106b. Family and reproduction

This recording is the second part of a multi-part episode on Professor David Lancy's book The Anthropology of Childhood. In this episode, we look at reproduction and the family, including questions such as: What attitudes and practices are there to family size and family planning in pre-state societies? What are the roles of mothers and fathers in these societies? How do cultural practices such as patri- vs. matrilocal residence or monogamy vs. polygamy vs. polyandry affect family structure and the raising of children? How do all of the above vary in societies with different subsistence patterns (subsitence farmers vs. herders vs. hunter-gatherers)? Can the variation by subsistence pattern be explained through evolutionary and/or economic factors? Enjoy the episode.