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The Ethnographic Atlas gives the following data regarding land distribution: [[primogeniture]] predominates in 247 societies, while [[ultimogeniture]] prevails in 16. In 19 societies land is exclusively or predominantly given to the one adjudged best qualified, while equality predominates in 301 societies.<ref>http://es.scribd.com/doc/9285782/Ethnographic-Atlas-Codebook</ref> Regarding land inheritance rules, in 340 societies sons inherit, in 90 other patrilineal heirs (such as brothers), in 31 sister's sons, in 60 other matrilineal heirs (such as daughters or brothers), and in 98 all children. In 43 societies land is given to all children, but daughters receive less. It is also noteworthy that in 472 societies, the distribution of inherited land follows no clear rules or information is missing, while in 436 societies inheritance rules for real property do not exist or data is missing; this is partly because there are many societies where there is little or no land to inherit (such as in [[hunter-gatherer]] societies, pastoral societies or forager societies).
Patrilineal primogeniture, also called [[male primogeniture]] (eldest son inherits), was customary among [[Japanese people|Japanese]], [[Ryukyuan people|Ryukyuan]], [[Koreans|Korean]], [[Vietnamese people|Vietnamese]], [[Xibe people|Xibe]], [[Ancient Semitic]], [[Ancient Egyptian]], [[Ancient Mexican]], [[Embera-Wounaan|Choco]], [[Hazara people|Hazara]], [[Zenaga people|Zenaga]], [[Lakher]] (or [[Mara people|Mara]]), [[Kukis]], [[Mog people|Mog]], [[Paite people|Paite]], [[Lai people|Pawi]], [[Gangte]], [[Tripuri people|Tripuri]], [[Simte people|Simte]], [[Wancho people|Wancho]], [[Deccan]]ese, [[Mikir]] or [[Karbi people|Karbi]], [[Khumi people|Khumi]], [[Munda people|Munda]], [[Rajput]], Western [[Punjabi people|Punjabi]], [[Korku people|Korku]], [[Kharwar]]s, [[Nambudiri Brahmin]], [[Tibetan people|Tibetan]], [[Khonds|Khond]], [[Akha people|Akha]], [[Tai Dam people|Tai Dam]], [[Bamar people|Bamar]], [[Khmu people|Khmu]], [[Phunoi]], [[Aimol]], [[Muong people|Muong]], [[Poles|Polish]], [[Scottish people|Scottish]], [[Manx people|Manx]], [[Swedish people|Swedish]], [[Norwegians|Norwegian]], [[Icelanders|Icelandic]], [[Finns|Finn]], [[Slovenes|Slovene]], [[Austrians|Austrian]], [[Catalan people|Catalan]], [[Occitan]], [[Cornish people|Cornish]], [[Kashubian people|Kashubian]], [[Estonian people|Estonian]], [[Balt]], [[Croats|Croatian]], [[Danish people|Danish]], [[Flores]], [[Timor]]ese, [[Sumba]], [[Bali]] Highlands, [[Siane]], [[Manam]], [[Rukai people|Rukai]], [[Lampung]], [[Tausūg people|Tausug]], [[Māori people|Maori]], [[Mangarevan]], [[Mangaian]], [[Tongans|Tongan]], [[Niue]], [[Batak people|Batak]], [[Nias]], [[West Papua (region)|West Papuan]], [[Buru]], [[Kai islands]], [[Torajan]], [[Mauritian]], [[Innu people|Montagnais]], [[Pikangikum]], [[Klallam]], [[Kutchin]], [[Atsugewi]], [[Ojibwa people|Ojibwa]], [[Bilen people|Bilen]] (also called [[Bilen people|Bogos]]), [[Fon people|Fon]], [[Mandinka people|Mandinka]], [[Isoko people|Isoko]], [[Ewe people|Ewe]], [[Gagu people|Gagu]], [[Igbo people|Igbo]] (also called Ibo), [[Marghi language|Marghi]], [[Hausa people|Hausa]], [[Mumuye]], [[Ibibio people|Ibibio]], [[Guere language|Guere]], [[Antandroy]], [[Nyimang]], [[Tukulor]], [[Edo people|Edo]] (also called Bini), [[Shilluk people|Shilluk]], [[Dinka people|Dinka]], [[Nuer people|Nuer]], [[Kuku people|Kuku]], [[Moru people|Moru]], [[Didinga people|Didinga]], [[Kikuyu people|Kikuyu]], [[Nandi people|Nandi]], [[Luo people of Kenya and Tanzania|Luo]], [[Mekan people|Mekan]], [[Pokomo people|Pokomo]], [[Giriama]], Hill [[Pokot people|Pokot]], [[Dorobo]], [[Luhya people|Luhya]], [[Mossi people|Mossi]], [[Gbaya people|Gbaya]], [[Bamileke]], [[Masa people|Masa]], [[Kpwe people|Kpe]] -also called [[Kwe]] or [[Bakweri]]-, [[Xhosa people|Xhosa]], [[Pondo]], [[Zulu