Classificatory kinship, as defined by anthropologist Lewis Henry Morgan, describes kinship terminology systems that place people into society-wide kinship classes based on abstract relationship rules rather than strict genealogical distance, using the same kinship term for genealogically distinct relatives who fall into the same class. These classes may track genealogical relations at a local level, such as son to father or daughter to mother, but the classes as a whole bear no fixed overall relationship to genetic closeness; if a total stranger marries into the society, for example, they may be placed into the class appropriate to their new spouse's position. The Dravidian kinship-term system, identified as a distinct type in 1964, is treated as an example of classificatory kin-term logic. Morgan attributed the origin of classificatory systems to what he believed was an early promiscuous stage of human social evolution, in which it would have been impossible for a tribe or family to distinguish a father from an uncle, a cousin from a brother, or a son from a nephew, though modern anthropologists no longer accept this evolutionary-stage explanation.
Facts
Descent RuleSourced to the subject's own accountNot defined by a single descent rule: classificatory terminology, which merges genealogically distinct relatives under one term, can appear across different descent systems; the Dravidian kinship-term system, discovered in 1964, is cited as one example of classificatory kin-term logic. 1 Typical RegionSourced to the subject's own accountNot confined to one region: classificatory kinship terminology, as defined by Lewis Henry Morgan, merges genealogically distinct relatives under shared terms across societies rather than marking a single home region; the Dravidian kinship-term system is cited as one documented example. 1 Connections
Studied By
Classificatory kinship terminology, in which relatives of the same generation and sex are grouped under a single term regardless of genealogical distance, is the foundational category Lewis Henry Morgan established in his comparative study of kinship systems worldwide.
Source Wikipedia: W. H. R. Rivers
Sources
1. Wikipedia: Classificatory Kinship
WikipediaLead section, on the Dravidian kinship-term system
The Dravidian kinship-term system, discovered in 1964, is an example of a classificatory kin-term logic.
Lead section, on kinship-term merging
It uses kinship terms that merge or equate genealogically distinct relatives from one another.
Lead section, Morgan's definition
Classificatory kinship systems, as defined by Lewis Henry Morgan, put people into society-wide kinship classes based on abstract relationship rules.
View the Source Wikipedia: W. H. R. Rivers
WikipediaStudied By: W. H. R. Rivers, Genealogical method sectionQuote, Studied By: W. H. R. Rivers, Genealogical method section
It was at once evident to Rivers that the names applied to the various forms of blood relationship did not correspond to those used by Europeans, but belonged to what is known as a 'classificatory system'.
Dissenting Readings (1 dissenting reading)
Description
Lewis Henry Morgan explained classificatory kinship terminology, where genealogically distinct relatives share one term, as a survival from an early promiscuous stage of human social organization in which a tribe or family could not have told a father from an uncle, a cousin from a brother, or a son from a nephew. Later anthropology does not accept this evolutionary-stage explanation. The classificatory pattern itself, including systems such as the Dravidian kinship-term system identified as a distinct type in 1964, is not in dispute; what is rejected is Morgan's own account of why such systems arose.
A dissenting reading, from Twentieth-century anthropologistsWikipedia: Classificatory Kinship, Wikipedia
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