VAID'S ICS – Best UPSC Anthropology Coaching in Delhi Since 1985

Comprehensive Classroom Course · Admissions openRegister now
+91 93113 37737
  • +91-93113 37737, +91-99999 46748
  • 73(FF), Old Rajender Nagar Market, Delhi - 110060
  • MON to SUN 9.00 am - 6.00 pm
Facebook Youtube Instagram
Menu
Enquire Now
Home/Anthropology/Mains PYQ/2016/Paper I/Kinship
UPSC MainsAnthropology Optional Paper I 2016 20 Marks Model Answer Available

Descent and Alliance Theories — 2016 Paper I

Question · 2016 · Paper I · 20 Marks

Describe the cardinal points of descent and alliance theories.

Model Answer

VAID ICS

Approach

  • Demand: Contrast the core propositions (cardinal points) of both theories, focusing on their analytical units and providing a critical assessment.
  • Structure: Introduction (Context) -> Descent Theory (Core points, key scholars) -> Alliance Theory (Core points, key scholars) -> Comparative Analysis -> Critique & Synthesis.
  • Key points: Radcliffe-Brown/Fortes (Corporate groups); Lévi-Strauss (Reciprocity/Exchange); Affinity vs. Consanguinity; Schneider’s critique.

Introduction Descent and alliance theories represent the two most significant paradigms in 20th-century kinship studies. While both seek to understand how societies establish durable relations, they differ fundamentally in their unit of analysis: one prioritizes the transmission of identity across generations, while the other emphasizes the construction of relationships through exchange.

Body

  • Descent Theory: Rooted in British structural-functionalism, scholars like A.R. Radcliffe-Brown, Meyer Fortes, and E.E. Evans-Pritchard posited that kinship is a principle of continuity.
    • Cardinal Points: The central unit is the corporate descent group (lineages/clans). Descent establishes the rights and obligations regarding property, ritual succession, and political solidarity.
    • Contribution: Evans-Pritchard’s study of the Nuer demonstrated how segmentary lineage systems organize political life in the absence of a centralized state.
  • Alliance Theory: Formulated by Claude Lévi-Strauss in The Elementary Structures of Kinship (1949), this approach shifts focus from blood ties to the social contract of marriage.
    • Cardinal Points: The incest taboo necessitates exogamy, turning reproduction into a social rule of reciprocity. Marriage is an alliance between groups mediated by the exchange of women. Lévi-Strauss distinguished between restricted (direct) and generalized (circulatory) exchange.
    • Contribution: It views affinity as constitutive of social order, where the act of giving and receiving spouses creates enduring inter-group bonds.
  • Comparative Distinction: Descent theory privileges "who belongs together" (groups, ancestry, time); Alliance theory privileges "how groups are joined" (reciprocity, affinal links, circulation).
  • Critique: Descent theory was criticized for its over-reliance on African societies, potentially ignoring cognatic systems. Alliance theory faced feminist critique for treating women as objects of exchange and questioning the universality of genealogy as a foundation (Schneider).

Conclusion Contemporary anthropology has moved beyond the "descent vs. alliance" debate. These theories are now viewed as complementary frameworks within the broader study of "relatedness." While descent remains a useful tool for analyzing continuity and property, alliance theory is indispensable for understanding political integration and social connectivity.

2026 Discuss 'incest taboo' as the basis of development of kinship systems in human societies. 2025 Theoretical significance of Purum kinship-system. 2024 Critical perspective on avoidance and joking relationship 2023 Critically discuss A.L. Kroeber's contribution to kinship studies.

Want feedback on your answer?

Join the Anthropology workshop or get structured answer-writing guidance from VAID ICS.

Join Workshop Contact VAID ICS

UPSC Anthropology Optional 2016 — Paper I

28 questions

1(b) Cultural Relativism

10 Marks150 words
Syllabus: Paper I > 2.1 The Nature of Culture > Ethnocentrism vis-a-vis Cultural Relativism
2016Paper ICulture & SocietyModel answer available

5(d) Fertility and Fecundity

10 Marks150 words
Syllabus: Paper I > 11.3 Biological and socio-ecological factors influencing fecundity, fertility, natality and mortality
2016Paper IHuman Genetics & Human BiologyModel answer available

5(e) Forensic Anthropology

10 Marks150 words
Syllabus: Paper I > 12. Applications of Anthropology > Forensic Anthropology
2016Paper IApplied & Forensic AnthropologyModel answer available

1(e) Functionalism

10 Marks150 words
Syllabus: Paper I > 6. Anthropological Theories > Functionalism
2016Paper IAnthropological TheoriesModel answer available

1(c) Lineage and Clan

10 Marks150 words
Syllabus: Paper I > 2.5 Kinship > Descent groups > Lineage and clan
2016Paper IKinshipModel answer available

5(c) Neolithic Cultures of India

10 Marks150 words
Syllabus: Paper I > 1.8(b) Cultural Evolution: broad outlines of prehistoric cultures > Neolithic
2016Paper IPrehistoric ArchaeologyModel answer available

5(a) Rh-Blood Group

10 Marks150 words
Syllabus: Paper I > 9.6 Population variation as genetic marker > ABO and Rh blood groups
2016Paper IHuman Genetics & Human BiologyModel answer available

5(b) Rhodesian Man

10 Marks150 words
Syllabus: Paper I > 1.6 Phylogenetic status, characteristics and distribution > Rhodesian Man
2016Paper IHuman Evolution & PrimatologyModel answer available

1(d) Totemism

10 Marks150 words
Syllabus: Paper I > 5. Religion > Forms of religion > Totemism
2016Paper IAnthropology of ReligionModel answer available