Basic Social Unit Research Articles

The Basque Stem Family Household: Myth or Reality?

Observers of rural Basque society have regularly contended that its basic social unit is the stem family household associated with the baserria system of agricultural production. The stem family household has long been an object of speculation, and its sanctity and preservation was a common theme in Basque literature. A close analysis of the population records of the village of Echalar in Navarre, making use of both synchronic and longitudinal analysis, suggests that the stem family household was indeed realized regularly in Echalar, and the fact of its statistical minority at any one point in time was due more to demographic limitations rather than to the presence of a competing family ethos.

Genetic epidemiology of the susceptibility to leprosy.

To test the hypothesis that genetic factors are operative in the predisposition to leprosy (Hansen's disease) in humans, a genetic epidemiologic investigation was performed on 269 leprosy kindreds containing 552 affected individuals from an isolated population in Papua New Guinea. The community, and not the family, was the basic social unit. Leprosy, an infectious disease, was not communal but strongly familial within the Karimui. Segregation analysis, to determine whether a major gene for the susceptibility to leprosy was segregating within a single multi-generational kindred, could not differentiate between a Mendelian genetic and a purely environmental hypothesis. The composite kindred data, however, suggest a genetic hypothesis for the non-immunologically induced susceptibility to leprosy per se. Within familial kindreds leprosy invariably emanated from a common ancestral sibship, and risk was associated with the closeness of kin but not with infectivity or severity.

Evolutionary Theories on Primate Social Structures and Behaviors: A Discussion on a Synthesis

Sociobiology and Japanese primate sociology are discussed to develop theories on evolution of social structures and behaviors in primates. Central problems on applying sociobiology to the primate evolution may be concepts of phenotype and selection pressure. Phenotypes for primate social structures and behaviors would be correlated each others (multi-polar), and be hierarchically organized (multi-level). For the selection pressure, “active selection pressures”, such as species recognition and sociality, may be critical for the primate evolution. Since the “active selection pressure” has properties of phenotype, we insist “dualism” of the active selection pressure and phenotype could be a critical mechanism of the primate evolution. On the other hand, primate sociology, which has been leaded by Imanishi, is characterized by its idea of “holism”that individuals serve the prosperity of species. Although Imanishi's primate sociology has been pointed out to differ from sociobiology in several points, we consider that it can be fruitfully reconstructed in the framework of neo-Darwinism when the idea of “holism” is abundant. Further, Itani has shown basic social units as the phylogenetic constraint. Since the phenotypic dynamic theory of neo-Darwinism involves phylogenetic constraint, it could reveal evolution of primate social structures. Thus, Imanishi's primate sociology and Itani's theory could be reconstructed in the framework of neo-Darwinism. The reconstruction would be fruitful to develop theories on evolutionary mechanisms of social structures and behaviors in primates.

Family characteristics in high and low health care utilization

Despite the position of the family as the basic social unit, the majority of studies of medical care utilization focus on individuals. In this preliminary study, nine families of high utilizers and 12 families of low utilizers were compared using the Moos Family Environment Scale and a semistructured interview. Significant differences were seen in structure, interactional patterns, and health-related behavior. The high utilizer families, as a whole, saw themselves as less expressive and more achievement-oriented. High utilizer children saw much more parental control than did low utilizer children. There was greater divergence in perspective between husbands and wives of high utilizing families than between spouses in low utilizing families. High utilizer families were less social than low utilizer families. There was greater use of tranquilizers and greater dissatisfaction with doctors in the high utilizer families as well.

Mass media and the Filipino family

The Filipino extended family (or barangay) used to be more than a basic social unit. It was a complete political entity in itself. But successive waves of colonisation and the advent of modern mass media have taken their toll. Ramon Tagle outlines here the changing face of the Filipino family of today.

Ecology of Pithecia hirsuta in Peru

Four social groups of Pithecia hirsuta were observed in the dry season in a continuous primary lowland rainforest in eastern Peru. These primates live in a multilayer forest canopy and rely on food trees with asynchronous reproduction which ensures year-round availability of the fruits, seeds, blossoms and leaves which make up their diet. The basic social unit appeared to be a monogramous pair and their dependent offspring. These groups are not territorial, as they may feed with other Pithecia groups, as well as other primate species. Monogamy without territoriality may represent an adaptation to the temporal and spatial variation in food availability.

