This article investigates the relationship between religious practices and the importance of land and family in peasant communities. Results suggest that religious observances are reflective of the dominant concerns of peasant life, such as land inheritance.

This paper investigates correlations between social structure and the pattern of kindship nomenclature. Results suggest that lineage nomenclatures are associated with several aspects of social structure, including unilineal descent, the domestication of plants and animals and inheritance.

Using empirical data and statistical methodology, Gouldner and Peterson aim to identify fundamental dimensions across societies, examine the relationships among these dimensions, and evaluate their importance. Data analysis is largely based on factor analysis, and the authors discuss how statistical methods fit into functional social theory.

This article investigates the relationship between religious practices and the importance of land and family in peasant communities. Results suggest that religious observances are reflective of the dominant concerns of peasant life, such as land inheritance.

This study employs factor analysis to develop a settlement pattern scale of cultural complexity. Political, economic, and religious factors are identified and implications for the structure of the cultural system are discussed.

This article provides a new explanation of matrilineal inheritence and paternity certainty, suggesting that matrilineal inheritance is most advantageous for women and can be described as a grandmaternal strategy. Results suggest a strong relationship between matrilineal inheritance and moderate to low probability of paternity, and an even stronger relationship between patrilineal inheritance and high probability of paternity.

This study examines the consequences of birth order; results suggest that the firstborn child is more likely to have social authority as they grow older (they have siblings’ respect, they control property or head kin groups, etc.). The authors suggest that this authority may be legitimated by extra attention firstborns receive though elaborate birth ceremonies and teknonymy.

This article tests Randall Collin's 1975 theory that political-economic factors, rather than family/kinship factors, predict the degree of sexual stratification in a given society. A multivariate model is tested and findings contradict the theory.

The author uses a world-wide sample of societies to address variation in famiy organization and the economic and social factors to which it relates.

This article examines direction of succession and inheritance as they relate to culture area and kinship system. Several hypotheses are presented and all are supported.