Kinship - Part 1: Kinship Structures

Anthropologist and ethnographic filmmaker Robert Lemelson provides an overview of kinship and an anthropological perspective on family structures. This video outlines cultural variations on marriage and descent, covering classical topics in kinship such as monogamy, polygamy, and variations of patrilineal and matrilineal descent. To go deeper, watch the following four AnthroDorphins videos in the series to learn about siblinghood; part two on family dynamics and part three on the oedipus complex; part four about contemporary family making; and part five, which addresses the manipulation of kinship for political and religious purposes. CHAPTERS 00:30 Introduction 01:29 Kinships Structures 03:47 Kinship and Culture 04:31 Unlineal Descent 05:00 Patrilineal Descent 06:02 Matrilineal Descent 08:05 Cognatic Descent 08:19 Bilineal Descent 08:46 Ambilineal Descent 09:36 Parallel Descent 09:51 Bilateral Descent 10:27 Marriage 10:40 Monogamy 11:58 Polygamy 12:08 Polygyny 15:45 Group Marriage 16:49 Alternative Marriages 18:12 Discussion Questions Follow us for more at: Instagram/TikTok/Facebook @anthrodorphins Resources at: www.anthrodorphins.org