people|Zulu]], [[Sotho people|Sotho]], [[Swazi people|Swazi]], [[Tswana people|Tswana]], [[Northern Ndebele people|Ndebele]], [[Sukuma people|Sukuma]], [[Haya people|Haya]], [[Ha people|Ha]], [[Mbugwe people|Mbugwe]], [[Chagga]], [[Lingala|Ngala]], [[Ngbandi people|Ngbandi]], [[Banda people|Banda]], [[Boa people|Babwa]], [[Songye people|Songye]], [[Nkutu]], [[Hunde people|Hunde]], [[Lendu language|Lendu]], [[Demographics of Burundi|Rundi]], [[Teso people|Teso]], [[Acholi]], [[Lango of Uganda|Langi]], [[Nyoro people|Nyoro]], [[Banyankole]], [[Bagisu]], [[Amba people|Amba]], [[Alur people|Alur]], [[Shona people|Shona]], [[Tumbuka people|Tumbuka]], [[Krobos]], [[Krahn people|Krahn]], [[Kpelle people|Kpelle]], [[Oromo people|Oromo]], [[Shanqella]], [[Sidama people|Sidama]], [[Kambaata people|Kambaata]], [[Konso people|Konso]], [[Gibe region|Gibe]], [[Kingdom of Kaffa|Kaffa]], [[Gurage people|Gurage]], [[Hadiya people|Hadiya]], [[Gamo people|Gamo]], [[Male people|Male]], and [[Basketo people|Basketo]] peasants, for example, while patrilineal ultimogeniture, also called [[male ultimogeniture]] (youngest son inherits), was customary among [[Fur people|Fur]], [[Fali people|Fali]], [[Sami people|Sami]] (also called [[Sami people|Lapp]]), [[Moldovan people|Moldovan]], [[Czech people|Czech]], [[Ukrainian people|Ukrainian]], [[German people|German]], [[Swiss people|Swiss]], [[Bashkir people|Bashkir]], [[Chuvash people|Chuvash]], [[Gagauz people|Gagauz]], [[Vepsians|Vep]], [[Tatar people|Tatar]], [[Achang people|Achang]], [[Ayi people|Ayi]], [[Atayal people|Atayal]], [[Kachin people|Kachin]], [[Biate people|Biate]], [[Chinantec]], [[Hmar]], [[Mro people|Mro]], [[Kom people (India)|Kom]], [[Purum people|Purum]], and [[Lushei tribe|Lushei or Lushai]] (sometimes mistakenly taken for the whole [[Mizo people|Mizo]] people, especially in the past) peasants, for example. Among English peasants there was no clearly prevalent inheritance pattern, while Spanish [[Basque people|Basques]] gave their land to the one considered best qualified, though they had a preference for sons, and [[Javanese people|Javanese]], [[Turkish people|Turk]] (from Turkey, not [[Turkic peoples]] from central Asia, whom obviously didn't cultivate any land), [[Kurd]], [[Armenians|Armenian]], [[Lolo people|Lolo]] or [[Yi people|Yi]], [[Santal]], Abkhaz, [[Lepcha people|Lepcha]], [[Kotas|Kota]], [[Nu people|Nu]], [[Tanala]], [[Georgian people|Georgian]], [[Qiang people|Qiang]], [[Bhutia]], [[Gaddi]], [[People of Nepal|Nepalese]], [[Vedda people|Vedda]], [[Bai people|Bai]], [[Cossack]], [[Kola people|Koya]], [[Nimboran]], [[Afar people|Afar]], [[Tigrinya people|Tigrinya]], [[Dong people|Dong]], [[Dai people|Dai]], [[Kanembu people|Kanembu]], [[Bali]] lowlands, [[Mekeo]], [[Monguor]], [[Kabyle people|Kabyle]], [[Naga people|Naga]], [[Khevsur]], [[Bodo people|Bodo]], [[Mishing people|Mishing]], Rwandan, [[Nakh]], [[Yami]], central Italian, [[Hutsul]], [[Votes]], [[Besermian]], [[Mordvins]], [[Ingrian Finns|Ingrian]], [[Tupi people|Tupi]], [[Anaguta]], [[Popoi]], [[Bisharin]], [[Guarani people|Guarani]], [[Mon people|Mon]], [[Soninke people|Soninke]], [[Fulbe]], [[Oraon]], [[Telugu people|Telugu]], [[Druze]], [[Tlaxcalan]], [[Cagaba]], [[Mam people|Mam]], [[Enga people|Enga]], Purari, [[Punjabi people|Eastern Punjabi]], [[Kashmiri people|Kashmiri]], [[Karelian people|Karelian]], [[Yana people|Yana]], [[Burusho people|Burusho]], [[Attawapiskat]], [[Nyaturu people|Turu]], [[Vugusu]], [[Podokwo]], [[Gude]], [[Maasai people|Maasai]], [[Pahari people|Pahari]], [[Sindhis|Sindhi]], [[Li people|Li]], [[Oriya people|Oriya]], [[Nuri]], [[Kodava people|Kodava]], [[Lese language|Lese]], [[Herzegovina]], [[Gusii people|Gusii]], [[Shambaa]], [[Chibcha]], [[Purépecha people|Tarascan]], [[Chenchu]], [[Dard people|Dard]], [[Kwoma]], [[Sunuwar]], [[Kimam]], [[Hakka people|Hakka]], [[Meithei people|Meithei]], [[Iraqw