Why is kinship so important to Anthropologists?

Question

Anthropologists spend alot of time studying kinship terminology... why is this?

Answer 1

TALKING ABOUT KINSHIP IT RELATEDNESS OF THINGS WITH COMMON CHARACTERISTICS OR ORIGIN. THESE MAY HELP TO DISTINGUISH THE COMMONESS OF PARTICULAR THINGS E.G KINSHIP BETWEEN ITALIC AND CELTIC LANGUAGE. THIS IS THE PRIMARY FACTOR AS THE BASIS BETWEEN THE TWO DIFFERENT ORIGIN PARTICULARLY LANGUAGES.

Answer 2

Because to know how kinship works in a traditional society is to go a long way towards knowing how the society works.

In traditional societies, kinship tells who you can depend on, who you can and cannot marry, who you must obay, who you can confide in, and so forth.

Answer 3

Because thats what one field of anthropology is all about.  socio anthropology has many diverse fields thats just one.

Answer 4

cuz thats what they r taught to study.

Answer 5

Kinship is important because it teaches you about the most basic part of the culture: the family.  Once you understand what constitutes family, you can begin to learn the rules of interactions between family members and different families; i.e., how people are considered to be related and who is allowed to marry whom.  Kinship is the root of the entire social system.  Most rules in a culture are based on the logic of kinship.

For example, if someone were to ask why the United States has only had male presidents, the Anthropologist could look at the historic American family and see that the husband is typically expected to be patriarch and the family member who goes outside the house, and that the wife is to fill the domestic duties and remain inside the home.  Although logically, (educated) Americans (prodominantly) believe that a woman could hold office too, the culture still relies on the most basic part of society to determine who actually succeeds.

Kinship, likewise, determines who it is okay for an individual to marry.  Most cultures do not allow you to marry within your family, but the idea of "family" varries depending on the culture.  For instance, a third cousin may not be marrigable for many Western cultures but can be considered acceptable in smaller, more tribal cultures, because a third cousin may not actually be part of the "family."

Learning kinship may seem tedious at first, but like the concept it represents, it is the foundation upon which you will be able to build your understanding of the discipline.