Found 77 Documents across 8 Pages (0.002 seconds)
  1. When does matriliny fail? The frequencies and causes of transitions to and from matriliny estimated from a de novo coding of a cross-cultural sampleShenk, Mary K. - Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B, 2019 - 2 Hypotheses

    Researchers looked at 180 of the 186 societies in the SCCS for changes over time in lineage systems. The goal was to estimate the frequency of transitions away from and to matriliny cross-culturally, as well as explore the potential causes of these patterns / transitions. The study focused on two overarching research questions: 1. How common are transitions away from matriliny and how often do ‘reverse transitions’ to matriliny occur? 2. What causes transitions to or from matriliny? Overall, the study found that transitions away from matriliny have been quite common within the time frames covered by the ethnographic samples available, while transitions from another system to matrility have been rare. In answering the second question, the researchers report the highest correlation is between subsistence transitions (towards pastoralism, intensive agriculture, or a market economy) and lineage transitions (away from matriliny) as well as between higher levels of social complexity (measured by stratification, slavery, and population size) and lineage transitions (away from matriliny).

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  2. Animals in folklore: a cross-cultural study of their relation to the status of womenJohnson, Mary A. - Michigan Academician, 1986 - 2 Hypotheses

    A test of theory that gender assigned to animal characters in folklore will be associated with character traits based on gender status. Post facto theory for findings is presented.

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  3. The role of the father: an anthropological perspectiveKatz, Mary Maxwell - The Role of the Father in Child Development, 1981 - 1 Hypotheses

    This chapter examines the relationship between male parental behavior and influences of species, ecological and social factors. The authors first present a cross-phylogenetic perspective on paternal differences between species, then offer two quantitative studies: a comparative study of non-western human societies that correlates father-infant proximity with socioecological factors and another about father-infant proximity among the !Kung.

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  4. Cultural macroevolution on neighbor graphs: vertical and horizontal transmission among Western North American Indian societiesTowner, Mary C. - Human Nature, 2012 - 0 Hypotheses

    This study analyzes cultural trait transmission among a sample of 172 Western North American Indian societies. The authors use autologistic models built upon spatial and linguistic neighbor graphs to examine the importance of vertical versus horizontal trait transmission. Findings suggest that cultural trait distributions cannot be explained by the transmission of traits from parent to daughter populations and are better analyzed using phylogenies. Authors also show that vertical and horizontal transmission can be incorporated in a single model and may both act upon a single trait. Analysis of only one type of cultural transmission would result in a loss of information.

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  5. Is Mary Douglas's Grid/Group Analysis Useful for Cross-Cultural Research?Caulkins, D. Douglas - Cross-Cultural Research, 1999 - 1 Hypotheses

    In this article, the researcher aims to test the usefulness of grid/group theory, developed by anthropologist Mary Douglas, for cross-cultural research. The article utilizes principal component factor analysis on grid/group indicators to test if "grid" and "group" can be considered as sufficiently independent factors, and thus useful for quantitative cross-cultural research.

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  6. Comparative study of reproductive skew and pair-bond stability using genealogies from 80 small-scale human societiesEllsworth, Ryan M. - American Journal of Human Biology, 2015 - 7 Hypotheses

    Authors use genealogical data to investigate pair bond stability and reproductive skew across a sample of 80 small-scale societies. Results suggest that male reproductive skew and pair-bond stability are independent sources of cross-cultural variation in human mating patterns.

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  7. Greater wealth inequality, less polygyny: rethinking the polygyny threshold modelRoss, Cody T. - Journal of The Royal Society Interface, 2018 - 3 Hypotheses

    In this article, the authors reconsider the polygyny threshold model in order to account for the "polygyny paradox." This paradox, as the authors define it, is the trend away from polygyny as societies adopt stratified agricultural economies. This is despite an increase in both the importance of material wealth and greater leaves of wealth inequality both of which would otherwise suggest increased polygyny. The authors develop a new model that does account for this paradox.

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  8. Residential variation among hunter-gatherersEmber, Carol R. - Behavior Science Research, 1975 - 7 Hypotheses

    This study explores predictors of variation in two dimensions of marital residence patterns among hunter-gatherers: 1) the tendency toward patrilocality versus matrilocality and 2) the tendency toward unilocality versus bilocality.

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  9. Our better nature: Does resource stress predict beyond-household sharingEmber, Carol R. - Evolution and Human Behavior, 2018 - 3 Hypotheses

    The present research investigates food sharing and labor sharing practices of 98 nonindustrial societies. The aims are to: 1) document the frequency and scope of sharing, and 2) test the theory that greater sharing is adaptive in societies subject to more resource stress (including natural hazards).

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  10. Inculcated traits and game-type combinations: a cross-cultural viewRoberts, John M. - The Humanistic and Mental Health Aspects of Sports, Exercise and Recreation, 1976 - 1 Hypotheses

    This study relates the type of games present in a society to the level of cultural complexity. Authors use a "game-type combination scale" that categorizes societies as having: 1) games of physical skill only; 2) games of physical skill and games of chance; and 3) games of physical skill, games of chance, and games of strategy. Results show a relationship between the game-type combination scale and indicators of cultural complexity.

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