UNIT 4 GENEALOGY AND PEDIGREE

Contents
4.1 Introduction
4.2 Meaning of Genealogy
4.3 Meaning of Pedigree
4.4 Genealogy and Pedigree
4.5 Early Works on Genealogy
4.6 Genealogy and Ethnography/Anthropology
4.7 Applications of Genealogical Method
4.8 How to Draw Pedigree and Genealogical Charts
4.9 Elementary Diagram of Primary Kin Connections
4.10 Pedigree Diagrams
4.11 Symbols Used in Genealogy to Represent Kinship Relations
4.11.1 Representing Persons in Genealogies
4.11.2 Representing Connection Types
4.11.3 Representing a Nuclear Family
4.11.4 Atom of Kinship
4.12 Conventions for Describing Kinship Relationships
4.13 Summary
References
Suggested Reading
Sample Questions
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Learning Objectives
Once you have studied this unit, you should be able to;

> learn the meaning of genealogy and pedigree;

> distinguish between genealogy and pedigree;
> know the applications of genealogy and pedigree in anthropological studies;
> learn various symbols used in genealogy and pedigree; and
> learn how to draw genealogical and pedigree charts.

4.1 INTRODUCTION___________________________
The most fundamental institution of human society is the nuclear family. It is
based on marriage and parentage, It consists of a wife, a husband and their
unmarried children. Nuclear family is the formative domain for many other
socio-cultural institutions. However nuclear family does not exist in isolation
or independently. It is linked with other families, kin groups, community and
society at large. Family also exists in other forms, for example, extended family.
42 The relationships that exist between members of different types and forms of
family in different cultures reflect variation and complexity. These relationships Genealogy and Pedigree
also form the basis in understanding kinship systems. Further, family
membership and family positions are used as criteria for membership and
position in larger kin and social units. Kinship commonly plays a crucial role
in the structure of non-industrial societies, determining both social relations
and group relationship of the present generation as well as past generations.
Marriage, for example, is usually significant in determining social/economic/
religious and sometimes military alliances between villages, kin groups like
clans and ethnic groups. In this unit, we will learn about how genealogy and
pedigree are used as research techniques for understanding these networks of
relationships. The genealogical method is a well-established procedure to collect
kin relationships in ethnographic studies. It was used as a technique by the
early ethnographers to identify all-important links of kinship determined by
alliance and descent. Pedigree and genealogy have other wider applications in
the study of human society and cultures.

4.2 MEANING OF GENEALOGY________________

We begin by defining and describing what genealogy is. Genealogy, derived
from the Greek language (genea, “generation” and, logos, “knowledge”), is
the study of families and the tracing of their lineages and history. Genealogy is
an analytical tool to study kinship and social organisation. Genealogists and
anthropologists use interviews, case study, oral traditions, historical records,
and other records to obtain information about a family and to demonstrate
kinship and pedigrees of its members. This practice is found in most parts of
the world. Originally concerned with tracing royal, aristocratic, or clerical lines,
genealogy has broadened its scope over the years, and many ordinary people
now pursue it to keep the record of their ancestors and also as a hobby.

Keeping the track of family descent is an ancient practice and profession, for
example, ancient Europe (written genealogies), China (printed genealogies),
Redjang of south Sumatra, (genealogies written on bark cloth), north India
(professional castes in compilation of genealogies), Samoa (memorised
genealogies and presently recorded in notebooks) etc. Even The Old Testament
contains lists of descent. There is a formalised oral recitation of descent lines
in several preliterate societies. In these cultures, genealogical information was
transmitted orally, usually as a list of names; later generations recorded and
documented this information. Divine origins were often ascribed to kings and
heroes. Modem genealogists use artifacts, including ancient records, coins,
deeds, tapestries, paintings, and monuments to help them in their work. In
anthropology, genealogy is used for generating information about various socio­
cultural traits particularly related to kinship, descent, genetic analysis and to
understand aspects like inheritance, succession etc

