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Arts & Culture

Kinship Terminology and Social Organization

Quick fact

Anthropologists have identified six main kinship terminology systems (Eskimo, Hawaiian, Iroquois, Crow, Omaha, and Sudanese). In the Omaha system, for example, an individual uses the same term for their father, father's brother, and father's brother's son—merging generations and reflecting a strong patrilineal emphasis.

Why this is interesting

You call your mother's sister 'aunt' and your father's brother 'uncle'—but some cultures use the same term for 'mother' and 'mother's sister.' Why would that be?