Deck 8: Kinship and Descent

Question 1

__________ systems are ones in which kinship group membership and inheritance passes through the female line.

A) Patrilineal
B) Matrilineal
C) Patriarchy
D) Matriarchy

Answer 1

Matrilineal

Question 2

Which of the following is NOT an important difference between patrilineal and matrilineal societies?

A) Among matrilineal descent groups male authority is weak while it is strong in patrilineal descent groups.
B) Members of a lineage are linked directly by birth in patrilineal systems while in matrilineal systems they are not.
C) Among matrilineal descent groups marital bonds are weak while they are strong in patrilineal descent groups.
D) In patrilineal systems women tend to leave their own kin group after marriage while in matrilineal systems men tend to live with their wife's kin.

Answer 2

Members of a lineage are linked directly by birth in patrilineal systems while in matrilineal systems they are not.

Question 3

The proportion of matrilineal societies was highest among __________ and __________ horticulturalists.

A) South American, Polynesian
B) Melanesian, East African
C) East African, South American
D) West African, North American

Answer 3

West African, North American

Question 4

Principle of descent in which people define themselves in relation to only one side, either their mother's side or their father's side.

A) unilineal descent
B) bilateral descent
C) double descent
D) parallel descent

Question 5

A system of determining who one's relatives are and what one's relationship is to them.

A) fictive kin
B) kinship system
C) kindred system
D) inheritance rules

Question 6

The notion of kinship is essentially __________, not based on universal, objective criteria.

A) biological
B) fictive
C) social and symbolic
D) philosophical

Question 7

Bilateral descent is adaptive for people in which type of society because it functions to loosen kinship ties?

A) industrial
B) horticultural
C) communist
D) dictatorships

Question 8

What is the advantage of bilateral descent groups in foraging societies?

A) Such groups make claims for assistance on a wide group of related people possible.
B) Such groups limit the number of people who can ask for help and expect to receive it.
C) Such groups draw clear distinctions between relatives and non-relatives and so limit the size of kin groups.
D) Such groups are the smallest kin groups possible.

Question 9

What are the two main forms of unilineal descent?

A) matriarchy and patriarchy
B) affines and fictive kin
C) matrilineal and patrilineal
D) parallel and double

Question 10

Principle of descent in which people think of themselves as related to both their mother's kin and their father's kin at the same time.

A) unilineal descent
B) bilateral descent
C) double descent
D) parallel descent

Question 11

__________ systems are ones in which kinship group membership and inheritance passes through the male line.

A) Patrilineal
B) Matrilineal
C) Patriarchy
D) Matriarchy

Question 12

Societies based on __________ have the highest proportion of matrilineal systems.

A) agriculture
B) pastoralism
C) horticulture
D) foraging

Question 13

__________ is a kinship principle in which people belong to the kinship groups of both their mother and their father.

A) Ambilineal descent
B) Bilateral descent
C) Patrilineal descent
D) Matrilineal descent

Question 14

__________ are people who are related through marriage.

A) Affines
B) Consanguines
C) Kindred
D) In-laws

Question 15

The great majority of known unilineal descent systems around the world are __________.

A) matrilineal
B) patrilineal
C) patriarchal
D) matriarchal

Question 16

What is the advantage of bilateral descent groups in industrial societies?

A) Such groups expand the kin network more than unilineal descent groups.
B) Such groups make it possible to loosen obligations to kin.
C) Such groups are more likely to provide help to members in times of need.
D) Such groups are the only ones compatible with nuclear families.

Question 17

Kinship systems are organized around __________ and rules of marriage.

A) rules of inheritance
B) biological relationships
C) rules of descent
D) households

Question 18

In a bilateral kinship system, the very wealthy can rely on one another for political support based on __________and __________.

A) shared interests, goals
B) obligation, money
C) goals, money
D) shared interests, obligation

Question 19

People related by blood are called __________.

A) affines
B) kindred
C) consanguines
D) relatives

Question 20

A __________ is a group consisting of known bilateral relatives with whom people interact, socialize, and rely on for economic and emotional assistance.