4.3 MEANING OF PEDIGREE___________________

Now we will briefly define the meaning of pedigree. Pedigree is a line of
ancestors or a list of ancestors; it is a way of representing family tree. The
word pedigree is a corruption of the French “pied de grue” (pe, foot + de, of +
grue, crane) or crane's foot, because the typical lines and split lines (each split
leading to different offspring of the one parent line) resemble the thin leg and
foot of a crane. Pedigree is a chart of an individual’s ancestors. It is used in 43
Fieldwork Tradition in human genetics to analyse Mendelian inheritance of certain traits, especially
Anthropology of familial diseases. In generic terms, a pedigree chart is an illustration which
depicts the manifestation and appearance or phenotypes of a specific gene or
genetic organism, along with its ancestors from every generation. It is seen in
humans and may also be seen in race horses and show dogs. In physical
anthropology, pedigree (otherwise also a cousin chart or table of consanguinity)
is helpful in identifying the degree of cousin relationship between two
individuals using their most recent common ancestor as the reference point.
Pedigree can illustrate cousinship between two individuals either in degrees
(first cousin, second cousin etc.) or in removals (once removed, twice removed
etc.). This is done on the basis of how close in terms of generation the common
ancestor is to each person. Pedigree is used by physical anthropologists to find
out the exact relationship embedded in classificatory kin terms like cousins,
uncles and aunts in the studies on consanguinity and other genetic studies.

4.4 GENEALOGY AND PEDIGREE______________

This part will tell us why the use of genealogy and pedigree is important.
Genealogy and pedigree are used interchangeably for tracing out ancestry, to
show kin relationships between persons and for statements of genealogical
connections. Genealogy is also used as an abstract noun for the study of these
statements. Genealogy can be referred to as a tool used by certain practitioners
(like bards, aristocratic families, some occupational specialists etc.) who operate
kinship systems. These oral or written records are comparable to the genealogies
prepared by ethnographers. These traditional records are also used by
ethnographers as evidences while generating genealogies in the field. However
the oral/written records of traditional societies, aristocratic families, other
families or individuals or practicing genealogists and the genealogies built up
by ethnographers are not one and the same.

The genealogical statement made orally, diagrammatically or in written form

or as narratives can be called as pedigrees. Anthropologist J. A. Barnes uses
the word pedigree for a genealogical statement made orally, diagrammatically,
or in writing by an actor or informant. Anthropologist Meyer Fortes defines
pedigree as a ‘charter by which any particular person presents himself as the
descendant of a specified ancestor’. Yalman writing about the Kandyan
Sinhalese draws a distinction between pedigree which link living people with
their dead ancestors and genealogy which link living people to others around
them. J. A. Barnes says that genealogy is a genealogical statement made by an
ethnographer as part of his field record or of its analysis. It is found that, the
genealogical data in an ethnographic investigation, entails a much larger range
of attributes and networks than the people taken into consideration in the
collection of pedigree enquiry. A pedigree is normally a contemporary statement,
showing connections between people, many of whom died long ago. In a
genealogy, the ethnographer, tries to show how these people during their life
time, were thought to be related to one another as well as how these relationships
are viewed now. In the construction of pedigree, the cultural factors play a role
in showing the lines of descent. In genealogy, the demands of science play a
role in recording the lines of descent and also other related information.

