Family History and Biological Anthropology

Abstract

Biological anthropology is the study of the interaction between human biology and the cultural aspects of human experience. It thus considers the complex interplay between genetics, environment, and culture and is the perfect mate for family history, which considers those exact same fields. Family historians think about their ancestors and what they bequeathed to their descendants, whether it is something clear and testable or something intangible. The chapter describes a biological anthropology research project using family history techniques, which demonstrates the contribution that biological anthropology and family history bring to each other. In research conducted in the adjoining parishes of Stourton and Kilmington in Wiltshire, England, the author investigated three components of marriage patterns: cousin marriage; illegitimacy; and geographical mobility. Although other researchers had looked at these aspects, none had used family history techniques to attempt to answer questions about them. They have been less accurate in calculating the prevalence of certain marriage patterns and thus offer fewer insights. They can only estimate rates of certain marriage patterns, but the detailed nature of family history techniques means that we can glimpse some of the reasons why groups of people married each other, rather than just how many married each other.