people|Iraqw]], [[Hani people|Hani]], [[Havasupai people|Havasupai]], [[Miao people|Miao]], [[Tohono O'odham|Papago]], [[Riffian people|Riffian]], [[Belarusians|Belarusian]], [[Arapesh]], [[Wogeo]], [[Wantoat]], [[Sonjo people|Sonjo]], [[Bassari people|Bassari]], [[Kanuri people|Kanuri]], [[Meithei]], [[Katab]], [[Matakam]], [[Tsilhqot'in|Chilcotin]], [[Khoja]], [[Kaibab people|Kaibab]], [[Madan (people)|Madan]], [[Minchia]], [[Topotha]], [[Darasa]], [[Jukun people (West Africa)|Jukun]], [[Kadara]], [[Kagoro]], [[Bwaka]], [[Madi people|Madi]], [[Tira people|Tira]], [[Bainuk people|Banyun]], [[Bena people|Bena]], [[Ameru]], [[Wameru]], [[Baiga tribe|Baiga]], [[Bhuiya]], Poto, [[Busoga|Soga]], [[Pashtun]], [[Jat people|Jat]], [[Mapuche people|Mapuche]], [[Aymara people|Aymara]], [[Tamil people|Tamil]], [[Quiche people|Quiche]], [[Popoluca]], [[Kimam]], [[Amhara people|Amhara]], [[Azerbaijani people|Azerbaijani]], [[Sherpa people|Sherpa]], [[Ho people|Ho]], [[Kwoma]], [[Naxi people|Naxi]], [[Omaha]], [[Pumi people|Pumi]], [[Romanian people|Romanian]], [[Hungarian people|Hungarian]], Russian, [[Somali people|Somali]], [[Bulgarian people|Bulgarian]], [[Yao people|Yao]], [[Slovak people|Slovak]], [[Serbians|Serbian]], [[Bosnians|Bosnian]], [[Montenegrin people|Montenegrin]], [[Badagas|Badaga]], [[Han Chinese]], [[Gheg Albanian]], southern [[Albanians|Albanian]], [[Gondi people|Gondi]], [[Otoro Nuba]], [[Banen people|Banen]], [[Nubian people|Nubian]] and [[Mwaghavul]] peasants, for example, gave more or less equal shares of land to sons, but excluded daughters. [[Ancient Rome|Roman]], [[Malay people|Malay]], [[Bugi people|Bugi]], [[Makassarese]], [[Andalusian people|Andalusian]], [[Castilian people|Castilian]], southern [[Italians|Italian]], [[Portuguese people|Portuguese]], northern French, [[Iban people|Iban]], [[Yoruba people|Yoruba]], [[Maonan people|Maonan]], [[Tewa people|Tewa]], [[Acoma people|Acoma]], [[Tarahumara people|Tarahumara]], [[Luguru people|Luguru]], [[Mixe people|Mixe]], [[Zapotec peoples|Zapotec]], [[Ch'orti' people|Chorti]], [[Yaruro people|Yaruro]], [[Santa Ana people|Santa Ana]], [[Isleta people|Isleta]], [[Lobi people|Lobi]], [[Sinhala people|Sinhalese]], [[Greeks|Greek]], [[Shan people|Shan]], [[Khmer people|Khmer]], [[Tristan da Cunha|Tristan]], [[Brazilian people|Brazilian]], [[Kalmuk]], [[Lamet people|Lamet]], [[Makong]], [[Merina people|Merina]], [[Haitian people|Haitian]], [[Dominican people (Dominican Republic)|Dominican]], [[Cubans|Cuban]], [[Shivwit]], [[Maricopa people|Maricopa]], [[Argentinian people|Argentinian]], [[Chilean people|Chilean]], [[Uruguayan people|Uruguayan]], [[Paraguayan people|Paraguayan]], [[Colombian people|Colombian]], [[Afrikaner people|Afrikaner]], [[Venezuelan people|Venezuela]], Guayana, [[Surinam]], [[Jamaican peoples|Jamaica]], [[Apache]], [[Hiligaynon people|Hiligaynon]], [[Ilocano people|Ilocano]], [[Bisaya people|Bisaya]], [[Cebuano people|Cebuano]], [[Tagalog people|Tagalog]], [[Bikol people|Bikol]], [[Waray people|Waray]], [[Zuni people|Zuni]], [[Cochiti people|Cochiti]], [[Yurok people|Yurok]], San Juan, [[Madurese people|Madurese]] and Siamese (or [[Thai people|Thai]]) peasants gave relatively equal shares to both sons and daughters, while [[Songhai people|Songhay]], [[Hadimu]], [[Dyula people|Diula]], [[Wolof people|Wolof]], [[Kanuri people|Kanuri]], [[Zazzagawa]], [[Regeibat]], [[Teda people|Teda]], [[Siwan people|Siwan]], [[Delim]], [[Barabra]], [[Shluh]], [[Cherkess]], [[Mutair]], [[Pathan people|Pathan]], [[Kohistani people|Kohistani]], [[Onotoa]], and [[Gilbertese]] peasants gave less land to daughters, and the same system prevails in contemporary Egypt (and most [[Arab]] groups -see [[Sharia]]-. Most non-[[Arab]] Muslims, with some exceptions -[[peoples of the Caucasus|Caucasians]], [[Iranian peoples|Iranians]]-, historically followed their own inheritance customs, not those of the [[Sharia]]. In [[Ancient Egypt]], the eldest son inherited twice more than the other sons according to the Hermopolis Codex,<ref>{{cite book|title=Studies in biblical law [electronic resource]: from the Hebrew Bible to the ...