Kinship
ambilineal descent
a form of descent that affiliates a person to a kin group through either the male or the female line
cognatic descent
a form of descent traced through both females and males
matrilineal descent
a form of descent wherby people trace their primary kin connections through their mothers
patrilineal descent
a form of descent wherby people trace their primary kin relationships through their fathers
Omaha system
a kinship system that emphasizes patrilineal descent. in this system the mother's patrilineal descent is distinct only by sex and not by one's generation
Crow system
a kinship system, associated with matrilineal descent, in which similar terms are used for one's father and father's brothers, one's mother and mother's sister, and one's siblings and parrallel cousins
Iroquois system
a system associated with unilineal descent in which the father and father's brother are called by the same term, as are the mother and mother's sister
double descent
a system of descent in which individuals receive some rights and obligations from the father's side of the family and others from the mother's side
bilateral descent
a type of kinship system whereby individuals emphasize both their mother's kin and their father's kin relatively equally
kindred
all of the relatives a person recognizes in a bilateral kinship system
Sudanese system
an extremely particularistic and descriptive kinship system found in North Africa that is associated with patrilineal descent
Hawaiian system
associated with ambilineal descent, this kinship system uses a single term for all relatives of the same sex and generation
moieties
complementary descent groups that result from the division of a society into two halves
lineality
kin related in a single line such as son, father, and grandfather
collaterality
kin relationship traced through a linking relative
affinal relatives
kinship ties formed through marriage (that is, in-laws)
consanguineal relatives
one's biological or blood relatives
reproductive technologies
recent developments, such as in vitro fertilization, surrogate motherhood, and sperm banks, which are making the reckoning of kinship relationships more complex
fictive kinship
relationships among individuals who recognize kinship obligations although the relationships are not based on either consanguineal or affinal ties
Eskimo system
the kinship system most commonly found in the United states; it is associated with bilateral descent. usually, a mother, father, and their children live together
EGO
the person in kinship diagrams from whose point of view we trace the relationship
segmentation
the process that takes place within a lineage wherby small subdivisions of a lineage will oppose one another in some social situations but will coalesce and become allies in other social situations
matriarchy
the rule of domination of women over men
vertical function of kinship
the way in which all kinship systems tend to provide social continuity by binding together different generations
horizontal function of kinship
the ways in which all kinship systems, by requiring people to marry outside their own small kinship group, function to integrate the total society through marriage bonds between otherwise unrelated kin groups
kinship system
those relationships found in all societies that are based on blood or marriage
unilineal descent
tracing descent through a single line (such as matrilineal or patrilineal) as compared to both sides (bilateral descent)
descent
tracing one's kinship connections back through a number of generations
lineage
unilineal descent group whose members can trace their line of descent to a common ancestor
phratries
unilineal descent groups composed of a number of related clans
clans
unilineal descent groups, usually comprising more than 10 generation, consisting of members who claim a common ancestry even though they cannot trace step-by-step their exact connection to a common ancestor