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ROLE OF FAMILY AND MARRIAGE IN CULTURE (continued):Family Structures

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Introduction to Cultural Anthropology ­ SOC401
VU
Lesson 17
ROLE OF FAMILY AND MARRIAGE IN CULTURE (continued)
Residence Patterns
Residence patterns are influenced by kinship systems. For e.g. patrilocal residence is common in patrilineal
cultures. Residence patterns can be disrupted due to events such as droughts, famines, wars or even due to
economic hardship.
The most common types of residence patterns evidenced around the world are:
Patrilocal: the couple can live with or near the relatives of the husband's father (most prevalent)
Matrilocal: the couple can live with or near the relatives of the wife's father
Avunculocal: the couple can live with or near the husband's mother's brother
Ambilocal or bilocal: the couple can live with or near the relatives of either the wife or the husband
Neolocal: Where economic circumstances permit, the couple can also establish a completely new residence
of their own.
Residence patterns are not static. The Great Depression in America, during the 1930s, for example
compelled neolocal residents to shift back to living with one of their parents again due to economic reasons.
Similar circumstances keep recurring in different societies of the world and result in changing residence
patterns.
In many traditional societies, joint-family systems are also very common. The dynamics of a joint-family
system differ from widely from living independently, implying a shared responsibility for household
responsibilities, often under the charge of the oldest member of the household.
Family Structures
Cultural Anthropologists distinguish between two types of family structures: the nuclear family and the
extended family.
Nuclear families are based on marital ties, whereas the extended family is a much larger social unit, based on
blood ties among three or more generations.
Nuclear Family
A two generation family formed around the marital union. While a part of bigger family structures, nuclear
families remain autonomous and independent.
Nuclear families are often found in societies with greatest amount of geographic mobility. Nuclear family
patterns were encouraged by industrialization and technology but also have remained evident in foraging
societies.
Where resources are scare, it makes sense for people to remain in nuclear families, whereby retaining a
certain level of mobility, independence. Nuclear families are therefore called the basic food collecting unit in
addition to being the most dominant mode of family life in many modern-day families around the world.
Extended Families
Blood ties are more important than ties of marriage, which form the basis of extended families. Extended
families can be matrilineal or patrilineal. The Anthropological Atlas of 1967 noted 46% out of 862 societies
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Introduction to Cultural Anthropology ­ SOC401
VU
as having some form of extended family organization. These numbers have no doubt increased over the
past few decades, given the increasing world population.
Modern-Day Families
Modernization and urbanization have seen progressive movement towards nuclear family structures. In
developing countries, this correlation is not necessary.
The lack of employment security makes extended families serve as social safety nets. Migrant families also
hold onto traditional family structures even after having gone to live abroad. In western societies, even
nuclear families are not so common, given high divorce and separation rates.
Useful Terms
Prevalent: commonly found in different places
Migrant: refugee
Correlation: association between two entities
Scarce: in short supply
Evident: obvious
Suggested Readings
Students are advised to read the following chapters to develop a better understanding of the various
principals highlighted in this hand-out:
Chapter 9 in `Cultural Anthropology: An Applied Perspective' by Ferrarro and/or Chapter 20 in `Anthropology' by
Ember and Pergrine
Internet Resources
In addition to reading from the textbook, please visit the following web-site for this lecture, which provide
useful and interesting information:
Family
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Family
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Table of Contents:
  1. WHAT IS ANTHROPOLOGY?:Cultural Anthropology, Internet Resources
  2. THE CONCEPT OF CULTURE AND THE APPLICATION OF CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY
  3. MAJOR THEORIES IN CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY:Diffusionism
  4. GROWTH OF ANTHROPOLOGICAL THEORY (continued):Post Modernism
  5. METHODS IN CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY:Comments on Fieldwork
  6. METHODS IN CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY (continued):Census Taking
  7. COMPARATIVE STUDY OF PRODUCTION, DISTRIBUTION AND CONSUMPTION IN DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE WORLD
  8. ECONOMIC ANTHROPOLOGY (continued):THE DISTRIBUTION OF GOODS AND SERVICES
  9. FOCUSING ON LANGUAGE:Languages of the World, Structure of Language
  10. FOCUS ON LANGUAGE (continued):Levels of Complexity, Cultural Emphasis
  11. OBTAINING FOOD IN DIFFERENT CULTURES:Optimal Foraging, Suggested Readings
  12. FOOD AND CULTURE (continued):Food Collectors, Food Production
  13. OBTAINING FOOD IN DIFFERENT CULTURE (continued):Pastoralism, Agriculture
  14. RELEVANCE OF KINSHIP AND DESCENT:Kinship Criteria, Rules of Descent
  15. KINSHIP AND DESCENT (continued):Tracing Descent, Primary Kinship Systems
  16. THE ROLE OF FAMILY AND MARRIAGE IN CULTURE:Economic Aspect of Marriage
  17. ROLE OF FAMILY AND MARRIAGE IN CULTURE (continued):Family Structures
  18. GENDER AND CULTURE:Gender Stratification, Suggested Readings
  19. GENDER ROLES IN CULTURE (continued):Women Employment, Feminization of Poverty
  20. STRATIFICATION AND CULTURE:Social Ranking, Dimensions of Inequality
  21. THEORIES OF STRATIFICATION (continued):The Functionalists, Conflict Theorists
  22. CULTURE AND CHANGE:Inventions, Diffusion, Donor, Conventional
  23. CULTURE AND CHANGE (continued):Cultural Interrelations, Reaction to Change
  24. CULTURE AND CHANGE (continued):Planned Change, Globalization
  25. POLITICAL ORGANIZATION:Bands, Tribal Organizations, Chiefdoms
  26. POLITICAL ORGANIZATION (continued):State Systems, Nation-States
  27. POLITICAL ORGANIZATION (continued):Social Norms, Informal Mechanisms
  28. PSYCHOLOGY AND CULTURE:Emotional Development, Psychological Universals
  29. PSYCHOLOGY AND CULTURE (continued):Origin of Customs, Personality Types
  30. IDEOLOGY AND CULTURE:Ideology in Everyday Life, Hegemony
  31. IDEOLOGY AND CULTURE (Continued):Political ideologies, Economic Ideology
  32. ASSOCIATIONS, CULTURES AND SOCIETIES:Variation in Associations, Age Sets
  33. ASSOCIATIONS, CULTURES AND SOCIETIES (continued):Formation of Associations
  34. RACE, ETHNICITY AND CULTURE:Similarity in Human Adaptations
  35. RACE, ETHNICITY AND CULTURE (continued):Inter-group Relations
  36. CULTURE AND BELIEFS:Social Function of Religion, Politics and Beliefs
  37. LOCAL OR INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE:Changing Definitions of Local Knowledge
  38. LOCAL OR INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE (continued):The Need for Caution
  39. ANTHROPOLOGY AND DEVELOPMENT:Influence of Development Notions
  40. ANTHROPOLOGY AND DEVELOPMENT (Continued):Contentions in Development
  41. ANTHROPOLOGY AND DEVELOPMENT (Continued):Operational
  42. CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY AND ART:Relevance of Art, Art and Politics
  43. CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY AND ART (continued):Art as a Status Symbol
  44. ETHICS IN ANTHROPOLOGY:Ethical Condemnation, Orientalism
  45. RELEVANCE OF CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY:Ensuring Cultural Survival