Kinship Structure and Political Authority: The Middle East and Central Asia
1986 ◽
Vol 28
(2)
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pp. 334-355
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Keyword(s):
The Core
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Kinship studies have traditionally been the core of the anthropological enterprise, but the knowledge gained in studies of indigenous kinship systems has not generally been of interest to other disciplines. This essay intends to draw attention to some of the political and social implications of patterns of kinship relations by comparing two large historical culture areas, that of the frontier region of Inner Asia, and that of the peripheral tribes of the Middle East.