|first=Gershon|last=Brin|url=http://books.google.es/books?id=z_iMdqTr-iMC&pg=PA246&lpg=PA246&dq=%22According+to+the+Hermopolis+Codex%22&source=bl&ots=qt6kPkFzgP&sig=G677165GndsaAJg2spix2p58-1k&hl=es&sa=X&ei=teXKUaKEIqaR7AbIz4DgBw&ved=0CC8Q6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=%22According%20to%20the%20Hermopolis%20Codex%22&f=false}}</ref> and in earlier times he was the sole heir<ref>Title: Inheritance Author: Lippert, Sandra, Universität Tübingen Publication Date: 2013 http://escholarship.org/uc/item/30h78901#page-2</ref>). Among the [[Lao people|Lao]], the [[Aceh]], the [[Guanches|Guanche]], and the [[Minangkabau people|Minangkabau]], for example, all daughters inherited equal shares of land, while the [[Cham people|Cham]], the [[Pnar people|Jaintia]], the [[Garo people|Garo]] and the [[Khasi people|Khasi]], for example, practiced [[female ultimogeniture]]. Primogeniture regardless of the sex of the child (eldest child inherits regardless of his or her sex) was customary among the [[Paiwan people|Paiwan]], the [[Ifugao]], the [[Chugach people|Chugach]] and the French Basques, while ultimogeniture regardless of the sex of the child (youngest child inherits regardless of his or her sex) was customary among the [[Chuvash people|Chuvash]] and the [[Mari people|Mari]]. There have been other, rarer customs of inheritance, like bilateral primogeniture (eldest son inherits from the father, eldest daughter inherits from the mother), such as among the Classic [[Mayas]], who transmitted the family's household furnishings from mother to eldest daughter, and the family's land, houses and agricultural tools from father to eldest son,<ref>{{cite web|title=Some Postclassic Questions About The Classic Maya Munro|publisher=S. Edmonson Tulane University|url=http://www.mesoweb.com/pari/publications/rt04/edmonson.pdf}}</ref> and in the Greek island of [[Karpathos]], where the family's house was transmitted from mother to eldest daughter, while the family's land was transmitted from father to eldest son<ref>Vernier, 1984.</ref> Among the [[Igorot]], the father's land is inherited by his eldest son and the mother's land is inherited by her eldest daughter.<ref>POPULATION GROWTH AND CUSTOMARY LAW ON LAND: the case of Cordillera villages in the Philippines by Lorelei Crisologo-Mendoza (KULeuven, Belgium and UPCollegeBaguio, Philippines) and Dirk Van de Gaer (National University of Ireland, Maynooth) November 1997* http://www.vanuatu.usp.ac.fj/sol_adobe_documents/usp%20only/customary%20law/mendoza.pdf</ref> Land inheritance customs, thus, greatly vary across cultures. However, inheritance customs are sometimes considered a culturally distinctive aspect of a society; for example, the customs of [[primogeniture]] predominant among many northeastern Indian tribes have been considered as possible proof of the possible remote [[Jewish]] or [[Semitic]] origin of some of them<ref name="primogeniture">PRIMOGENITURE IN THE OLD TESTAMENT Towards a Theological-Ethical Understanding of Patriarchy in Ancient Israel Laiu Fachhai http://scholar.sun.ac.za/bitstream/handle/10019.1/17750/Fachhai_primogeniture_2007.pdf?sequence=1</ref> Although it is many times said that [[Mizos]] employ ultimogeniture, where the youngest son inherits all, this is because the customs of [[Lushais]] or [[Lusheis]] are confused with those of all [[Mizos]]; indeed, [[Mizo people|Mizo]] and [[Lushai]] have been sometimes used as interchangeable terms. Among most non-Lushai [[Mizos]], [[primogeniture]] predominates,<ref>{{cite book|title=Social, Cultural, Economic & Religious Life of a Transformed Community: A ...