Thus genealogy can be designated as (1) the chart or diagram prepared by the
ethnographer while tracing descent of a person or generated for a specialised
44
 or particular purpose in order to understand the socio-cultural dimensions by Genealogy and Pedigree
following certain scientific procedures; and (2) genealogy can also be designated
as an analytical tool to study the genealogical connections recorded in the
form of statements.
For anthropologists, genealogy is distinguished from pedigree by the nature of
their descriptions. While genealogy can be viewed as a popular, traditional
interpretation of ancestrally defined relations, pedigree may be seen as a
scientific interpretation of the same. The distinction rests upon the genealogical
method as a scientific method of anthropological inquiry, from the popular art
or tradition of certain practitioners or professionals who maintain the lines of
< descent of certain families and ethnic groups or communities. W.H.R. Rivers
converted the way the English elite viewed the concept of pedigree into a
scientific method. It grew into a distinct part of conducting fieldwork and the
way ethnography was written. It was more than just accumulating genealogical
links.
Ethnographers, usually but not invariably, begin drawing charts by identifying
a central person, a key informant or the head of family or a leader, priest, a
shaman, a known ancestor etc., and weave around his/her relatives, descendants,
ascendants, collaterals either in a male line or female line or both. The results
are often displayed in charts or written as narratives. Further this genealogical
information is put to use for analysing various socio-cultural features in the
populations studied by anthropologists. Pedigree is usually used to show or
record the lines of descent of families though physical anthropologists apply
for a specialised purpose of understanding consanguinity and its genetic
implications.

4.5 EARLY WORKS ON GENEALOGY__________

In this portion we will delve into how the genealogical method was used in the
beginning. Genealogical method has been regarded as a popular and chief
technique in the field of ethnography. Most probably, the existence of Western
pedigrees must have generated interest among many travelers to collect
genealogies among other peoples whom they visited. One of the first published
genealogies of tribal people was collected by Sir George Grey in Western
A ustralia. In his study of kinship term inology, the fam ous classical
anthropologist L.H. Morgan showed much interest in the genealogical method.
H ow ever the genealogical m ethod, in anthropology, was devised and
popularised by W.H.R. Rivers, during the Torres Straits Expedition of 1898-
99. Rivers was interested in genetic as well as socially recognised kinship and
paid much attention to kinship terminology. His method laid the foundation
for later developments in social demography and the construction of statistical
models. A comprehensive account on genealogy was given in Notes and Queries
on Anthropology (1912), after which it became a standard procedure in social
anthropology and physical anthropology. Its primary purpose, as Rivers opines,
was to improve the analysis of social organisation, i.e. the concrete practice of
interpersonal relations in kin groups and socio-cultural arrangements. The
method uses extensive interviewing of named individuals (personal names) in
order to: (1) collect kin relationship terms and vital statistics among non-literate
populations, and (2) record their pedigrees, which reflected rights and
responsibilities, social customs and practices relating primarily to rules
concerning descent, post-marital residence, succession, and inheritance. 45
Fieldwork Tradition in The m ethod was used, along with censuses and settlem ent plans, in
Anthropology anthropological field research for classical monographs on the Todas (Rivers).
Tallensi (Meyer Fortes), Tikopia (Raymond Firth), Ndembu (Victor Turner)
and Sinhalese (Edmund Leach) among others. Robin Fox (1995) added a further
dimension to the method by showing that, because a genealogy is a cultural
form, care has to be taken that names are elicited in accordance with local
practice. Robin Fox’s Irish islanders began not with a named individual (an
ego) but with ancestors. Alan Barnard and Anthony Good (1984) added further
procedural refinements to ensure that no patrilineal bias affects the use of the
genealogical method.

4.6 GENEALOGY AND ETHNOGRAPHY/

ANTHROPOLOGY_________________________
Before learning about the applications of genealogy, we also briefly need to
know the difference between genealogy and ethnography and anthropology. A
simple difference lies between what genealogy is and how it is used in
ethnography and anthropology. The main idea of genealogy is to reconstruct
family trees and create logical family histories. However ethnography and
historical anthropology in particular, uses genealogical method to build and
describe the principles of kinship, marriage and descent which Kottak describes
as “the social blocks of nonindustrial cultures” in the so-called kin-based
societies (1991:26). It is also used to depict households as fundamental social
units with the help of census data and comparative/typological analysis
(Otterbein 1972). Detailed account of the “classical” genealogical method has
been offered by Tyler (1969), also defined as ethno-genealogical method.

