Sub-population structure and intricate kinship dynamics might introduce biases in molecular anthropology studies and could invalidate the efforts to understand diseases in highly admixed populations. In order to clarify the previously observed distribution pattern and morbidity of Chagas disease in Gran Chaco, Argentina, we studied two populations (Wichí and Criollos) recruited following an inn...

The first AustKin project (AustKin I) collected a large database of kinship terms from Aboriginal languages all over Australia, endeavouring to maintain standards of spelling, kin formulae and group identities, without losing the details of original sources used. An online geospatial interface has been used to map distributions of forms of terms and their polysemies or equations. The patterns o...

This paper discusses how a social system based on bilateral and non-hierarchical kinship is able to establish and maintain systems of authority. The Muga Lahu in Yunnan practise a bilateral and non-lineal kinship system based on the gender equality principle, and communal life is also based on equal couples’ kinship networking, bound to non-lineal ties through marriage. The Lahu here never prac...

We explore if traditional sharing norms in extended kinship systems distort consumption and accumulation decisions of poor black households in Kwazulu-Natal, South Africa. Our results suggest households try to evade their “sharing obligations” by (i) accumulating durables that are non-sharable at the expense of durables that may be shared, (ii) increasing consumption of non-durables, and (iii) ...

Kinship for First Nations people is a fundamental, yet complex, element of one's culture, enabling both belonging and relationality, extending beyond blood family relations. also recognized as important within out-of-home care (OOHC) systems, with kinship being the predominant OOHC placement type in Australia (AIHW, 2021). However, when children young are removed by state, placed into OOHC, it ...

All languages have expressions that can be glossed ‘father,’ ‘wife,’ ‘brother-in-law,’ etc., covering consanguineal, spousal, and affinal categories. However, from the beginning of serious cross-cultural study, it has been apparent that societies differ in the kinship categories used. To facilitate comparison, an ‘etic grid’ is necessary; namely, an open-ended universe of kin-types, such as ‘fa...

This review presents studies in various world regions. Each uses network analysis software designed explicitly for kinship studies with explicit network measures of cohesion. It presents evidence of fundamental differences in the forms of marital cohesion that show profoundly variable effects over a wide range of social phenomena, regional scales, and diverse cultures. Social cohesion is the ba...