chapter 10: Kinship and Descent

Kinship

- refers to the social relationships people that have that are based on blood or marriage

- Kinship is recognized by all societies.

Types of kinship

consanguineal, affinal, fictive

consanguineal relatives

Those to whom we are related through birth or blood

affinal relatives

Those to whom we are related through marriage

Fictive kinship

-These are "family-like" relationships that are not based on blood or marriage, but people still treat each other like family

- Not consanguineal or affinal ties.

lineality

Kin related in a single line, such as son, father, grandfather, and grandchild (direct family line)

Collaterality

Relatives connected through a shared ancestor but not in a direct line. (siblings, cousins, aunts, uncles)

partible paternity

-the belief that two or more men may be fathers of the same child ( more than one)

- aboriginal cultures inSouth America believe in this

patrilineal descent groups

- Descent (family membership) is traced through the father's line

- ex: a man, his children, his sons children, his brothers children (follows the male line across generations)

- Females must marry outside their patrilineages

- A woman's children belong to the husband's lineage rather than her own.

matrilineal descent groups

- A woman, her siblings, her children, her sisters' children, and her daughters' children

- About 15% of societies use this system

- Children belong to the mother's lineage, not the father's

- includes: Native American (Navajo, Cherokee, andIroquois)

- Truk and Trobrianders of the Pacific

-Bemba, Ashanti, and Yao of Africa

Matriarchy

- A system of governance whereby women rule over men or are empowered to make decisions over men

- Matriarchy only exists in myth; no society gives women greater authority than men.

roles of women in patrilineal and matrilineal descent

- patrilineal: give birth to husbands kin, minimal role

- matrilineal: central role in own group by bearing this own descendants

male child's authority figure in in patrilineal and matrilineal descent

- patrilineal: biological father is main authority

- men have strong authority in their household

- matrilineal: Mother's brother (uncle) is the main authority

- men have less authority in their wifes household, but strong in their sisters household

strength of marriage in patrilineal and matrilineal descent

- patrilineal: marriage is strong/stable, divorce is rare

- matrilineal: marriage is weaker, divorce is more common

geographic distribution in patrilineal and matrilineal descent

- patrilineal: Some Native American groups, Traditional, Chinese societies, Sub-Saharan Africa, India, Papua New Guinea

- matrilineal: Some Native American groups, Southeast, Africa,Trobriand Islands, Ashanti (West Africa)

KINSHIP CLASSIFICATION SYSTEMS

- Parallel cousins = treated like siblings

-Cross cousins = treated differently (often marriageable)

Eskimo

Distinguishes nuclear family clearly, (mother vs aunt)

Hawaiian

All relatives of same generation share terms: (all mothers + aunts = "mother")

Iroquois

Distinguishes between parallel cousins (same-sex siblings of parents) and cross cousins (opposite-sex siblings of parents)

Omaha

Patrilineal descent (father's side is most important)

Crow

Matrilineal descent (mother's side is most important)

Sudanese

No single lineage emphasis (very detailed system)

KINSHIP AND THE MODERN WORLD

- In the early 1900s, many immigrants entering the U.S. went through Ellis Island in New York.

- It was the main entry point where people were checked, registered, and allowed into the country.

- During this process, officials recorded important information like: Names, Family members, Country of origin

- Modern technology allows us to search these old records online

- The explosion of information technology has enabled us to explore how we are connected to others

- A study by Facebook looked at 69 billion connections between users , It found that: 99.6% of users are connected within 5 degrees of separation (6 steps)

92% are connected within 4 degrees (5 steps)