Kinship Matters: Structures of Alliance, Indigenous Foragers, and the Austronesian Diaspora

Abstract

The study of kinship systems has direct relevance for the field of human genetics and the study of microevolution in human populations. Some types of postmarital residence rules-rules requiring a married couple to live with or near relatives of the husband or wife-will have consequences for the distribution of mitochondrial DNA and Y chromosome lineages. Rules that proscribe or encourage marriage with close kin will also have consequences for allele frequency. A preference for marrying at a distance, both socially and geographically, creates alliances that can have survival value for individuals and groups in an environment of periodic or unpredictable scarcity. This article considers the nature of early contact between the indigenous foraging populations of the Philippines and Austronesian speaking settlers who began arriving ~4,500-4,000 BP. It argues that when the first Austronesians arrived they brought with them a kinship system based on symmetrical exchange between descent-based groups. It considers why such a system was gradually changed into the bilateral kinship systems that characterize the various peoples of the Philippines today, "negrito" and non-negrito alike. Abstract The study of kinship systems has direct relevance for the field of human genetics and the study of microevolution in human populations. Some types of postmarital residence rules-rules requiring a married couple to live with or near relatives of the husband or wife-will have consequences for the distribution of mitochondrial DNA and Y chromosome lineages. Rules that proscribe or encourage marriage with close kin will also have consequences for allele frequency. A preference for marrying at a distance, both socially and geographically, creates alliances that can have survival value for individuals and groups in an environment of periodic or unpredictable scarcity. This article considers the nature of early contact between the indigenous foraging populations of the Philippines and Austronesian speaking settlers who began arriving ~4,500-4,000 BP. It argues that when the first Austronesians arrived they brought with them a kinship system based on symmetrical exchange between descent-based groups. It considers why such a system was gradually changed into the bilateral kinship systems that characterize the various peoples of the Philippines today, "negrito" and non-negrito alike.

The ethics and logistics of field-based genetic paternity studies

“…That emphasis has been key to work on understanding genetic diversity and phenotypic plasticity, both of which are hallmarks of the field. Where genetic sampling has been combined with ethnographic and demographic data we have gained an even greater understanding of population history and dynamics (Destro-Bisol et al, 2004; Fix, 1978; Gopalan et al, 2017; Ober et al, 1997; J. Turner, 2013; Wen et al, 2004; Wilkins & Marlowe, 2006; Yashin et al, 1999). However, most of this integrative work has, to date, relied on previously collected demographic databases, ethnohistorical data or summary statistics that demonstrate variation across cultures.…”