Settlement patterns and community organization: cross-cultural codes 3

Ethnology Vol/Iss. 11 Published In Pages: 254-295
By Murdock, George Peter, Wilson, Suzanne F.

Hypothesis

In correlating descent with prevailing subsistence economy the distribution of cases refutes two evolutionary 19th century assumptions: 1) Matrilineal priority--there was only 1 case in 25 of matrilineal descent among hunter-gatherers 2) unilinear descent during the millenia when men subsisted by food-gathering in absence of agriculture and animal husbandry. 84 percent of hunter-gatherers are characterized by cognatic descent (275)

Test

Test NameSupportSignificanceCoefficientTail
Comparison of raw scoresSupportedUNKNOWNUNKNOWNUNKNOWN

Variables

Variable NameVariable Type OCM Term(s)
Rule Of DescentUNKNOWNRule Of Descent, Kindreds And Ramages
Subsistence EconomyUNKNOWNProduction And Supply