|author=T. Liankhohau|url=http://books.google.es/books?id=RMEXr_jrT9cC&pg=PA22&lpg=PA22&dq=%22Paite%22+%22eldest+son%22+%22inherits%22&source=bl&ots=NVKyx7wieS&sig=C-x75buwt2pztOdIedx33uuOom8&hl=es&sa=X&ei=cExnUYymB4q2hQe9zYDoDQ&ved=0CDwQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=%22Paite%22%20%22eldest%20son%22%20%22inherits%22&f=false}}</ref> just as among [[Kukis]]<ref>http://dspace.nitrkl.ac.in/dspace/bitstream/2080/1772/1/</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Customary Laws of the Kukis|url=http://kukiforum.com/2010/06/customary-laws-of-the-kukis-2/}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Structure of Chin-Kuki-Mizo’s Social Institutions|date=January 8, 2006|first=Sominthang|last=Doungel|url=http://kukiforum.com/2006/01/structure-of-chin-kuki-mizos-social-institutions/}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=The Institution of Chieftainship in Kuki Society|date=April 5, 2009|first=George T.|last=Haokip|url=http://kukiforum.com/2009/04/the-institution-of-chieftainship-in-kuki-society/}}</ref> In general there is great confusion about the ethnic identity of the many northeastern [[Native Americans in the United States|Indian]] tribes.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Chin-Kuki-Ethnic Dilemma: Search for an Appropriate Identity|date=April 25, 2007|first=Chawnglienthang|last=Changsan|url=http://kukiforum.com/2007/04/the-chin-kuki-ethnic-dilemma-search-for-an-appropriate-identity-2/}}</ref> Some regard the generic term [[Zomi]] as most appropriate.
=== Inheritance of movable property ===
The same disparity is seen regarding inheritance of movable property. Most nomadic peoples from Asia, like for example the [[Khalka Mongols]], give a more or less equal share of the herd to each son as he marries, typically letting the youngest remain behind caring for the parents and inheriting his father's tent after their death in addition to his own share of the herd<ref>{{cite book|title=Agricultural and pastoral societies in ancient and classical history|author=Adas|url=http://books.google.es/books?id=qcSsoJ0IXawC&pg=PA76&lpg=PA76&dq=%22After+marriage,+older+sons+were+given+part+of+the+herd%22&source=bl&ots=izIGEMouS5&sig=u78MVJvt8H47dS95v6ahJAu-evc&hl=es&sa=X&ei=HKWFUcSqGvSe7Aac-oCAAw&ved=0CC8Q6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=%22After%20marriage%2C%20older%20sons%20were%20given%20part%20of%20the%20herd%22&f=false}}</ref> (there is no agriculture in [[steppe]] environments such as that of most of Inner Asia); but others, such as the [[Yukaghir]] and the [[Yakuts|Yakut]], leave most of the herd to one son (in the above examples the youngest and the eldest, respectively). And some pastoral peoples from other geographical areas also practice unequal wealth transfers, although customs of equal male inheritance are more common among them than among agriculturalists. [[Tswana people]], for example, the dominant ethnic group of Botswana and parts of South Africa, whose main source of wealth was livestock, although they also practiced agriculture, practiced patrilineal [[primogeniture]] with regards to both livestock and land,<ref name="etudesafricaines.revues.org">{{cite web|title=Batswana Women and Law Society, Education and Migration (c. 1840 – c. 1980)|first=Lily|last=Mafela|url=http://etudesafricaines.revues.org/7962}}</ref><ref name="dice.missouri.edu">TSWANA http://dice.missouri.edu/docs/niger-congo/Tswana.pdf</ref><ref name="ReferenceC">{{cite web|title=The experiences of women within Tswana cultural history and its implications for the history of the church in Botswana|first=Fidelis|last=Nkomazana1|publisher=Department of Theology and Religious Studies, University of Botswana, Gaborone, Botswana|url=http://uir.unisa.ac.za/bitstream/handle/10500/4515/Nkomozana-SHEXXXIV_2_-December2008.pdf?sequence=1}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=A Handbook of Tswana Law and