Abstract
Kinship theory is argued to be an important aspect of social dynamics in past societies. However, archaeological critiques of kinship have suggested that descent and residence models are ideological constructs not associated with socioeconomic behavior, that social anthropologists believe normative kinship rules are rarely practiced, and that the models are biased by Western assumptions of biological relatedness. These critiques ignore the past several decades of kinship research. A review of kinship theory demonstrates sophisticated holistic approaches to socioeconomic behavior and ideology that are not based on biological assumptions, and that historic and ongoing social disruptions and political economic transformations have significantly altered kinship behavior. Furthermore, empirical data demonstrate adherence to kinship rules prior to historic transformations. The fact that kinship changes is argued to be the source of confusion leading to the critiques in archaeological literature but is also argued to present an opportunity for archaeologists to explain social transformations in the deep past.
Publisher
Cambridge University Press (CUP)
Subject
Museology,Archeology,Arts and Humanities (miscellaneous),History
Cited by
44 articles.
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