Status: position in society

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• Status position in society
• Ascribed
• Achieved
• Role a set of behavioral expectations
  appropriate to a status

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Role conflict

• Because in all societies, people occupy a variety
  of statuses and play a number of roles, they
  often experience role conflict.
• Incompatible expectations because of
• Conflict of loyalty
• Too little time
• Behavior in one role threatens acceptance in
  another

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Kinship

• Biological reference blood relatives or
  through marriage
• Linguistic reference kinship term
• Behavioral reference social role

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Kinship System

• Although based on biology, constructed by each
  culture
• Important in all societies
• Central organizing principle in pre-industrial
  societies

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U.S. Kinship Terms

• Recognize distinctions according to
• Gender
• Generation
• Lineal vs. Collateral
• Consanguineal vs. Affinal

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BILATERAL KINSHIP

• 2 Sides child is equally related to Mothers and
  Fathers sides of family
• Kindred network of relatives, ego-centered
• Conflicting loyalties
• 40 of societies in sample those with high
  mobility, foragers and modern industrial

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Unilineal kinship

• Trace line of descent either through males
  Patrilineal or through females Matrilineal
• One parent and child belong, other parent doesnt
• Unilineal group is collective group, endures
  through time

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Patrilineal societies

• PatrilinealChild belongs to Fathers group
  Rule of descent
• PatrilocalWife joins husbands family after
  marriage Rule of residence
• PatriarchalDominance by men

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Matrilineal societies

• Matrilinealchild belongs to Mothers group
  Rule of descent
• MatrilocalHusband joins wifes family after
  marriage Rule of residence
• MatriarchyDominance by women No known
  societies have been matriarchal.

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Hopi

• Women are heads of household, their brothers are
  advisers
• Clan Mother and Clan Uncle are heads of clan
• Men are village chief and council

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Unilineal kinship 2

• Membership determined at birth, may be ways to
  incorporate outsiders
• Clear group boundaries, groups separated from
  each other
• Include large number of people who think of
  themselves as relatives

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Unilineal kinship 3

• Mythology of group tells of heroic
  deeds,illustrious ancestors
• Myths and symbols reinforce solidarity of group

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Functions of unilineal groups

• Mutual aid and securitymembers have collective
  responsibility for behavior and debt, obliged to
  aid each other
• Regulate marriageusually cant marry member of
  grouphave strong say in who one can marry

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• Unilineal kin groups can provide the model to
  organize the entire society.
• Government
• e.g. chief from certain clan
• Economic
• kin group owns land and herds, occupation
  hereditary in group

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• Religious
• care of gods or specific ceremonies in
• hands of particular kin groups
• royal ancestors important to welfare of
• entire society

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• Unilineal kinshp in 2/3 of sample of societies
• Most common in horticultural societies societies
  complex enough to need organization and
  inheritance rules but simple enough not to need
  specialized institutions

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Ways to unite unilineal groups

• Marriage ties
• Age sets or other associations
• Interdependent religious ceremonies, market,
  government, warfare

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Genealogy of unilineal groups

• Concern is with social utility (group operates
  well) rather than historical accuracy
• If actual genealogy results in imbalance, group
  can be reorganized

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