Intraspecific killing among non-human primates

Intraspecific killing episodes among wild non-human primates are summarized from an evolutionary viewpoint, with regard to the social structures of the species. The summary is restricted to the higher primates, the Old World monkeys and anthropoids, which have well-developed brains and more complex social structures. This phenomenon is found only in societies with other than pair-type social units; all have one-male or multi-male groups. Eight aspects of intraspecific killing among non-human primates are discussed: structure of basic social units, intolerance among males, male precourtship aggression, tendency toward incest avoidance, population density, developmental cycle of unit groups, identity of the victim and cannibalism. Episodes of intraspecific killing have been reported for 132 species in nine genera. It is notable that, for all these species, infanticide has been observed. Therefore, the episodes were classified into infanticide and killing among adults; characteristics of each category were indicated. It is apparent that pongids have a wider variety of killing than cercopithecoids. One of the characteristics of intraspecific killing among non-human primates is that there are few counteractions from a third person or from the society toward the killer. Although an integral theory to interpret this problem is not easy to formulate and we have to wait for future studies for detailed analysis, it must be emphasized that these phenomena are related to the origin of institutions and the evolution of society.

Sacrificial Worship in Ibibio Traditional Religion

This essay is a brief study in the sacrificial system of the Ibibio people of Nigeria. It involves a description of the different sacrificial types offered by the Ibibio and a theoretical reflection on their religious significance. Attempt is also made to explicate in footnotes some ritual symbols as a full treatment of this aspect is not possible within the space limitation. I. BACKGROUND The Ibibio, the sixth largest people in Nigeria, number about three million people spread over ten clans in the South Eastern part of the country. They dwell mainly in villages with farming, trading and fishing as the principal occupations. Their society is structured around a patrilineal system of descent with significant matrifocal elements. The household (ufok), which today is giving way to the elementary family as the basic social unit, consists of a man as the head, his wife or wives, his unmarried children and married sons with their wives and children. All owe allegiance to the household head and occupy the same homestead (otung) which may comprise up to four buildings. A number of households acknowledging a common unbroken agnatic line of descent constitute the lineage (ekpuk) which is considered a permanent unit comprising not only living but also dead members who are thought still to influence the course of events within it. There may be up to seven ekpuk in an average-size village, and the village, which may number 1000-5000 inhabitants, is a politically autonomous unit headed by the chief (obong idung). To assist in governing the people, there are in every village a council of elders and cultic associations which are religious in character and to which all, both men and women belong. A group of villages make up the clan each of which has a dialect, a uniform custom and a clan head. Neither the clan nor the people is

Ethnicity, Nativity, and Economic Performance of Cooperative Smallholding Farms in Israel

This paper sets out to evaluate changes over time in the economic performance of different settler groups-as defined by ethnicity and nativityon Israel's family farms in the moshav, the smallholding cooperative village. A moshav (plural moshavim) is primarily a multipurpose cooperative society with limited liability, established to promote farming as the major occupation and source of living of its members. The nuclear family is the basic social and economic unit, but the various households-of which there are on the average 70 in a village-are bound together by mutual solidarity and aid, as well as by common agricultural, financial, supply, marketing, and other services. The village economy differs from place to place, according to general economic considerations and local conditions; in each moshav, however, an equitable division of the means of production (chiefly in respect of public capital, the size and quality of plots, and water resources) is maintained. Besides being an agricultural cooperative and upholding a specific way of life, the moshav constitutes a unit of local government with municipal duties. The authority over this and over the cooperative function is vested in the general assembly of the adult members, which decides upon matters of principle and lays down the general policy. The implementation of this policy is entrusted to the village council, assisted by various elected committees and a salaried administrative and professional staff. The council is chosen by the assembly in free, secret, and universal elections. The two constitute, in fact, the executive and the legislative body, respectively; and their separation, together with the principle of democratic representation and responsibility, is an integral part of the moshav movement's value system and constitution. The moshav type of village was originally created in 1921, and by the

Behavioral structure and demography of subarctic Clethrionomys gapperi and Peromyscus maniculatus