4.7 APPLICATIONS OF GENEALOGICAL

METHOD__________________________________
We now proceed to learn about how genealogy is used in anthropology and
specifically in kinship studies. Kinship plays an im portant part in the
organisation of behaviour and the creation of social groups, as it is one of the
most common existing features in human society. Kinship systems are
dependent on the social identification and cultural application of affiliations
based on descent and marriage. These usually include a set of kinship
nomenclatures and a connected set of behavioural outlines and attitudes which
form a methodical ensemble. On the basis of descent and consanguinity societies
set apart different categories of relationships. Marriage and affinity also helps
in distinguishing relationships. All may fall under the term kinship and it is
genealogy and its study which helps in comprehending these relationships.

In actuality the significance of the genealogical method moves beyond the

specific arena of descent studies yet it is hardly used by anthropologists who
do not research on kinship or kin-based societies. It nevertheless presented the
foundation of a type of structural demography in anthropology as promoted by
Levi- Strauss. This seeks at a calculated description of the relationship between
the order and permanence of social structure and the real size of a population.
It is based on the collection of personal demographic and social information
and the creating of pedigrees, household surveys etc.
46
The genealogical method is also used in the study of present urban anthropology. Genealogy and Pedigree
Here it is mostly used with ego-centred network analysis. It has also been
widely used in migration studies of ethnic groups to America. However it has
been most fundamental in the study of medical anthropology. For example,
with the help of genealogical studies it was found that the disease kuru, found
among the New Guinea highlanders was not hereditary as was first postulated,
but due to the spread of cannibalism among them. Anthropologists have also
used the genealogical method in AIDS research in Africa. Indeed, the nature
and problems encountered in these two cases reflect W.H.R. Rivers’ concerns
when he first confronted Melanesian depopulation and inexplicable illnesses
at the turn of the twentieth century, the setting in which he first began to develop
the genealogical method. Genealogical method is also used in claiming land
ownership rights by indigenous peoples. It is also used in establishing
authenticity in the issuance of caste certificates. Because of these manifold
applications, genealogy will remain a significant tool for empirical study and
theoretical reflections in anthropology, indigenous rights, assertion of caste/
tribe identity in availing some constitutional benefits.

Activity
Identify descriptive terms, classificatory terms, cross cousins and parallel cousins,
clan exogamy, from a sample genealogy chart (caste, tribe, and religion based
genealogies).

4.8 HOW TO DRAW PEDIGREE AND

GENEALOGICAL CHARTS_________________
As pointed out earlier, pedigree and genealogy are represented by means of
charts or diagrams. The following two paragraphs show how to draw a pedigree
chart. The next section gives an account on how to draw genealogical charts. It
is essential to understand various symbols and notations used in pedigree and
genealogy.

4.9 ELEMENTARY DIAGRAM OF PRIMARY KIN

CONNECTIONS____________________________

a) A = B b) A X B

D D

c) A m B B
d)

D D

47
Fieldwork Tradition in In the above charts “X” and “m” and an upward bracket I_____ I represents
Anthropology
marriage; the downward bracket I 1and the vertical line indicates descent;
the horizontal lines connecting C and D indicate sibling relationship. Another
basic and most popularly used diagram is:

A B

| |
C E D

The horizontal line connecting A and B shows alliance relationship and the
vertical lines connecting C, E and D indicate descent. However, in genealogical
representations, alphabets are not used. The following account gives various
symbols used in pedigree/genealogy charts.

The symbol used to depict females is a small circle O and males are depicted
b a square [H A horizontal marriage line joins the symbols representing parents.
The children are placed in a horizontal row below which is joined by a vertical
line emerging from the parents’ horizontal line. That is the horizontal line
above the symbols for the children is itself connected to the parents’ marriage
line by a vertical line. The symbol for a single child is directly attached to this
vertical line. Having understood how to draw primary relationships in a nuclear
family we move on to draw a pedigree chart.