Custom|author=I. Schapera|url=http://books.google.es/books?id=-H87lnVK5mcC&pg=PA230&lpg=PA230&dq=%22When+a+married+man+dies,+leaving%22&source=bl&ots=ih0c893CpJ&sig=4vLEVpiQeAyh4tkpRtVtRY5NRqg&hl=es&sa=X&ei=tIE6UsHoGKeS0AWXlIHoCg&ved=0CDEQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=%22When%20a%20married%20man%20dies%2C%20leaving%22&f=false}}</ref> and so did all other [[southern Bantu]] peoples,<ref name="books.google.es">{{cite book|title=Customary Law in South Africa|author=T. W. Bennett|url=http://books.google.es/books?id=rOcmamq2fikC&pg=PR13&dq=%22Bennett%22+%22Customary+Law+in+South+Africa%22&hl=es&sa=X&ei=eETXUc2wM-XD7Abdr4DoAg&ved=0CDIQ6AEwAA}}</ref> like for example the [[Tsonga people|Tsonga]],<ref>[http://dice.missouri.edu/docs/niger-congo/Tsonga.pdf Tsonga people]</ref> or the [[Venda]]<ref name="dice.missouri">http://dice.missouri.edu/docs/niger-congo/Venda.pdf</ref> (among the [[Venda]], though, while the livestock was inherited by the eldest son, land was not inherited within families, but given to each son by village authorities as he married. Among the [[Tsonga people|Tsonga]], most of the land was used only for stockbreeding). [[Patrilineal primogeniture]] also prevailed among the neighbouring [[Khoi]] peoples<ref>{{cite book|title=The Khoisan Peoples of South Africa: Bushmen and Hottentots|first=Isaac|last=Schapera|url=http://books.google.es/books?id=hrsOAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA325&lpg=PA325&dq=%22Among+the+Cape+Hottentots,+according+to+Kolb%22&source=bl&ots=1mFRd31mK_&sig=3iWwAI0HUm1JwTrADgFew9oa_v0&hl=es&sa=X&ei=wFDIUdi_CKbH7AbB-oCYCw&ved=0CCoQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=%22Among%20the%20Cape%20Hottentots%2C%20according%20to%20Kolb%22&f=false}}</ref> (of whom only the [[Nama people|Nama]] -among whom patrilineal primogeniture also prevailed-<ref>{{cite book|title=The Khoisan Peoples of South Africa: Bushmen and Hottentots|first=Isaac|last=Schapera|url=http://books.google.es/books?id=hrsOAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA325&lpg=PA325&dq=%22among+the+naman+also,+according+to+most+writers,+the+eldest+son+is+the+principal+heir%22&source=bl&ots=1mFRi34rNS&sig=Z6RR9ymQdlDwcFVHq38ALbpHIcM&hl=es&sa=X&ei=ov_PUcvyAoXQOaeEgOAL&sqi=2&ved=0CCwQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=%22among%20the%20naman%20also%2C%20according%20to%20most%20writers%2C%20the%20eldest%20son%20is%20the%20principal%20heir%22&f=false}}</ref> remain). The [[Ngoni people|Ngoni]], the [[Gogo people|Gogo]], the [[Mangbetu people|Mangbetu]], the [[Rendille people|Rendille]], the [[Sapo people|Sapo]], the [[Boran people|Boran]], the [[Gabra people|Gabra]], the Plains [[Pokot people|Pokot]], the [[Hema people|Hema]], the [[Beti-Pahuin]], the [[Buduma people|Buduma]], the [[Dogon people|Dogon]], the [[Duala people|Duala]], the [[Djafun]], the [[Kasena people|Kassena]] and many other African peoples also practiced patrilineal primogeniture with regards to livestock (by contrast, the Fulbe or Fulani, the largest pastoral people in Africa, divided their livestock equally between all sons according to the Ethnographic Atlas, although according to some other sources they practiced male primogeniture<ref>Who Owns the Stock?: Collective and Multiple Property Rights in Animals edited by Anatoly Michailovich Khazanov,Günther Schlee http://books.google.es/books?id=v7jaiUnfln0C&pg=PA242&lpg=PA242&dq=%22Fulbe%22+%22eldest+son%22+%22inherits%22&source=bl&ots=9o-vSU00EP&sig=GBVQINIK902pVMaVOptd1A51sBc&hl=es&sa=X&ei=yi-AUszsCqLH0QX-woCwAQ&ved=0CDAQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=%22Fulbe%22%20%22eldest%20son%22%20%22inherits%22&f=false</ref>). On the other hand, [[Chukchi people|Chukchi]], [[Koryaks|Koryak]] and [[Ket people|Ket]] peoples practiced male ultimogeniture. And it has been usually stated that the rest of [[Siberian]] peoples, such as [[Voguls]], [[Samoyeds]] or [[Khanty people|Khantys]], practiced