A) kinship system
B) affine
C) clan
D) kindred

Question 21

__________ is a form of unilineal descent in which people belong to kinship groups of both mother and father.

A) Double descent
B) Parallel descent
C) Ambilineal descent
D) Matrilineal descent

Question 22

The Yako of Nigeria follow __________ rules for inheritance, with patrilineal groups receiving land and grazing rights and matrilineal groups receiving cattle and other livestock.

A) ambilineal descent
B) bilateral descent
C) parallel descent
D) double descent

Question 23

The __________ of Peru had a system of parallel descent with inheritance following parallel lines as well.

A) Jivaro
B) Inca
C) Dinka
D) Kwakiutl

Question 24

__________ creates strong gender identity and solidarity in a society.

A) Ambilineal descent
B) Double descent
C) Parallel descent
D) Unilineal descent

Question 25

Matrilineal descent groups do not require the statuses of __________ or __________ to function.

A) father, husband
B) father, uncle
C) father, son
D) father, cousin

Question 26

In the matrilineal Trobriand Islander society, men raise yams, but because they work lands through matrilineal ties, the produce belongs to the man's __________.

A) mother
B) wife
C) sister
D) aunt

Question 27

Matrilineal inheritance rules mean that in Tlingit society on the Pacific Northwest coast, a man's inheritance passes to his __________.

A) son
B) daughter
C) sister's husband
D) sister's son

Question 28

Divorces are easier to acquire in matrilineal societies because __________.

A) children are linked to the lineage through their uncle, not their father
B) women are more likely to wish for a divorce
C) children are linked to the matriline by their mother, so fatherhood has a diminished role in kinship
D) a group of women can successfully eject a male from their home

Question 29

In societies where __________ is the kinship system, individuals often choose the descent group that will advantage them the most in resources or power.

A) double descent
B) ambilineal descent
C) parallel descent
D) unilineal descent

Question 30

In matrilineal societies, a man is often needed by and is loyal to __________.

A) his own family of decent
B) his wife's family
C) both his and his wife's families
D) his wife's father

Question 31

In matrilineal societies men often suffer from split loyalties because __________.

A) their children belong to another lineage, but their primary obligations are to their own lineage
B) men have a harder time adjusting to residence with their wife's family than women do to life with their husband's family
C) men have important social and economic functions in both lineages
D) when they marry, men are compelled to sever ties with their lineage and move away

Question 32

Divorces are more difficult to get in patrilineal systems than matrilineal systems because __________.

A) children are linked to their mothers by birth
B) children are linked by fathers to their lineage, but by birth to their mothers
C) men are less likely to desire divorces
D) women can draw on the support of their patrilineage to resist a divorce

Question 33

A social system in which men occupy positions of social, economic, and political power from which women are excluded.

A) matriarchy
B) patriarchy
C) double descent groups
D) parallel descent groups

Question 34

__________ is a principle of descent in which individuals may choose to affiliate with either their mother's or their father's kinship group.

A) Ambilineal descent
B) Double descent
C) Parallel descent
D) Unilineal descent

Question 35

In patrilineal descent groups, women bear children for their husband's lineage and are __________ members of their own descent group.

A) the prime
B) important
C) secondary
D) temporary

Question 36

In the South Pacific, members of societies with ambilineal descent groups __________.

A) had to choose only one group to be associated with during his or her lifetime
B) received advantages of only one descent group, but still owed responsibilities to both descent groups
C) could shift membership in their mother's or father's descent group depending on short-term advantage
D) had flexibility in who they chose to align, but were forced to choose an affiliation for their offspring

Question 37

Matrilineal descent groups retain control of __________ while patrilineal descent groups do not.

A) all lineage-owned property after a marriage
B) both male and female members of the lineage
C) male members of the lineage
D) children

Question 38

__________ is a kinship principle in which descent and inheritance follow gender-linked lines so that men consider themselves descended from their fathers and women consider themselves descended from their mothers.

A) Ambilineal descent
B) Bilateral descent
C) Parallel descent
D) Double descent

Question 39

Which of the following is true of matriarchies?

