Unilineal descent is a system of tracing kinship through one gender, i.e., either through the male or the female line. It is subdivided into patrilineal descent, where lineage is traced through males, and matrilineal descent, where lineage is traced through females.
Kinship symbols and abbreviations are instrumental in studying and interpreting societal structures across various cultures. They provide an effective language to communicate and understand the intricate maze of human relationships.
These various kinship behaviors—joking relations, avunculate, amitate, couvade, and teknonymy—demonstrate how societies worldwide employ different mechanisms to regulate social behavior, build familial ties, and maintain cultural continuity.
This term 'degrees of kinship' refers to the proximity of a genetic, adoptive, or marital relationship between individuals, creating a web of familial ties that shape our societies and identities. Degrees of kinship is a system anthropologists use to describe and classify the types of relationships that exist between family members in various cultures.
Understanding filiation and complementary filiation is more important than ever. While filiation defines the biological or legal relationships between parents and children, complementary filiation broadens this understanding to encompass the complex social relationships that contribute to a child's upbringing.
Descent and alliance remain vital constructs in the anthropological study of human societies, providing key insights into our understanding of kinship, family structures, and social relationships.
Descent groups are social units wherein members share a claimed common ancestry. This commonality can be traced through various means - matrilineally (through the mother), patrilineally (through the father), or bilaterally (through both parents).
Double Descent refers to the sociocultural practice where descent is reckoned through both the mother's and the father's line. These dual systems are not haphazardly intertwined; they typically assign distinct roles and rights to each line.
A phratry is a social group, often kinship-based, in traditional societies. It consists of several clans or tribes that share common ancestry or mythology.
Kindred is an English term used in anthropology to describe the network of kin relations that an individual can actively recognize and demonstrate. These kin relationships can be traced
Patrilineal descent is a social organizational system predicated on the tracing of kinship through the male line. As one of the most dominant forms of descent systems globally, it has a wide-ranging influence on societal organization and culture.
Ambilineal descent, also termed as bilateral or cognatic descent, signifies a descent system in various cultures wherein an individual's kinship and lineage are traced and determined through either the father's or mother's line.
