A History of Marriage Systems

Subjects:

• History » Geneaology

Reviews:

• This interesting monograph, number 13 in the Greenwood Press Contributions in Families Studies series, traces the development of marriage institutions from prehistoric times to the present. It is not so much a history as a sociological survey in an historical context. It sees marriage as more than an alliance between two individuals. Marriage is also a fundamental mechanism regulating the relationships among families; and between families and individuals on one hand, and society at large on the other. This is not a new idea. But Quale's organization and presentaion of data and concepts makes her book a useful one-volume introduction to a subject which is usually treated only in scholarly journals and thus nearly inaccessible to anyone but specialists. Her bibliography is extensive. . . . The many tables in the back of the book are useful and informative, and the index is unusually complete.
  —American Library Book Review
• This book represents an exceptionally ambitious undertaking, based on wide reading conveyed both in the text and in a useful bibliography. . . . The book achieves its primary purpose as a reference work, and judicious use of the index allows fascinating cross-cultural exploration of topics such as bride price or inheritance systems. . . . may advance a much-needed process of bringing advances in the social history of the family into an appropriate global focus.
  —American Historical Review
• The purpose of this cross-cultural history is two-fold: first, it seeks `the roots of why and how human beings come to marry' by looking at pair-bonding among primates and hypothesizing from it to our hominid ancestors. Second, it is `primarily meant to be a general history of overall trends rather than a detailed compendium of current data.' As such, it ranges broadly, acquainting the reader with the intricacies of marriage patterns among such diverse groups as huntergatherers, pastoral herders, agriculturalists, commercializing and urbanizing societies, and industrialized societies. In addition to its obvious value to anthropologists and historians, this a marvelous resource for anyone working with gender issues. Recommended for all college libraries.
  —Religious Studies Review

Table of Contents:

• Preface
• Relationships Among Marriage Rules, Kinship Rules, and Socioeconomic Conditions: A Hypothesis of the Spiral-like Development of Marriage Systems
• Practical Realities: The Functions of Incest Taboos, Social Replacement Considerations, and Ages at Marriage and Death, in the Development of Marriage Systems
• From Consortship to Marriage: Some Hypotheses Concerning Early Marriage Patterns, Based on Hunter-Gatherer and Primate Life
• Marriage in the Transition to Agriculture and Pastoral Herding: General Considerations and Early Developments
• Marriage in Agricultural Societies: From Early Mesopotamia to Africa, the Americas, and the Pacific
• Marriage in Pastoral-Herding Societies
• Marriage in Commercializing and Urbanizing Societies: Background and General Considerations
• Marriage in Commercializing and Urbanizing Societies: The Europe-Middle East-Asia Realm
• Marriage in Industrial-Commercial Societies: Background and General Considerations
• Marriage in Industrial-Commercial Societies: Europe
• Marriage in Societies Moving Toward Industrialization and Commercialization: The Middle East, Asia, and Africa
• Marriage in Industrial-Commercial Societies: The Western Hemisphere and the Pacific
• Conclusion
• Bibliography
• Index