A subarctic rodent community of Clethrionomys gapperi and Peromyscus maniculatus was censused with multiple-capture traps in contrasting years of population growth. Clethrionomys gapperi was involved in few multiple captures and was caught in small groups. Repeat multiple captures of the same individuals were rare. Mature females were territorial and were mainly caught with mature males. Mature males had large, extensively overlapping ranges and were mainly caught with mature voles. Immatures had small, moderately exclusive ranges and were involved in more multiple captures than were mature voles. Patterns of association in C. gapperi were random.Peromyscus maniculatus was involved in numerous multiple captures and was occasionally captured in large groups. Individuals were often repeatedly captured with the same individuals. Except for mature males, most animals had extensively overlapping ranges. The basic social unit consisted of a mature male, a few mature females, and a number of young. Numerical changes were principally related to variation in juvenile survival and winter mortality. The pattern of multiple captures did not vary over a wide range of conditions. Variation in the frequency of multiple captures was indicative of spatial organization and social structure, and was not related to demographic changes.

The Victorian Town Parish: Rural Vision and Urban Mission

When leading churchmen and statesmen cast around for ways of restoring the health of English society at the end of the eighteenth century, the theme to which they constantly returned was the renewal of the parish. The parish was the basic social unit in church and state, small enough to be conceived in terms of personal relationships. On the principle that, if you look after the pennies, the pounds will look after themselves, it seemed obvious that if you could make the parish a healthy harmonious unit, then die life of the nation as a whole would become healthy and harmonious. Ideally the parish was a large family, with the squire as its father and the incumbent as its spiritual father. Southey wrote in the Quarterly Review in 1820:Every parish being in itself a little commonwealth, it is easy to conceive that before manufactures were introduced, or where they do not exist, a parish, where the minister and the parochial officers did their duty with activity and zeal, might be almost as well ordered as a private family.

Système familial et continuité culturelle : les Mocheni des Alpes italiennes

Familial System and Cultural Continuity: the Mocheni of the Italian Alps. Isolated in the Trentin, by reason of its geographical location as well as its Germanic dialect, the Mocheni community kept for centuries a cultural originality, which has not yet been disturbed by the market economy that prevails in the region. The limited ressources are rationaly exploited in a way that does not jeopardize their reproduction. The adaptation of the population to the ecosystem involves a social organization able to ensure the balance between available land and the number of mouths to feed. Patrilineary transmission of patromony, high percentage of celibacy (40 %) and temporary or permanent emigration all concur to this end. Each household (Hof) , the basic social unit, is economically self-sufficient and represents a political entity. The men are in charge of its administration as well as that of the five villages. The division of labour between women is carried very far. Today, the Mocheni are about a thousand strong. How long will they resist the changes that are sweeping over the whole Trentin?

The adaptive nature of the social system and behavior in the eastern chipmunk, Tamias striatus

1. The social system and behavior of a population of Tamias striatus were studied from October 1973 to November 1976 on a 5-ha woodlot in southeastern Ohio. The basic social unit is the solitary individual occupying a single burrow system, but a more complex social unit consisting of mother and litter persists briefly until emergence and dispersal of the litter from the natal burrow site. Burrow systems are distributed in a regular pattern and are surrounded by nonoverlapping core areas which are defended throughout the year by adults and seldom by subadults or juveniles. Defense of home sites has evolved as a mechanism to insure individuals an adequate share of a seasonal food supply. Two other spacing mechanisms occur in the annual cycle: defense of individual distances and relative dominance hierarchies. Rare instances of aggressive behavior in juveniles and subadults are examples of defense of individual distance. Relative dominance hierarchies form among adult males participating in a mating bout in core areas of estrous females. Brief pairing and multiple mating occur during a single mating bout. 2. Time budgets vary with sex and age class and also due to temporal, spatial, and social factors. The adaptiveness of differential time budgets resulting from the effects of these factors is discussed. Individual behavioral profiles are related to successful defense of home sites and reproductive fitness. Unaggressive adults are never or rarely territorial and do not mate, but extreme aggressiveness may be disadvantageous under certain circumstances. The ontogeny of aggressive behavior is discussed and factors selecting against precocious aggressiveness and sexual behavior are suggested. 3. The social system and behavior are major determinants of population dynamics and spatial distribution. Territoriality acts to regulate population density and partially determines the pattern of dispersion. Dispersing juveniles are forced into vacant areas, marginal habitats, or distant areas from birth sites by aggressive behavior in residents. Extrinsic factors which regulate density and determine spatial distribution include food resources and predation. The social system and behavior typifies that of a mammalian species adapted to a dispersed, solitary way of life.

