Spread of cattle led to the loss of matrilineal descent in Africa: a coevolutionary analysis

Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B: Biological Sciences Vol/Iss. 270(1532) The Royal Society Published In Pages: 2425-2433
By Holden, Clare Janki, Mace, Ruth

Abstract

Through phylogenetic comparison, Holden and Mace explore the relationship between descent and cattle among a sample of 68 Bantu/Bantoid-speaking populations in Africa. The authors posit that when matrilineal cultures adopt cattle, they become patrilineal. Possible theories are offered to explain trends and variation in the data.

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