4.10 PEDIGREE DIAGRAMS____________________

A pedigree diagram shows family relationships where the people are represented
by symbols and genetic relationships are represented by lines. Such diagrams
make it simpler to envisage familial relationships especially large extended
families. The mode of inheritance of biological traits, like dominant or recessive,
for genetic ailments is determined by pedigrees. Below is an example of such
a pedigree.

In a pedigree, males are represented by squares and females by circles. Mating

is represented by a horizontal line connecting a male and a female. Children
are represented by vertical lines which go downwards from the parents’ line.
The following generations are placed underneath parental generations and the
top of the pedigree is represented by the oldest representatives in the family
line.

If a pedigree analyses the pattern of inheritance of a specific trait, then the

symbols of the persons who have the particular trait are shaded.
48
The pedigree above demonstrates that the grandparents have two children, a Genealogy and Pedigree
son and a daughter. The trait under study is possessed by the son. One of his
four children, his son also has the trait.

In a pedigree, siblings or sibs are shown from left to right based on the sequence
of birth, Every individual is labeled with a number by which reference can be
made. The numbering system can follow a sequential arrangement from the
oldest generation to the most recent Qr every generation may be represented by
a Roman numeral and the individuals in a generation may be represented by
Arabic numerals. Thus II- 2 would signify the second individual in the second
generation of the pedigree.

When the recorder of a pedigree is unable to locate the sex of a person,

then the symbol of diamond<^>is used. When a number is inserted in an open
symbol, this signifies the number of sibs of the same sex who are not separately
recorded. If the disease or trait which the recorder is looking for is found in
pedigree s/he is designing, then the affected symbol (person) is shaded black.
If a circle or square remains unaffected, that is, the trait is absent then the
symbol remains empty. The pedigree above shows that the marriage between
II-2 and II-3 did not result in any children. II-5 and II-6 are siblings whose
parents have not been added to this pedigree. The symbols III-4 and III- 5 are
identical twins. This is shown through the short vertical line coming downward
from the sibship line. Symbols III-6 and III-7 are twins too but are not identical
as they are not joined by a vertical line.

Activity
Draw pedigree charts showing first cousins, second cousin, one and half cousin
and also cousin once removed, twice removed thrice removed etc.

4.11 SYMBOLS USED IN GENEALOGY T p

REPRESENT KINSHIP RELATIONS_________
Anthropologists and other specialists of genealogies usually employ a simple
set of symbols to represent persons and relationships in generating genealogical
charts to represent kinship systems. These symbols were largely adopted from
the International Federation of Eugenic O rganisations in 1932 by the
Sociological Research Committee of the Royal Anthropological Society of
Great Britain (Man 1932, vol 32: 120-121) in a paper that was titled as The 49
Fieldwork Tradition in Standardisation o f Pedigree Charts (TSPC). However, symbols and rules are
Anthropology changed according to the suitability of any field situation and specific features
of kinship system, and field researchers devise sets of particular symbols that
are appropriate for the conditions in which the work is carried out. The symbols
discussed below are accepted and recognised generically. In a genealogical
chart, two different kinds of symbols are seen. The first set depicts persons
and the second set depicts the relationships between these persons. These are
known as connections.

The following account gives us an idea about the symbols used to represent
persons: A male, whether boy or man, is usually represented by a triangle. A
female, whether girl or woman, by a circle. A third symbol used is the square,
where the gender is not specified. It could either represent a man or a woman.
For example, the word cousin can be used for either a woman cousin or a man
cousin. So in such cases a square helps to designate words/relationships which
represent both males and females.

FEMALE MALE FEMALE (OR) MALE

O A □
In kinship studies and genealogical representations one has to remember the
rule of economy: sym bols used in graphic representations and verbal
descriptions to describe a relationship should be shortest and the most efficient
way, taking care not to distort native meanings underlying the relationships.
Other suitable ways and symbols can be used to capture the essence and feature
of kin terminology.
It is required to stress if a person is still living, or if he or she is deceased. In the
case of being dead, the triangle, circle or square is coloured in black or crossed
out.