patrilineal [[primogeniture]], though there isn't much reliable information about the traditional customs of Siberian peoples. It is said that [[Gilyaks]] divided their cattle equally between all sons. Patrilineal [[primogeniture]] was also traditionally prevalent among pastoral peoples from Australia, like the [[Aranda people|Aranda]], as well as among [[Himalayas|Himalayan]] pastoralists like the [[Changpa]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Pastoralists of Himalayas Veena Bhasin|author=Department of Anthropology, University of Delhi, Delhi 110 007, India|url=http://www.krepublishers.com/02-Journals/JHE/JHE-33-0-000-11-Web/JHE-33-3-000-11-Abst-PDF/JHE-33-3-147-11-2176-Bhasin-V/JHE-33-3-147-11-2176-Bhasin-V-Tt.pdf}}</ref> Patrilineal primogeniture was also the predominant form of inheritance of moveable property among the [[Kachin people|Kachin]], the [[Caduveo]], the [[Guahibo]], the [[Modoc people|Modoc]], the [[Kiliwa]], the [[Angmagsalik]], the [[Baffin island|Baffin]], the [[Kwakiutl]], the [[Camba]] and the [[Abelam]]. From these examples it can be seen that Patrilineal primogeniture was also traditionally prevalent among some pastoral peoples from Greenland and northern Canada. The neighbouring [[Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast]] were organized in societies where elder sons and their lines of descent had higher status than younger sons and their lines of descent (a "conical clan"), although a rule of patrilineal primogeniture couldn't develop among most of them, since they were mostly [[hunter-gatherers]]. A rule of patrilineal primogeniture did develop, however, among some Canadian indigenous peoples who practiced agriculture, like the [[Innu people|Montagnais]], the [[Kutchin]], the [[Pikangikum]], the [[Ojibwa people|Ojibwa]], the [[Klallam]] and the [[Atsugewi]]. Canadian indigenous peoples were influenced by the ancient [[Thule people|Thule]] culture, of which little is known with certainty.
Inheritance Rules for Movable Property are as follows: in 381 there isn't enough information, in 132 there are no individual property rights or rules, in 45 sister's sons inherit, in 73 other matrilineal heirs, in 67 all children, but daughters receive less, in 89 all children inherit equally, in 393 only sons inherit, and in 87 other patrilineal heirs.
Inheritance Distribution for Movable Property are as follows: in 382 there isn't enough information or there are no rules, in 435 equality prevails and in 18 movable property is exclusively or predominantly adjudged to the one best qualified, while in 14 societies ultimogeniture predominates and in 244 primogeniture predominates.
=== Other sources ===▼
Mary K. Shenk and others (2010)<ref>{{cite web|title=Intergenerational Wealth Transmission among Agriculturalists|url=http://web.missouri.edu/~shenkm/docs/Shenk2010_CurrentAnthropology.pdf}}</ref> show how intergenerational wealth transmission
▲Inheritance Rules for Movable Property are as follows: in 381 there isn't enough information, in 132 there are no individual property rights or rules, in 45 sister's sons inherit, in 73 other matrilineal heirs, in 67 all children, but daughters receive less, in 89 all children inherit equally, in 393 only sons inherit, and in 87 other patrilineal heirs.{{citation needed|date=May 2014}}
among agriculturalists tends to be rather unequal. Only slightly more than half of the societies they study practice equal division of real property; customs to preserve land relatively intact (most commonly primogeniture) are very common. Borgerhoff Mulder (2010)<ref>{{cite web|title=Pastoralism and Wealth Inequality|url=http://xcelab.net/rmpubs/borgerhoff%20mulder%20et%20al%20pastoralism%20wealth%20CA%202010.pdf}}</ref> shows how wealth transfers are more egalitarian among pastoralists, but unequal inheritance customs also prevail in some of these societies, and they are strongly patrilineal.
