This article tests differing theories of why a man's marriage of his mother's brother's daughter is often encouraged while marriage of the father's sister's daughter is discouraged. Maintenance of relationships between bride-givers and bride takers is considered, as are the role of childhood sentiments in choosing a spouse.

The authors review and provide an alternative to Levi-Strauss's theory on unilateral cross-cousin marriage. Levi-Strauss theorized that matrilateral cross-cousin marriage (males marrying their maternal uncles' daughters) occurs more than the patrilateral form because the former promotes more "roundabout" woman-giving and overall social solidarity. He also states that the form of cross-cousin marriage does not depend on kinship linearity. In contrast, the present authors hypothesize that, among societies with unilateral cross-cousin marriage, patrilineal societies will have matrilateral cross-cousin marriage and matrilineal societies will have the patrilateral form. To justify their prediction, the authors point to the close, informal relationships fostered between males and their maternal uncles in patrilineal societies and between males and their paternal aunts in matrilineal societies.

This study discusses many variables that may influence the direction of altruism within a family. Significant relationships were found between paternity certainty, conjugal instability, marital residence, cross-cousin marriage preferences, and direction of altruistic behavior. Special emphasis is placed on the importance of the mother's brother.

This book is a comprehensive analysis of many aspects of social structure including family, clan, community, kinship terminology, social organization, regulation of sex, incest taboos, and sexual choice.

The author analyzes the association between joking behavior and four types of instutionalized potential marriage relationships. Results show a tendency for a joking relationship to occur in all cases.

Textor summarizes cross-cultural findings on polygyny pertaining to cultural, environmental, psychological, and social phenomena.

This book examines male and female power in various kinship configurations. Variables for male dominance and female autonomy are associated with various political and social variables, such as political complexity and co-wife jealousy. Several hypotheses are supported.

This study investigates the relationship between Crow kinship terminology and avunculocality. Results indicate that if matrilateral cross-cousin marriage is associated with Crow kinship systems, then societies that are avunculocal are more likely have Crow systems.

This paper examines diverging devolution—the transmission of property to both males and females—and its predictors and consequences. Particular attention is paid to kinship terminology and control of women’s marriage. Multiple hypotheses are supported.

This article examines differences in parental preference of potential in-laws across cultures. Results suggest that parents look for traits that will benefit themselves and their kin and that gender and subsistence type affects the traits that parents deem most important.