Reply to Read and Parkin: Our model correctly expresses the ethnographic nature of the cultural incest taboo and kinship structures

Abstract

We are aware of several definitions of kinship terminology. We follow the meaning used by Levi-Strauss (1). In our paper (2), we state explicitly what each term means. The incest taboo has both cultural (symbolic) and biological implications. As stated (2), we are interested in the former—“a cultural marriage rule prohibiting within-group marriages” (3) even without strong blood relatedness, which many cultural anthropologists have focused on (1, 4⇓–6). Some were opposed to identifying this exogamy with the biological incest taboo (4), whereas some symbolically equate them (1). In our model, the symbolic taboo appears based on certain parameters. In societies without the symbolic taboo, only the biological taboo will … [↵][1]1To whom correspondence may be addressed. Email: kaneko{at}complex.c.u-tokyo.ac.jp. [1]: #xref-corresp-1-1