ANTH 310 Lecture Notes - Lecture 24: Incest Taboo, Lewis H. Morgan
14 Nov 2020
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Document Summary
Sense of being related to another person/people. Often taken for granted as being natural rather than cultural. Not all cultures define kinship on the basis of blood. A kinship system consists of the predominant form of kin relationships in a culture and the kind of behavior involved. Typically assumed natural by members of a society. Most basic order: maps social organizations & distributes power. Sets relationships: abstracts & maps connections between individuals. Organizes reproduction: sets norms & regulations for reproductive behavior) Defines norms & taboos: general moral rules & their punishments. Anthropologists collected data on kinship terms & relationships around the world. Created categories or types of kinship systems with similar features, named after a particular culture. Kinships diagrams used as a descriptive & analytical tool. Basis of kinship in 60% of the world"s cultures. Most associated with pastorialism, horticulture & agricultural modes of livelihood. Anthropologists have had major problems defining marriage since so many varieties exist cross-culturally.
