lewis Henry Morgan identify in the late 19th century?

Six

How many kinship structures are recognized by most anthropologists today?

Seven

What is a group of kin whose members trace how they are related and have specifically known relationships, often by blood or marriage?

Lineage

What does the kinship notation MFBSD mean?

Mother's Father's Brother's Son's Daughter

What are the two main types of descent systems?

Unilineal and Non-Unilineal

What are the sub-types of Non-Unilineal descent?

Bilateral and Ambilineal

What are the sub-types of Unilineal descent?

Matrilineal and Patrilineal

What categories are used to describe kin by relationship type?

Consanguinity, Affinity/Affinal, and Fictive

What term describes individuals related by blood?

Consanguinity

What term describes individuals related by law or formal social arrangement (e.g., in-laws, adopted children)?

Affinity/Affinal

What term describes those included in family roles/relationships who are not related by law or blood, or are otherwise differentiated from other kin (e.g., blood brothers, godparents)?

Fictive kin

What does the root 'uni-' mean in kinship terminology?

One

What does the root 'bi-' mean in kinship terminology?

Two

What does '-lineal' refer to in kinship terminology?

Lineage

What does '-lateral' mean in kinship terminology?

Side

What does 'ambi-' mean in kinship terminology?

Both and around (either/or)

What does 'matri-' mean in kinship terminology?

From 'mater' (mother)

What does 'patri-' mean in kinship terminology?

From 'pater' (father)

What type of descent traces kinship equally on both sides of the family?

Bilateral descent

What type of descent is characterized by a generation affiliating with either their mother's or father's descent group, but not simultaneously with both?

Ambilineal descent

What type of kinship traces descent on only one side of the family?

Unilineal kinship

Which kinship system emphasizes maternal relationships in lineages?

Matrilineal kinship systems

Which kinship system emphasizes ties to the father?

Patrilineal kinship systems

What is the most common kinship pattern globally?

Patrilineal kinship systems

What term refers to parents and their children?

Nuclear family

What term refers to larger groups of relatives beyond the nuclear family, including grandparents, cousins, and parents' siblings living in the household?

Extended family

What is a named descent group whose members share (or at least believe themselves to share) ancestors, often mythical or from the distant past?

Clan

What are some of the reasons kinship is important?

Defining identity and resource access, social organization, establishing expectations, incest avoidance, political relationships, and social expectations/obligations.

What term describes marriage within a social boundary?

Endogamy

What is the cross-cultural definition of marriage in this class?

A formal, socially recognized union of two or more individuals that helps to define household and broad kin relationships.

Beyond the spousal relationship, what are some important functions of marriage cross-culturally?

Organizing basic social groups, legitimizing children, defining responsibility in child rearing & parenting, defining household relationships and tasks, and creating political, social, economic, & ritual bonds between families.

What is a committed relationship with one person?

Monogamy

What is a committed relationship with more than one person?

Polygamy

What type of polygamy involves one husband and multiple wives?

Polygyny

What type of polygamy involves one wife and multiple husbands?

Polyandry

What term describes the preference for marrying outside a particular social boundary?

Exogamy

What refers to the pattern of where a newly married couple goes to live after formalizing their marriage?

Postmarital Residence Pattern

What postmarital residence pattern involves the couple living with or near the husband's parents?

Patrilocal (or virilocal)

What postmarital residence pattern involves the couple living with or near the wife's parents?

Matrilocal (or uxorilocality)

What postmarital residence pattern involves the couple living with or near the husband's mother's brother (their maternal uncle)?

Avunculocal

What postmarital residence pattern involves the couple establishing a new, independent residence?

Neolocal

What is the marital exchange where a mate and their relatives transfer wealth to relatives of a new or potential partner?

Bridewealth (or brideprice)

What is the marital exchange where a spouse/partner spends a period of time working for the family of their new spouse/partner?

Brideservice

What is the marital exchange practice where a woman takes wealth from her family into her marriage?

Dowry

What is a common consequence of neolocality in the U.S. that affects social dynamics?

It creates a need for elderly/sick care and childcare outside of homes, as children are expected to move out of their natal households.

In Huichol marriages, what is common for men to perform after marriage?

One year of brideservice

What is the typical postmarital residence pattern for Huichol couples?

Patrilocal (virilocal)

What is a major threat to family stability in Huichol culture, particularly during the first few years of marriage?

Conflict between spouses over infidelities or accusations of cruelty, which can lead to divorce as marriage is perceived as a trial period.

In some rural Chinese societies, if a girl came from an influential family, what was her social interaction like?

She would have little to do with social interactions outside her family.

In traditional rural Chinese society, if a woman had been involved in an affair, what was her best chance to marry?

To marry a man without a match.

What played a small role, if any, in the social life of a Chinese woman 'traditionally'?

Love

In traditional rural Chinese society, what was a wife's perceived socio-economic value based on?

Her ability to produce children, particularly male children, to gain status and secure her position in her husband's family.

In a traditional Chinese wedding ceremony, what did the transfer of a rose from the bride's mother to the groom symbolize?

The movement of the woman to the groom's family.

In China, along which line are ancestors traditionally traced?

The paternal line

What is 'necrogamy' or 'ghost marriage'?

The practice of marrying an individual to a deceased member of the group to strengthen affinal bonds after a death occurs.

What is the biggest threat to the traditional rural Chinese family?

The absence of sons, as it endangers the continuance of a household and the entire family through time.

In the Trobriand Islands, how is lineage traced?

Through mothers (matrilineal descent).

In the Trobriand Islands, what type of marital exchange involves giving pigs to the bride's family?

Bridewealth

In the Trobriand Islands, who typically distributes lands, and through which line are they transferred?

Lands are distributed by the mother's brother and transferred through matrilines.