A) They commonly occur throughout traditional African societies.
B) No society is matriarchal in the same way that some societies are truly patriarchal.
C) They commonly occur throughout traditional Indian societies.
D) Patrilineal societies are frequently matriarchal.

Question 40

Who is most likely to exert authority over a child among the Trobriand Islanders?

A) child's father
B) child's mother
C) child's maternal uncle
D) child's maternal aunt

Question 41

__________ are named groups of people who believe that they are relatives even though they may not be able to trace their actual relationships with all members of their group.

A) Lineages
B) Fictive kin
C) Patriclans
D) Clans

Question 42

__________ are lineages organized in a hierarchical structure, ranked according to the number of generations they encompass.

A) Matriclans
B) Patriclans
C) Segmentary lineages
D) Corporate lineages

Question 43

In Ganda society, each clan is associated with particular __________.

A) animals
B) elders
C) mothers
D) ancestors

Question 44

A marriage principle in which people marry members of their own group.

A) endogamy
B) exogamy
C) kinship system
D) inheritance rules

Question 45

The matrilineal Dine's tradition of exogamy rules that exclude marriage within both the mother's and the father's lineages may be evidence of former __________.

A) patrilineal descent reckoning
B) parallel descent reckoning
C) ambilineal descent reckoning
D) bilateral descent reckoning

Question 46

A marriage principle in which people cannot marry members of their own lineage or clan but instead must forge alliances with members of other groups.

A) endogamy
B) exogamy
C) kinship system
D) inheritance rules

Question 47

__________ are groups of linked clans that are usually exogamous.

A) Phratries
B) Clans
C) Totemic lineages
D) Moieties

Question 48

An animal or plant believed by a group of people to have been their primordial ancestor or protector is a __________.

A) guardian spirit
B) totem
C) founder spirit
D) endogamous creature

Question 49

In societies where __________ contributes to one's social standing and prestige, sibling order determines the relative status of each new lineage.

A) merit
B) inheritance
C) seniority
D) responsibility

Question 50

How will a Dine person give their name when introducing his or her self?

A) mother's clan, father's clan, personal name
B) mother's clan, personal name
C) father's clan, mother's clan, personal name
D) mother's clan only

Question 51

The child of one's mother's sister or of one's father's brother.

A) parallel cousin
B) cross cousin
C) second cousin
D) third cousin

Question 52

The child of one's mother's brother or of one's father's sister.

A) parallel cousin
B) cross cousin
C) second cousin
D) third cousin

Question 53

Which of the following is NOT among the corporate functions that lineages and clans perform?

A) allocation of common lands to members
B) decision making and problem solving
C) assigning tasks to specific members of the group
D) provide highly structured, inflexible solutions to resolving disputes

Question 54

The smallest kinship unit is a __________ in which a set of relatives trace descent from a known common ancestor.

A) family
B) kindred
C) lineage
D) clan

Question 55

The opposite of a cross-cousin is a __________.

A) fictive kin
B) parallel cousin
C) totem
D) direct cousin

Question 56

__________ marriage is common in Middle Eastern Arab societies where patrilineal descent systems prevail.

A) Brother-sister
B) Cross cousin
C) Parallel cousin
D) Second cousin

Question 57

Which of the following differentiates unilineal and bilateral descent groups?

A) Bilateral descent rules lead to more structured groupings than among unilineal descent groupings.
B) Lineages are only part of bilateral descent groups.
C) All cultures practicing unilineal descent rules exemplify all four types of unilineal descent groups.
D) Unilineal descent groupings are more structured than bilateral descent groupings.

Question 58

Ganda clans are organized into __________.

A) segmentary lineages
B) moieties
C) phratries
D) totems

Question 59

In some West African societies, oral histories of lineal ancestors may go back __________ or more.

A) 3 generations
B) 200 years
C) 100 years
D) 2 generations

Question 60

The Ganda, patrilineal horticulturalists from Uganda, use patrilineal inheritance rules but traditionally bypassed the eldest son for what purpose?

