kinship

kinship,relationship by blood (consanguinity) or marriage (affinity) between persons; also, in anthropology and sociology, a system of rules, based on such relationships, governingdescent, inheritance,marriage, extramarital sexual relations, and sometimes residence. All societies recognize consanguineal and affinal ties between individuals, but there is great divergence in the manner of reckoning descent and relationship. Kinship patterns are so specific and elaborate that they constitute an important and independent field of anthropological and sociological investigation. In many societies the concept of kinship extends beyondfamilyties, which vary in breadth and inclusiveness, to less precisely defined groupings such as theclan, where consanguinity is often hypothetical if not actually mythological. As a rule, however, these groups maintainincesttaboos as strict as those for close biological relatives.

See R. Fox, Kinship and Marriage(1967); I. Buchler and H. A. Selby, 亲属关系和社会组织(1968); B. Farber, 比较Kinship Systems(1968); J. R. Goody, Comparative Studies in Kinship(1969).

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