This paper examines Murdock's (1949) definitions and data pertaining to the universal functions of the nuclear family. The author asserts that Murdocks definitions and data are faulty and finds that Murdock's claims regarding the universality of nuclear families are unsupported.

This article is a quantitative analysis of 592 participants from 8 societies. The study examines a number of theories about what predicts moralistic religions, including life history theory. Findings suggest that there is no evident relationship between these life history predictions and the religious beliefs regarding moralism.

This study examines two theories concerning the prevalence of rape: deterrence theory and fraternal interest group theory. Results indicate that both punishment and fraternal interest groups influence the frequency of rape, though neither variable is a necessary cause. The effects of marital residence and polygyny are also considered.

This article seeks to examine the distribution and frequency of bride-theft. Tylor's (1889) findings between various forms of marriage by capture and certain other social instituions are confirmed.

This article presents an attempt to cross-culturally test of the hypothesis that rituals and/or behavioral changes will be associated with menopause. Due to a lack of sufficient data, statistical analyses were not performed but an examination of the ethnographic literature on the topic is presented.

This article presents tests of hypotheses derived from an evolutionary approach to the rape of women. A cross-cultural test of the relationship between polygyny and rape in non-industrial societies is presented. Results suggest that the degree of polygyny is positively associated with the severity of punishment for rape.

This study examines Parsons' and Bales' proposition that a universal feature of social structure is gender sex role specialization of tasks. Results suggest that women contribute substantially to the subsistence economy across many domains, casting doubt on such universality.

Focusing on 61 preindustrial societies that have information on fertility, the author asks what factors may explain variation in fertility, what devices are used to control fertility, and whether differences in fertility appear to be in line with the societies' environments.

The author claims that variance in sociocultural variables can be mostly be attributed to associations that are not cross-cultural. Although some patterns are universal, many social patterns occur on a regional, rather than worldwide, scale. This study presents a factor analysis of sociocultural variables that supports these claims.

This article examines the conditions under which slavery occurs in preindustrial societies. Results suggest that social stratification and the existence of open resources are both necessary conditions for the occurrence of slavery.