Kinship and Kinship Diagrams

Flashcards covering vocabulary terms, symbols, and concepts related to kinship and kinship diagrams in anthropology.

Kinship

Culturally recognized relationships based on descent, marriage, adoption, or other socially meaningful connections, which help organize identity, obligations, inheritance, residence, and political relationships.

Ego

The person from whose point of view a kinship diagram or relationship term is being recorded (asking, "What is this person to ego?").

Kinship diagram

A diagram used by anthropologists to record relationships and understand a society's kinship system, rather than merely creating a personal family tree.

Generation

A level in a kinship diagram where people are placed on horizontal lines according to generation, not necessarily age.

Triangle (kinship symbol)

The symbol used in kinship diagrams to represent a male.

Circle (kinship symbol)

The symbol used in kinship diagrams to represent a female.

Square (kinship symbol)

The symbol used in kinship diagrams to represent a gender that is unknown or unspecified.

Horizontal line between partners

The symbol indicating marriage or union in a kinship diagram.

Vertical lines (kinship symbol)

The lines indicating descent to children in a kinship diagram.

Consanguineal relatives

Relatives connected through descent or a socially recognized blood relationship.

Affinal relatives

Relatives connected through marriage or a marriage-like relationship.

Descent group / lineage

A group whose members trace recognized descent from a common ancestor.

George P. Murdock

An anthropologist whose comparative work is associated with six major classificatory kinship systems.

Kinship

Culturally recognized relationships based on descent, marriage, adoption, or other socially meaningful connections that help organize identity, obligations, inheritance, residence, and political relationships.

Ego

The person from whose point of view a kinship diagram or relationship term is being recorded.

Kinship diagram

A diagram used by anthropologists to record relationships and understand a society's kinship system, not merely to create a personal family tree.

Generation

A level in the kinship diagram where people are placed on horizontal lines according to generation, not necessarily age.

Triangle (Kinship Diagram Symbol)

The symbol used in a kinship diagram to represent a male.

Circle (Kinship Diagram Symbol)

The symbol used in a kinship diagram to represent a female.

Square (Kinship Diagram Symbol)

The symbol used in a kinship diagram to represent gender unknown or unspecified.

Horizontal line between partners

The symbol or notation in a kinship diagram indicating marriage or union.

Vertical lines (Kinship Diagram Symbol)

The lines used in a kinship diagram to show descent to children.

Consanguineal relatives

Relatives connected through descent or socially recognized blood relationship.

Affinal relatives

Relatives connected through marriage or a marriage-like relationship.

Descent group / lineage

A group whose members trace recognized descent from a common ancestor.

George P. Murdock

The researcher whose comparative work is associated with six major classificatory kinship systems mentioned in the lecture.