Early Human Kinship From Sex to Social Reproduction

by Allen, Nicholas J.; Callan, Hilary; Dunbar, Robin; James, Wendy

• ISBN13: 9781444338782
• ISBN10: 1444338781
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2011-01-04
• Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell

Summary

Early Human Kinship brings together original studies from leading figures in the biological sciences, social anthropology, archaeology, and linguistics to provide a major breakthrough in the debate over human evolution and the nature of society. A major new collaboration between specialists across the range of the human sciences including evolutionary biology and psychology; social/cultural anthropology; archaeology and linguistics Provides a ground-breaking set of original studies offering a new perspective on early human history Debates fundamental questions about early human society: Was there a connection between the beginnings of language and the beginnings of organized 'kinship and marriage'? How far did evolutionary selection favor gender and generation as principles for regulating social relations? Sponsored by the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland in conjunction with the British Academy

Author Biography

Nicholas J. Allen is Emeritus Fellow of Wolfson College, University of Oxford. Hilary Callan has been Director of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland since 2000. Robin Dunbar is Professor of Evolutionary Anthropology, University of Oxford, and specializes in primate behaviour. Wendy James was Professor of Social Anthropology at the University of Oxford, and is now Emeritus Fellow of St Cross College, Oxford.

Table of Contents

List of Tables	p. ix
List of Figures	p. x
List of Illustrations	p. xii
Preface	p. xiv
Acknowledgements	p. xvi
Notes on Contributors	p. xvii
Introduction and Background	p. 1
Why 'Kinship'? New Questions on an Old Topic	p. 3
A Brief Overview of Human Evolution	p. 21
Where and When: The Archaeological Evidence for Early Social Life in Africa	p. 25
Kinship and Material Culture: Archaeological Implications of the Human Global Diaspora	p. 27
Deep Roots of Kin: Developing the Evolutionary Perspective from Prehistory	p. 41
Women, Children, Men - and the Puzzles of Comparative Social Structure	p. 59
Early Human Kinship Was Matrilineal	p. 61
Alternating Birth Classes: A Note from Eastern Africa	p. 83
Tetradic Theory and the Origin of Human Kinship Systems	p. 96
What Can Ethnography Tell Us about Human Social Evolution?	p. 113
Other Primates and the Biological Approach	p. 129
Kinship in Biological Perspective	p. 131
The Importance of Kinship in Monkey Society	p. 151
Meaning and Relevance of Kinship in Great Apes	p. 160
Grandmothering and Female Coalitions: A Basis for Matrilineal Priority?	p. 168
Reconstructions: Evidence from Cultural Practice and Language	p. 187
A Phylogenetic Approach to the History of Cultural Practices	p. 189
Reconstructing Ancient Kinship in Africa	p. 200
The Co-evolution of Language and Kinship	p. 232
Epilogue	p. 245
Reaching across the Gaps	p. 247
Appendices to Chapter 12	p. 259
Bibliography	p. 270
Index	p. 302
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.