Ambilineal descent, also called cognatic descent, is a mode of reckoning descent through any combination of male and female links rather than committing to one parent's line. It differs from Bilateral Descent, where both lines are traced equally with no descent group formed, because an ambilineal system lets an individual affiliate with either the mother's line or the father's line.
Facts
Descent RuleSourced to the subject's own accountKinship and descent-group membership may be traced through either the mother's line or the father's line, with an individual choosing or being assigned to one. 1 Cross-Tradition Connections
Held Differently
Both trace kinship through both parents, but bilateral descent forms no descent group while ambilineal descent lets an individual affiliate with one parent's descent group.
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