Study matrilineal vs. patrilineal descent systems. Learn the definition of patrilineal and matrilineal descent and examine how these lineages function.
Updated: 04/20/2022
Matilineal vs. Patrilineal Descent: Differences & Examples
Matrilineal vs. Patrilineal Descent
Matrilineal descent and patrilineal descent are two different ways of tracing ancestry or creating lineage groups. A lineage group is a group of people who trace their descent to a common ancestor. A lineage group is another word for a clan, a group of people who consider themselves descended from a common ancestor. A clan or a lineage group is similar to a family, but any individual may belong to more than one clan or lineage group, through birth or marriage. People often use the phrase ''my family'' to refer to the total list of clans to which they belong.
What is the difference between matrilineal vs. patrilineal descent? Matrilineal descent traces a lineage through women to a founding female relative or ancestor. Conversely, patrilineal descent traces a lineage through men, to a founding male relative or ancestor. Systems of tracing descent are important because they might determine certain factors in an individual's life, such as their surname, social status, property inheritances, and residence patterns.
Whether a descent system is patrilineal or matrilineal does not depend on the gender of the individual in question, but rather on the gender of the common ancestor who is being used to establish lineage or membership in a particular clan. Either lineage is established through relation to a common male ancestor, traced through a multi-generational line of male relatives, or lineage is established through relation to a common female ancestor, traced through a multi-generational line of female relatives.
Unilineal Descent
Unilineal descent is a system of tracing lineage through a single line of descent. In unilineal descent, an individual can be seen as belonging exclusively to their father's line of male relatives, or exclusively to their mother's side of female relatives. Only one line of descent, traced through a single-gender, can be used in a unilineal descent system.
The three subcategories of unilineal descent are matrilineal descent, patrilineal descent, and ambilineal descent. In an ambilineal descent system, the individual can only inherit property, status, and clan membership through one parent, but the choice of which parent to inherit from is open. Some Polynesian and Micronesian cultures are ambilineal. The choice of which parent or ''side'' of the family to inherit from might be influenced by factors like economics, relationships, and living situations.
On the other hand, a system that does use multiple lines of descent to trace kinship is called a cognatic descent system. A cognatic descent system includes all of an individual's relatives, regardless of gender, within a certain range (for example, three generations). When children make family trees where they are in the center and both ''sides'' of their family are shown, this is a visual depiction of a cognatic descent system. Spanish naming customs are a cultural example of a cognatic descent system. Rather than only being given one last name, children are given two last names, illustrating their kinship with both of their parents.
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Patrilineal Descent
What does patrilineal mean? The patrilineal definition involves tracing lineage through a singular male line of relatives. Within this system, an individual would first of all be seen as belonging to their father. That individual's family would be further traced through their father's bloodline, through male relatives: his father, grandfather, great-grandfather, and so on.
Examples of Patrilineal Descent
There are a variety of societies that follow a patrilineal descent system. In the United States, a patrilineal descent structure is typically used to trace ancestry. Last names, or surnames, are used to signify membership in a particular clan or lineage group. Historically in the United States, most children were given their father's last name, which is a way of marking patrilineal descent. Their fathers had also received those last names from their own fathers, traced back through generations along a male line. A child born to a father with the last name Miller, and a mother with the last name Rodriguez, will most likely be given the surname Miller. The surname Miller would have been traced back through multiple generations of male relatives, all sharing the same surname to represent membership in the Miller clan.
Today in the United States and in various other societies, different people make different choices about which surnames to give their children or how to trace their children's lineage. However, the United States is historically an example of a society that uses a patrilineal descent system.
Most world civilizations have traditionally used patrilineal descent systems, instead of matrilineal ones. Other examples of societies with patrilineal descent systems include China, Japan, and most modern European nations. Monarchies in which the throne is passed down through a male line of relatives are another example of patrilineal descent systems.
Matrilineal Descent
What is the matrilineal descent definition? A matrilineal descent system traces kinship through a singular line of female relatives. In a matrilineal kinship system, an individual would first be seen as belonging to his or her mother. That individual's clan would be further traced through a female line, and they would be seen as belonging also to their grandmother, great-grandmother, and so on.
Examples of Matrilineal Descent
Although patrilineal descent systems are more common than matrilineal ones throughout the globe, some societies have historically used matrilineal descent systems or use them today. For example, in Judaism, an individual is considered Jewish if his or her mother was Jewish. If the individual's father was Jewish, but their mother wasn't, that person is not considered Jewish unless they convert. Thus, Judaism uses a matrilineal descent system to trace cultural belonging.
In the Ashanti society of Ghana, social status and property inheritance are passed down to women through a female line. This is an example of a matrilineal descent system. Another example is the Minangkabau society of Indonesia, where a man typically marries into his wife's family's house, and residence patterns are established along a female line. Property is also passed down through a female line.
Lesson Summary
Matrilineal descent and patrilineal descent are two different ways of tracing lineage groups, or clans. A clan is a set of kin who consider themselves descended from a common ancestor. Both matrilineal and patrilineal descent systems are unilineal descent systems, meaning they trace lineage through a single line of relatives and only one gender.
Matrilineal descent refers to a system that traces lineage or kinship through women or female relatives. Patrilineal descent refers to a system where an individual's clan or lineage group is determined through men or male relatives. Some societies, nations, or religions use a patrilineal descent system, whereas others use a matrilineal descent system. Historically, patrilineal systems have been more common across the globe than matrilineal ones. The type of system that is used is important since clan membership or lineage is used to determine property inheritance, residence patterns, surnames, social status, and other aspects of an individual's life.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What are matrilineal descent and patrilineal descent?
Matrilineal and patrilineal descent are two different ways of tracing kinship, lineage, or membership in a clan or family group. In matrilineal descent, kinship is determined based on a line of female relatives traced back to a particular female ancestor. In patrilineal descent, kinship is determined based on a line of male relatives traced back to a particular male ancestor.
What is a patrilineal society?
The patrilineal definition is a system that determines kinship based on a male lines of relatives. A patrilineal society is a society that bases lineage or ancestry off a male line, rather than a female line.
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