Change and Variety in Family Forms

Abstract

Abstract This chapter provides a sweeping historical review of the structure and patterns of family relations from the agricultural age (roughly 3500 BCE to the 18th century) to the 21st century. It examines how structures have responded to the two most fundamental changes in human life: the transition from hunting and gathering to agriculture, and the more recent shift from agriculture to urban/industrial—a shift still underway in many parts of the world, and still prompting adjustments even in advanced industrial societies. In sketching the basic features of agricultural, and then industrial, families, this chapter captures key aspects of the family dynamic over time. It also analyzes how families have responded to major differences in social structure, such as how birth rates, marriages ages and other crucial patterns have varied considerably between upper and lower classes.