Endogamy and Mesalliance, the Marriage Patterns of the Nobility of the Election of Bayeux, 1430-1669

Since the end of the Second World War there has been an explosion of historical studies of early modern French society. Among the many aspects of society which have been investigated, none has been more interesting or productive than the study of marriage. On one level, the study of marriage involves the history of the most basic and pervasive social unit of the early modern period, the nuclear family. On another level, the reconstruction of the collective marriage behavior of social groups reveals a great deal about the relative rigidity or flexibility of old regime social structure. Knowledge of the extent to which endogamy-the tendency of social groups to raise caste-like boundaries between themselves by restricting their marriages to their own group-was practiced is particularly important in assessing the nature of the relationships between the principal status groups of French society. The marriage patterns of French peasants, townspeople and merchant elites, venal officeholders and magistrates, and the highest nobility have been extensively analyzed.1 But the marriage patterns

Evolution of primate social structure

All diurnal non-human primates have a basic social unit in their society, whose composition is species specific. We can find two types of the basic social unit, one of which is “pair type”, the unit composed of a male, a female and their offsprings, and another is “troop type”, the unit composed of a matrilineal genealogical group and one or several adult males. The basic social unit plays an important part in a regulation of the flow of individuals, and also acts as a regulator of the incest avoidance. There is a correlation between the type of basic social unit and a relatively higher level of systematic group, for example all species belong to Cercopithecoidea have a troop type social unit, while the social unit of all species belong to Hominoidea is originated from the pair type. In this paper, the author discusses especially the developed forms of troop type which can be seen in the societies of gelada baboons and hamadryas baboons and on the reorganized forms of pair type which can be found in the societies of gorillas and chimpanzees. Recent long-term field studies are making possible the analysis of diachronic social structure of primates and are clarifying the aging of unit groups. The author emphasizes the importance of the male-bond which is found in the unit group of chimpanzees from the view point of the evolution of primate social structure. Further careful comparison between the band of primitive hunter-gatherers and the unit group of chimpanzees is a serious concern in order to solve the problem of the formation and emergence of human social structure.

Quantitative observations of grooming behavior in free-rangingMacaca mulatta

Quantitative methods of observation and analysis were used in a 12-month study of grooming behavior of free-rangingMacaca mulatta on La Cueva Island at La Parguera, Puerto Rico. Observations lasting 30–120 minutes were made from eight positions on the island at a standard time of day when monkeys were either feeding or resting. Two dependent variables were obtained: (1) the number of monkeys present in the observation area were noted by age and sex class at five-minute intervals throughout each observation, and (2) the frequency of grooming encounters was tabulated by the age and sex class(es) of groomer and recipient. These data were computed as grooms/hour/possible interacting combination of monkeys. Grooming frequencies were higher in non-feeding situations than when monkeys were feeding. The largest social group had the lowest mean grooming rates, while the smallest group had the highest grooming frequencies. More grooming occurred during the November-to-February mating season than at other periods of the year. Adult females were involved in over 60% of all grooming behavior, juveniles participated in 25% of the grooming, while adult males groomed females, primarily during the mating season, and rarely groomed other males or juveniles. Genealogical relationships, levels of group aggression and the feeding or resting context all influenced the frequency of grooming. This study provides support for the hypothesis that the basic social unit for rhesus macaques consists of a core of adult females with their juvenile and infant progeny.

Observations sur la socio-écologie du Mandrill

Six months were spent in Gabon tracking troops of Mandrills (Mandrillus sphinx) in 1973 and 1974. During two survey-periods of three months each about 2,000 kilometers were covered by foot in the forest and 6,000 by road. Contacts were only established 39 times, totalling 48 hours of actual observation time. Mandrills and drills never occur together in the same areas. Mandrills were always found to live in the lower forest layers, large adult males at the ground level, smaller females and juveniles in the undergrowth and the middle layer. Large rivers cannot be crossed by mandrills, these forest baboons being unable to swimm. The basic social unit is made of a large adult male (one for 25 individuals on average), 5 to 10 females (with or without infants) and about 10 juveniles. During the dry season, as many as 6 or 7 such harems might associate together, forming troops of 200 individuals or more. Excess adult males live a solitary existence in the forest. Mandrill troops have a very wide home range, in the order of tens of square kilometers. The average speed of movement of a group during the day was found to be 1.32 km/h, and the average distance covered 8 km per day. The diet is very varied, mostly vegetarian with possibly a small animal component. Breeding is apparently seasonal, most births occuring from January to April. Besides man, major predators include leopards and the Crowned hawk-eagle (Stephanoetus coronatus). Temporary associations with duikers (Cephalophus callypigus) and calaos (Tropicranus albocristatus) have been observed. Three types of vocalizations were distinguished : a contact call emitted mainly by females and juveniles, an alarm call used by females and subadults, and a rallying call emitted by the leader male. Olfactory marking by the secretion of the sternal glands is performed on tree trunks. When the troop is quietly foraging juvenile and subadult individuals tend to stay in front and around the females, the leader male staying to the rear. When frightened, the adult male leads the troop, followed by the females and the younger individuals. In the rain forest Mandrills exploit the less productive layers, at the ground level or in the undergrowth. Their social structure and the large size of their home range may be considered as adaptive to this poor environment.

