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A Demographic Basis for Patrilineal Hordes
Author(s) -
Martin John F.,
Stewart Donald G.
Publication year - 1982
Publication title -
american anthropologist
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.51
H-Index - 85
eISSN - 1548-1433
pISSN - 0002-7294
DOI - 10.1525/aa.1982.84.1.02a00060
Subject(s) - polygyny , hunter gatherer , argument (complex analysis) , geography , genealogy , ethnology , evolutionary biology , demography , anthropology , history , sociology , biology , archaeology , population , biochemistry
The evidence for patrilocal group organization among precontact hunter‐gatherers is ambiguous. Observations among modern hunter‐gatherers suggest that few, if any, are organized into patrilineal hordes or bands, but these observations stem from declining populations in transformed environments. These inadequacies in the data imbue the theoretical arguments concerning hunter‐gatherer local organization with special importance. It is shown that ecological arguments against the viability of patrilineal bands fail because they conflate the membership of the camp with the band. The argument that variations in family size preclude patrilineal bands is found to be true in nonpolygynous populations. However, it is argued that patrilineal bands should develop in stable, strongly polygynous populations with small local groups, [hunter‐gatherers, local organization, ecology, demography, polygyny]