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In a matrilineal descent system, an individual is considered to belong to the same descent group as their mother. This ancient matrilineal descent pattern is in contrast to the currently more popular pattern of patrilineal descent from which a family name is usually derived.
matrilineal society, group adhering to a kinship system in which ancestral descent is traced through maternal instead of paternal lines (the latter being termed patrilineage or patriliny).
Matrilineal descent system: Recognizes the father’s line as relatives. On your kinship diagram, you can use different colors to show the paternal or maternal family lines to clarify these social relationships.
There are three types of unilateral descent: patrilineal, which follows the father’s line only; matrilineal, which follows the mother’s side only; and ambilineal, which follows either the father’s only or the mother’s side only, depending on the situation.
This Matrilineal Kinship Chart exemplifies matrilineal. Matrilineal refers to a relative, behavior, or characteristic traced back to a mother's lineage. Someone who is half Italian because their mother is Italian is an example of matrilineal descent.
Figure 11.9 depicts bifurcate merging kinship with unilineal descent (either patrilineal or matrilineal). This means that once descent is introduced into the diagram, EGO’s relationships, with associated rights and responsibilities, will shift toward either the mother’s or father’s side.
Anthropologists use kinship diagrams to help visualize descent groups and kinship. Figure 9.2.2 is a simple example of a kinship diagram. This diagram has been designed to help you see the difference between the kinship groups created by a bilateral descent system and a unilineal system.