4.11.1 Representing Persons in Genealogies

These genealogical symbols depicting individuals do not tell us how these
individuals can be connected to each other. We use more symbols to show
these connections. Three types of connections can be shown: two individuals
are connected through marriage, another two are connected by birth, i.e. they
are siblings (brothers and sisters) and two persons are connected as one is the
parent (father or mother) of the other. This connection is called filiation.
A marriage connection, also called alliance, is represented as a line that goes
from below a person to below another person. Sometimes the symbol '=' is
used. A sibling connection is represented as a line that goes from top of a
person to the top of another person. The filiation connection (parent-children)
is shown by a line which runs from below a parent to the top of the children.
However when adoption is to be depicted in a genealogy then the connection
line runs similarly but this is illustrated by using a broken line. In the diagrams
below the three fundamental connection types (marriage, sibling, filiation) are
portrayed.

A O O
V O A
50 Marriage connection Sibling connection Filiation
4.11.2 Representing Connection types Genealogy and Pedigree

The above basic connections are combined in genealogies, and every person
is linked to multiple persons through at least one of these connection types.
This leads us to the second rule called the rule of multiple connectedness: to
make genealogies informative, each person has to be connected to at least one
other person; and the information becomes more informative with every distinct
connection type that is added subsequently to each other person. We may say
that genealogy allows more elements for explanation to point out if an individual
is connected to several other individuals. In fact it represents how every
individual is connected to other individuals through different connection types
(marriage, sibling, filiation, date and place of birth, kind of residence, more
than one marriage, marital status etc.)

The connection categories may spread to other individuals. Such lines do not
have to connect directly to an individual, but may attach to show another
connection type. For example, a nuclear family consisting of a father, a mother
and their children is depicted in the diagram in the following manner:

* Filiation

4.11.3 Representing a Nuclear Family

The two filiation lines which go down from the parents are combined together
with each child into one and thus show the sibling bond between the boy and
the girl. This also signifies the marriage connection between their parents.
Any line depicting connection can either lead to a person directly or to another
connection which shows a different type.

Finally, we add father’s younger sister to the nuclear family shown above. She
can fit into what Levi-Strauss named as the atom of kinship. In other words
she in this example signifies the smallest social unit from which kinship system
kinds may be inferred.

4.11.4 Atom of Kinship

Along the graphical/diagrammatic representation of genealogies, anthropologists 51
Fieldwork Tradition in also use conventional linguistic abbreviations to describe persons and relations.
Anthropology T hese a b b rev iatio n s are to be rem em bered, even though they are
straightforward.

The driving idea for these conventions is the fact that kinship terms cannot be
translated from one system or culture to another. The English word “uncle”,
for example, does not have any exact equivalent in the Aboriginal Australian
Western Desert language, or in any south Indian tribe say Konda Reddy, because
the word does not cover the same categories of persons. Indeed, an “uncle” is
one’s mother’s as well as one’s father’s brother in English. In the Western
Desert, however, these two persons are called with different words and
constitute different types of relatives. In the Chenchu tribe (Andhra Pradesh),
mother’s brother is called ‘mama’ and father’s brother is called ‘nayana’. Among
the caste Hindus in Andhra Pradesh, father’s younger brother is called ‘babai’
or ‘chinnayana’ Anthropologists therefore use abbreviations that are descriptive,
that is, they are not a translation of a specific kin term (“uncle” or babai or
chinnayana), but are based on primary or “biological” relations (such as mother,
brother, father’s brother, mother’s brother etc.), Below is a table that summarizes
these conventions and the corresponding relationship.

