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5. AN ANALYSIS OF PATRILATERAL KIN INVESTMENT BIASES IN TWO PATRILOCAL KIPCHAK TURK POPULATIONS FROM KIRGIZSTAN AND BASHKORTOSTAN

AN ANALYSIS OF PATRILATERAL KIN INVESTMENT BIASES IN TWO PATRILOCAL KIPCHAK TURK POPULATIONS FROM KIRGIZSTAN AND BASHKORTOSTAN

Pashos Alexander (1), Kinjabaeva Gulnazira (2), Ismailbekova Aksana (1), Yuliya Absalyamova (3), Niemitz Carsten (4)

1) Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology, Halle/Saale, Germany; 2) Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Bashkortostan, Ufa, Russia; 3) Institute of History, Language and Literature, Ufa Scientific Center, Russian Academy of Sciences, Ufa, Russia; 4) Institute of Biology, Freie Universität Berlin, Germany

Pashos Alexander, e-mail: pashos@eth.mpg.de.

Abstract

Kinship network structures are an important part of the human family and of nepotistic helping behavior. Matrilineal kinship links are universally stronger than patrilineal ones, at least in urban or modernized societies. In Sociobiology, the higher kin caregiving by matrilateral relatives, especially by the maternal grandmother and maternal aunts, is explained by the kin selection theory in combination with the paternity certainty hypothesis. A mother always knows that her child is genetically related to her, whereas in the male family line there is uncertainty of genetic relatedness and therefore more reluctance in child-care. Nevertheless, in some traditional societies (e.g., rural mainland Greece), patrilateral kin caregiving seems to be stronger than matrilateral one. This cannot be explained by the paternity certainty hypothesis; however, it might be a result of son-biased child investment. We focus on two Kipchak Turk populations, which are both patrilocal and assumed to still have a more or less traditional patriarchal family structure, in order to test the universality of kin caregiving structures and its evolutionary interpretation. In Kirgizstan, we found very strong patrilateral and patrilineal kin caregiving ties, in keeping with the patrilineal structure of the society. In Bashkortostan, by contrast, both matri- and patrilateral tendencies existed side by side. Overall, Bashkirs appear to be at an intermediate modernization level, characterized by stronger matrilineal family ties and matrilineal child-care.

Keywords

asymmetric kin caregiving, kin selection, paternity certainty, matrilineal investment, patrilateral bias, Kirgizstan, Bashkortostan

Цит.: Pashos Alexander, Kinjabaeva Gulnazira, Ismailbekova Aksana, Yuliya Absalyamova, Niemitz Carsten AN ANALYSIS OF PATRILATERAL KIN INVESTMENT BIASES IN TWO PATRILOCAL KIPCHAK TURK POPULATIONS FROM KIRGIZSTAN AND BASHKORTOSTAN // Moscow University Anthropology Bulletin (Vestnik Moskovskogo Universiteta. Seria XXIII. Antropologia), 2014; 3/2014; с. 77-77