Chapter 7 - Anthropology

(Kinship Terminology) Genitor

A biological father

Neolocal Residence

A couple establishes an independent household after marriage

Matrilocal Residence

A man lives in the household of his wife's family

Avunculocal Residence

A married couple is expected to live with the husband's mother's brother

Dowry

A presentation of goods by the bride's kin to the groom's family. (Less common than other forms of exchange at marriage.)

Polygamy

A rule allowing more than one spouse

Polygyny

A rule permitting a man to have more than one wife at a time

Polyandry

A rule permitting a woman to have more than one husband at a time

Patrilocal Residence

A woman lives with her husband's family after marriage

Descent Groups

Affiliations between children and parents

Composite Family

Aggregates of nuclear families linked by a common spouse. (Example: Polygynous household consisting of one man with several wives.) Most composite families are patrilocal.

Reasons for Incest Taboo

Avoids inbreeding. Prevents disruption in the nuclear family. Directs sexual desires outside the family. Forces people to marry outside the family and create a larger social community.

Three types of exchanges made in connection with marriage are...

Bride service Bridewealth Dowry

Kinship

Culturally defined relationship established on the basis of blood ties or through marriage

Marriage

Customs, rules, and obligations for relationships between: A sexually cohabiting man and woman. Parents and children. Families of the bride and groom.

Unilineal Descent

Descent based on links through paternal or maternal line

Patrilineage

Descent is traced through male lineage. Inheritance moves from father to son, as does succession to office. Man's position as father and husband is the most important source of male authority. (Example: Nuer or Sudan)

Matrilineage

Descent is traced through the female line. Children belong to the mother's descent group. The inclusion of a husband in the household is less important. Women usually have higher status. (Example: Hopi)

Marriage Rules May:

Determine how many people one can marry. Allow for ending marriages. Dictate the rituals that legitimate marriage. Determine the rights established by marriage.

Dowry's Different Meanings for Different Societies

Dowry has different meanings and functions in different societies: In some cases it represents a woman's share of her family inheritance. In other cases it is a payment transferred from the bride's family to the groom's family.

What are the advantages of an extended family?

Economic advantages: keeps land intact and provides security in times of crisis. Provides a sense of participation and dignity for the older family members.

True or False: Most composite families are matrilocal.

FALSE Most composite families are PATRILOCAL.

Advantages of Unilineal Descent

Forms nonoverlapping descent groups that perpetuate themselves over time even though membership changes. Provide clear group membership for everyone in the society.

Lineage

Group of kin whose members trace descent from a known common ancestor

Family

In the United States, the definition of the family as a unit defined by marriage is changing to accommodate the high divorce rate; same-sex partnerships; working mothers and single-parent households; unmarried couples living together; childless couples; people who never marry; and people remarry.

(Choosing a Mate) In most societies, why is marriage important?

It links kin groups of the married couple. (This accounts for the practice of arranged marriages.)

Kinship System

Kin relations, kin groups, and terms for classifying kin in a society

Reasons to Regulate Sexual Access

Limits sexual competition. Provides stability for children. Allows for stable economic exchange.

Where does Bride Service mainly occur? (In what type of society?)

Occurs mainly in foraging societies, where accumulating material goods for an exchange at marriage is difficult. (Example: Among the Ju/'hoansi a man may work for his wife's family until the birth of the third child.)

Functions of Descent Groups

Organize domestic life. Enculturate children. Allow transfer of property. Carry out religious ritual. Settle disputes.

Incest Taboo

Prohibits certain individuals from having sex with each other. (Because sexual access is a basic right conferred by marriage, incest taboos effectively prohibit marriage among certain kin.)

Functions of Kinship

Provides continuity between generations. Defines a group on whom a person can rely for aid.

What are the functions of marriage?

Regulates sexual access. Creates a family. Expands social group.

Preferential Marriage Rules

Rules about the preferred categories of relatives for marriage partners: Cross cousins - The children of a parent's siblings of the opposite sex. Parallel cousins - The children of a parent's same-sex siblings.

Exogamy

Rules specifying that a person must marry outside a particular group. Almost universal within the primary family group.

Endogamy

Rules that marriage must be within a particular group

(Kinship Terminology) Pater

Socially designated father of a child, who may or may not be the biological father

General Marriage Facts

The heterosexual, monogamous marriage dominant in the United States is only one type of marriage. Marriages built around plural spouses or same-sex relationships also fulfill the functions of marriage.

Bride Service

The husband must work for a specified period of time for his wife's family in exchange for his marital rights

Bridewealth

The most common form of marriage exchange. Cash or goods are given by the groom's kin to the bride's kin to seal a marriage. Legitimates the new reproductive and socioeconomic unit created by the marriage. Bridewealth paid at marriage is returned if a marriage is terminated.

Clan

Unilineal kinship group whose members believe they are descended from a common ancestor but who can't trace the link through known relatives

Exogamy leads to...

alliances between different families and groups

Extended Family

based on consanguineal, or blood, relations extending over three or more generations

Bilocal Residence

couple chooses between living with either the wife's or the husband's family

Forming wider alliances leads to...

joining families into a larger social community. (Since such alliances are adaptive, the alliance theory can also account for the extension of the incest taboo to groups other than the nuclear family.)

(Incest Taboo) What is the most widespread taboo?

mating between mother and son, father and daughter, and sister and brother

Patrilineal Extended Family

organized around a man, his sons, and the sons' wives and children

Matrilineal Extended Family

organized around a woman and her daughters and the daughters' husbands and children

Nuclear Families

organized around the conjugal tie, the relationship between husband and wife

In India, what group is endogamous?

the caste

True or False: In the U.S., social classes tend to be endogamous.

true!