Abbreviation Specific General

F Father any person’s Father
M Mother any person’s Mother
B Brother any person’s Brother
Z Sister any person’s Sister (Z is used for
sister in order to avoid
confusions with Son)
S Son any person’s Son
D Daughter any person’s Daughter
H Husband any person’s Husband
W Wife any person’s Wife
Sp Spouse Husband and/or Wife
Additional abbreviations
e elder eB, for example, is the elder Brother
y younger- yB, for example, is the younger
Brother

Genealogical Abbrevations

B = Brother C = Child(ren) D = Daughter

F = Father GC = Grandchild(ren) GP = Grandparent(s)
P = Parent S = Son Z = Sister
W = Wife H = Husband SP = Spouse
LA = In-law SI = Sibling M = Mother
(m.s.) = male (f.s.) = female
speaking speaking
52
 Genealogy and Pedigree
4.12 CONVENTIONS FOR DESCRIBING KINSHIP
RELATIONSHIPS _______________________
The abbreviations or conventions are collective. They are the same as the
graphical depiction of genealogies. For example, in English the relation uncle
can either be a m other’s brother (MB) or a fath er’s brother (FB). The
nomenclature for both the relation is the same. However in many other places,
like the Western Desert, a mother’s brother and a father’s brother have different
names and these names represent different meaning and relationship. Sometimes
these combinations become rather complex. For example a second cousin can
be a mother’s mother’s brother’s daughter’s son (MMBDS) but a mother’s
mother is also of course one of the grandmothers.

Concepts like classificatory and descriptive kinship comes up in the discussion

of how important are a relation in one culture and the kinship system studied.
So for example, an uncle might have much significance in some society whereas
in another he might have no important role to play. Discussion of such terms
and naming them are all related to the studying of genealogies.
For example, in the Western Desert, people who are not related by blood, i.e.
is not directly genealogically connected (as in European society) are still
considered as a part of a family. They are seen as kin members but they have to
have something in common with the family to be considered a kin. Living in
the same community for a long length of time is good enough reason to be
considered a part of a family. So though husband, wife, children, i.e. the nuclear
family and their extended family are still important, (like in the European
society) the kinship system extends beyond members connected by birth and
marriage. Thus the aboriginal Australian kinship systems fall under the
classificatory kinship system and are universal.

4.13 SUMMARY_______________________________
Social groups, usually, comprise persons known to each other through
membership criteria such as caste, tribe, kinship, occupation, neighbourhood,
religion etc. Closely knitted social groups are formed mainly through kinship
particularly among the traditional communities, though modem communities
are no exceptions to this dictum. In fact, almost all social groups which are
very closely knitted are formed through a network of kin relations. These
relations ramify and connect other social groups through the principles (or
rules) of common descent, consanguinity, affinity and alliance, filiation (or
offshoot formation), residence etc., apart from other social, economic criterion.
Many a times, the kin relationships assume some specialty which needs a careful
understanding. Genealogy and pedigree are used, primarily, as research
techniques in order to decipher the underlying meanings of kin relations and
to show diagrammatically the web of kin connections between families and
wider kin groups such as clans, moieties and fratries etc. Genealogy and pedigree
are, then, the tools with which one can understand the social as well as biological
relations exiting between person to person(s), group to group(s) and person(s)
to group(s). Pedigree and genealogy have also other wider applications in the
study of human society and cultures.

Genealogy and pedigree have been regarded as one and the same. Both deal
nrimarilv with tracing kin connections existing between members of kin groups. 53
Fieldwork Tradition in However, in anthropology, genealogy and pedigree are used for different
Anthropology
analytical purposes to arrive at different inferences and hence these two can be
distinguished for analytical purposes.

In physical anthropology pedigree is used for a specialised purpose of

understanding consanguinity and its genetic implications by tracing exact
biological connections between persons and to analyse Mendelian inheritance
of certain traits, especially of familial diseases. In order to understand a
particular “stated” relationship through a kin term (which may not be
biologically meaningful), it is essential to have cultural explanations of the
“stated” relationship(s).

The genealogical method, in anthropology, was devised and popularised by

W.H.R.Rivers during the Torres Straits Expedition of 1898-99. Genealogy is
generally used in kinship studies, structural anthropo-demography, in modern
urban anthropology, studies on migration of ethnic groups, in medical
anthropology, in AIDS research. Genealogical method is also used in claiming
land ownership rights by indigenous peoples. It is also used in establishing
authenticity in the issuance of caste certificates.