Institutional Rigidity and Individual Initiative in Marriages of Turkish Peasants

This paper examines kidnapping and elopement within the framework of the rural marriage patterns in Turkey.2 It attempts to shed some light on the factors underlying kidnappings and elopements and on the consequences of such actions. Individual initiative to break the rigidities of the existing marriage system characterizes both kidnapping and elopements in rural Turkey. Persons feeling unable to operate within the rules set for socially acceptable marriages, often resort to what would be initially described as deviant behavior. In so doing, they take advantage of the very high rigidity of the system that they are acting against and affect the decisions of the parties involved in a marriage. To the extent that marriages in rural Turkey are arranged by the parents and close kin, parties involved in a marriage are not only the groom and the bride, but also their respective households. Indeed, the couple to be married, particularly the bride, does not have much of a socially recognized right to influence the marriage arrangements. The patrilocal household is the basic economic, social, and administrative unit in the village. Lineages, which are of shallow depth and little corporate quality, do not assume a direct role in regard to marriages. Although household heads may consult their elders, and the latter may voice their objections, the former-commonly the father or elder brother of the person whose marriage is in question-~emains as the final decision maker in this area. This is true not only because an increasing degree of familism is seen among the settled populations but also because cousins

Comparisons of canid and felid social systems from an evolutionary perspective

Canids and felids are compared regarding evolutionary history, distribution, habitat preferences, morphology and behaviour. Factors permitting and promoting sociality in both families are discussed, and communication mechanisms within each sensory modality compared. A solitary existence is compatible with felid specializations, the mother and young being the basic social unit. Canid specializations have permitted the development of a pair bond and male provisioning of young. As an adaptation to hunting large herbivorous prey, an increase in size occurred in the felids, but canids developed sophisticated pack-hunting techniques. Group structure in canids is based on long-term affiliations between a pair and matured offspring, while in the lion, the only truly social felid, it is based on a mother and maturing daughters.

Avenging spirits and the structure of Saramaka lineages

Among the Saramaka Bush Negroes of Surinam, matri-lineages undergo fission periodically a result of certain specific social and demographic pressures. Yet the Saramakas' ideal, abstract of their lineage structure, their home-made or immediate model of the system as they believe it to be (Ward 1965: 124) does not recognize the process of fission ; the corporate lineal groups which form the basic social units of the society are envisioned eternal and unchanging. Though Saramakas participate almost daily in the kinds of events which cumulatively describe the sociological parameters of the process of fission, they view these events deplorable aberrations rather than an inherent feature of the lineage system itself. Avenging spirits are the key component of this ideal synchronie of lineage structure. They provide the basic charters for in dividual matrilineages:, and at the same time play a key role in the Saramaka interpretation of the disparate events involved in the process of lineage fission. It is the complex operation of avenging spirits through time which serves to mask for Saramakas the discrepancy between the ideal, synchronie and the fact (which they recognize in certain limited contexts) that lineage fission does occur. Following a brief introduction to the Saramaka, the paper is divided into five parts. The first introduces the concept of avenging spirits (k?nu). The second describes k?nu the central symbol of ideal lineage structure. The third outlines the nature of real lineages and the causes of fission. The fourth comes to the heart of the problem in examining the role of avenging spirits in the process of lineage fission. And the final section deals briefly with certain divisive effects of the k?nu belief on a daily level, where it functions analogously to witchcraft or sorcery beliefs in many other societies. The Saramaka, who number some 15-20,000, are one of the six