A) to prevent infighting among sons
B) to include younger sons in an important event
C) to disperse kinship ties and link more distant relatives into the kin group effectively
D) to avoid upsetting the dead man's ghost

Question 61

A Mohawk household usually consisted of __________.

A) an elder man, his sons and their wives and children, and unmarried sons and daughters
B) an elder woman, her husband, their daughters and daughters' families, and the couples' unmarried sons
C) a nuclear family of a single married couple and their children, as well as possibly the man's grandparents
D) a woman and her sisters along with their families

Question 62

The __________ system makes distinctions between 1) the nuclear family and all other types of relatives and 2) on gender.

A) Omaha
B) Crow
C) Hawaiian
D) Eskimo

Question 63

The __________ system uses kin terms making distinctions only of generation and gender.

A) Hawaiian
B) Crow
C) Eskimo
D) Sudanese

Question 64

The __________ system is used by some matrilineal peoples that extend the term for father and father's sister to include cross-cousins on the paternal side.

A) Eskimo
B) Crow
C) Omaha
D) Hawaiian

Question 65

Why do some societies have joking relationships and avoidance relationships among certain relatives?

A) so that relatives will always have something to talk about
B) so that problematic relationship between certain relatives will have carefully defined sets of interactive behaviors
C) so that individuals can institutionalize their feeling about certain relatives
D) so that improper sexual innuendos can be avoided

Question 66

Why is marriage to a cousin in the Hawaiian kinship system impossible?

A) Because brother-sister weddings are preferred and arranged.
B) Because people never know their cousins.
C) Because all cousins are considered siblings.
D) Because cousins are not classified in the Hawaiian kinship system.

Question 67

All are true of the leaders of Trobriand dala EXCEPT which of the following?

A) Dala are usually the eldest male of the eldest lineage in the group.
B) Upon the death of a headman, the position is passed on to his eldest son.
C) Headmen allocate farmland to resident members of the dala.
D) Headmen perform ceremonial duties to protect and enhance the fertility of their land.

Question 68

The __________ system uses kin terms that emphasize the difference between one's parents' same-sex siblings and parents' opposite-sex siblings, classifying parallel cousins with one's own siblings.

A) Eskimo
B) Crow
C) Iroquois
D) Omaha

Question 69

__________ are chosen informally today by the Mohawk based on public recognition of their good advice, intelligence, and personal charisma.

A) Clan mothers
B) Clan chiefs
C) God mothers
D) God fathers

Question 70

The Mohawk nation is divided into __________ moieties and __________ clans.

A) two, four
B) four, eight
C) two, three
D) three, six

Question 71

Mohawk clan chiefs are selected by __________.

A) election
B) lineal seniority
C) a long record of public service
D) clan mothers

Question 72

The Hawaiian kinship terminology system is often associated with which type of descent pattern?

A) ambilineal
B) bilateral
C) parallel
D) double

Question 73

In Trobriand society, women's power is based on which of the following?

A) their control of land
B) the statuses of hamlet headman and district chief
C) their roles in the continuity of the dala and of dala identity
D) the number of yams they are able to acquire

Question 74

__________ are groups of linked clans that divide a society into two halves, usually exogamous.

A) Phratries
B) Clans
C) Moieties
D) Segmentary lineages

Question 75

Trobrianders are divided into how many named exogamous clans?

A) one
B) two
C) three
D) four

Question 76

Avoidance relationships characterizes relationships between who in many societies?

A) parents-in-law and children-in-law
B) aunts and nephews
C) grandparents and grandchildren
D) siblings

Question 77

The Trobriand Islander kinship system is based on which type of descent pattern?

A) matrilineal
B) patrilineal
C) bilateral
D) parallel

Question 78

The __________ system gives separate kin terms to all kin relationships.

A) Omaha
B) Sudanese
C) Hawaiian
D) Crow

Question 79

The __________ system is used by some patrilineal peoples that extend the term for mother and mother's brother to include cross-cousins on the maternal side.

A) Eskimo
B) Crow
C) Omaha
D) Hawaiian

Question 80

The Cheyenne utilizes which type of kinship terminology system?

A) Eskimo
B) Crow
C) Iroquois
D) Omaha