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Disappearance of the Incest Taboo: A Cross‐Cultural Test of General Evolutionary Hypotheses
Author(s) -
LEAVITT GREGORY C.
Publication year - 1989
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.1989.91.1.02a00070
Subject(s) - taboo , test (biology) , psychology , social psychology , extension (predicate logic) , sociology , criminology , anthropology , ecology , biology , computer science , programming language
Employing a cross‐cultural sample of 121 societies, this research tests and supports three hypotheses offered by Yehudi Cohen (1978) concerning the relationship between the general evolution of society and the extension of the incest taboo. Cohen generally proposes that the number of relatives included in the incest taboo will be reduced as societies become technologically and socially more complex. More specifically, Cohen identifies the development of trade institutions as eliminating the need for extended incest regulations. Furthermore, Cohen proposes that as the incest taboo contracts and becomes less important, violations of this taboo are treated less severely.