Open AccessFamily Relations in Mauretania Tingitana: An Analysis of the Epigraphic Evidence
Author(s) -
Leonard A. Curchin
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
gerión
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1698-2444
pISSN - 0213-0181
DOI - 10.5209/geri.80352
Subject(s) - affection , sibling , nuclear family , inheritance (genetic algorithm) , genealogy , identity (music) , extended family , geography , demography , psychology , developmental psychology , history , sociology , social psychology , biology , art , genetics , anthropology , gene , aesthetics
Funerary commemorations from Mauretania Tingitana are an important source of information on family relations in a Roman province. As in other provinces, nuclear relationships (93% of the total) predominate over those of the extended family (7%). Among nuclear family commemorations, 44% are dedicated by parents, 11% by children of the deceased, 30% by spouses and 15% by siblings. Compared with other provinces, Mauretania Tingitana has an unusually high proportion of descending (parent-child) and lateral (sibling) relations; this may reflect strong familial bonds that already existed in the pre-Roman culture. The inscriptions also allow observations about inheritance, identity, marital age, affection, and gender differences.