Pedigree and genealogy are represented by fneans of charts or diagrams.

Different symbols and notations are used to represent different kin members
and different kin connections. Symbols are shaded where a particular biological
trait is inherited by the members in succeeding generations.
Before going to the field for data collection, it advisable to practice drawing
genealogical and pedigree charts. It should be remembered that that genealogy
and pedigree are indispensable for anthropological fieldwork. The fieldworker
has to collect extensive genealogies and as many pedigrees as possible in support
of the data they are analysing and interpreting.

References
Barnard, Alan, and Anthony Good. 1984. Research Practices in the Study o f
Kinship. London: Academic Press.
Firth. R W. 1957. We the Tikopia: a Sociological Study o f Kinship in Primitive
Polynesia. Boston: Beacon Press.
Fortes,Meyer. 1945. The Dynamics o f Clanship among the Tellesi. London:
Oxford University Press.
Fortes, Meyer. 1969. Kinship and the Social Order: The Legacy o f Lewis Henry
Morgan. Chicago: Aldine.

Fox, Robin. 1995. Tory Islanders: A People o f the Celtic Fringe. Indiana:
University of Notre Dame Press.
Kottak. C. P. 1994. Cultural Anthropology. New York: McGraw-Hill.

Leach, E R. 1961. Pul Eliya: A Village in Ceylon (a Study o f Land Tenure and
Kinship). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Morgan, Lewis H. 1871 “Systems of Consanguinity and Affinity of the Human

Family”. In Smithsonian Contributions to Knowledge, Vol. 17, art. 2, Publication
No. 218. Washington: Smithsonian Institution.
Otterbein, K. F. (1972). Comparative Cultural Analysis: An introduction to
54 Anthropology. New York: Holt, Rheinehart & Winston.
Rivers. W.H.R. 1906. The Toda. London: Maxmillan &Co. Genealogy and Pedigree

Sociological Research Committee of the Royal Anthropological Society of

Great Britain. 1932. “The Standardisation of Pedigree Charts (TSPC)”. Man
1932, vol 32: 120-121).

Turner, Victor. 1967. The Forest o f Symbols: Aspects ofNdembu Ritual New
York: Cornel University Press.

Tyler, Stephen A (ed). 1969. Cognitive Anthropology. New York: Holt, Rinehart,
and Winston.

Yalman, Nur. 1962. “The Structure of Sinhalese Kindred: A reexamination of

Dravidian Terminology” In American Anthropologist. Vol: 64: 548-75.

Suggested R ea d in g ^
Barnes, J. A. 1967. “On Genealogies”. In. A.L Epstein (Ed) The Craft O f
Social Anthropology. London: Tavistock Publications.

Hackenberg, R. 1973. “Genealogical Method in Social Anthropology: The

Foundations of Structural Demography”, in J.Honigmann (ed.) Handbook o f
Social and Cultural Anthropology. Chicago: Rand McNally.

Rivers, W. H. R. 1900. “Genealogical Method of Collecting Social and Vital

Statistics” in Journal o f the Royal Anthropological Institute 30: 74-82.

Rivers, W. H. R. 1910. “The Genealogical Method of Anthropological Inquiry”

in Sociological Review 3: 1-12.

Scuhsky, Ernest, L. 1965. Manual fo r Kinship Analysis. New York: Holt,

Rinehart and Winst.

Sample Questions
1) Define and distinguish genealogy and pedigree.

2) Discuss the im portance and application of genealogical method in

understanding social organisation of human communities.

3) Present various symbols and notations used in drawing genealogical and

pedigree charts.

4) Trace out the genealogical connections of a person known to you and

explain various facets of his/her genealogical connections

5) Trace out the inheritance of a particular biological trait (normal or abnormal)

by means of a pedigree chart.

Note: The last two questions must show the characteristic features of marriage
rules. Hence suitable examples are to be used.

55