▲Inheritance Distribution for Movable Property are as follows: in 382 there isn't enough information or there are no rules, in 435 equality prevails and in 18 movable property is exclusively or predominantly adjudged to the one best qualified, while in 14 societies ultimogeniture predominates and in 244 primogeniture predominates.{{citation needed|date=May 2014}}
Among the Dagor Mongols, only certain customs favourable to first sons were found
▲=== Other sources ===
Among [[Arab]] peoples, such as the Egyptian Fellahin, first sons received more elaborate birth ceremonies, had more authority over siblings both during [[childhood]] and in adulthood, and had more power and influence over others
▲A study of 39 non-Western societies found many customs that distinguished between children according to their sex and birth order. First sons, in comparison to other sons, "are likely to inherit or otherwise gain control of more family land, livestock, or other wealth." Specifically, first sons inherited more than the other sons among the [[Azande]], the Japanese, the [[Kapauku Papuans]], the [[Luo people of Kenya and Tanzania|Luo]], the [[Mossi people|Mossi]], the [[Tswana people|Tswana]], the [[Katab]], the [[Lepcha people|Lepcha]], the [[Mende people|Mende]], the [[Tikopia]] and the western [[Punjabi people|Punjabi]]. Among the [[Todas]], both first and last sons inherited more than the other sons, while last sons inherited more than the other sons among the [[Yi people|Lolo]] and the [[Yukaghir]]. Last sons inherited less than any other sons among the [[Luo people of Kenya and Tanzania|Luo]]. Last sons received less respect from their siblings than any other sons among the Dagor [[Mongols]], the [[Fijians]], the Papago, the [[Siuai]], the [[Tonga people|Tonga]], the [[Tswana people|Tswana]], the western [[Punjabi people|Punjabi]] and the [[Yanomamo]], but they were more spoiled or indulged by their parents than the other sons among the [[Arapesh]], the Egyptian Fellahin, the [[Hausa people|Hausa]], the [[Lepcha people|Lepcha]] and the [[Tikopia]]. Considering all the customs they found (not only those mentioned here), the people with the greatest number of customs favourable to first sons in the study were the [[Tswana people|Tswana]], followed closely by the [[Azande]], while the people with the greatest number of customs favourable to last sons in their study were the [[Yi people|Lolo]]. Apart from the easily predictable finding that being the first son was good among the Japanese, this study confirmed ethnographers' claims that customs favourable to first sons were common in South Asia, [[Austronesia]] and [[Sub-Saharan Africa]], while customs favourable to last sons were common among the ethnic minorities of Southwest China.<ref name=Rosenblatt>{{cite news|title=Birth order in cross-cultural perspective.|authors=Rosenblatt, Paul C.; Skoogberg, Elizabeth L.|journal=Developmental Psychology|volume=10(1)|date=Jan 1974|pages=48–54|doi=10.1037/h0035566|url=http://psycnet.apa.org/journals/dev/10/1/48}}</ref>
▲Among the Dagor Mongols, only certain customs favourable to first sons were found; no customs favourable to last sons were found. The findings concerning the Dagor Mongols contradict those theories that maintain that peoples of the Asian steppe had strong customs favourable to first or last sons. The only custom that distinguished between sons among the Dagor Mongols was that first sons received more respect from his siblings than the other sons and last sons received less respect from their siblings than the other sons. In fact, the indigenous American peoples, such as the Zapotec, the Gros Ventre, the Klamath, the Papago or the Yanomamo, had significantly more customs favourable to first sons than the Dagor Mongols.<ref name=Rosenblatt/>
However, as a counterpart of this general beneficial effect of being the first son and being the first daughter, they found that both first sons and first daughters were given more duties to perform among the Egyptian Fellahin, the Gros Ventre, the Klamath, the Lepcha, the Leyte, the Luo, the Marshallese and the Tikopia
▲Among [[Arab]] peoples, such as the Egyptian Fellahin, first sons received more elaborate birth ceremonies, had more authority over siblings both during [[childhood]] and in adulthood, and had more power and influence over others. however, they were also given more duties to perform, and last sons were more indulged or spoiled by their parents than the other sons. All sons inherited the same and had the same wealth.<ref name=Rosenblatt/>
Stanley Schachter Article Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2089913</ref><ref>Birth order and educational achievement in adolescence and young adulthood David M. Fergusson L. John Horwood Joseph M. Boden http://www.otago.ac.nz/christchurch/otago014903.pdf</ref> In Europe, earlier-born children are also more educated, although, surprisingly, this effect is even stronger when care and education are shifted from parents to state-run institutions.<ref>Crown Princes and Benjamins: Birth Order and Educational Attainment in East and West Germany Martina Eschelbach http://www.lsw.wiso.uni-erlangen.de/BGPE/texte/DP/085_eschelbach.pdf</ref> In Indonesia, gender and birth order effects on education have disappeared as the country has developed.<ref>The Changing Relationship Between Family Size and Educational Attainment Over the Course of Socioeconomic Development: Evidence From Indonesia VIDA MARALANI http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2831397/</ref> In pre-industrial societies these correlations between education and birth order do not exist, as shown by a study on education and family characteristics in Late Imperial China (1300–1850).<ref>Human Capital and Fertility in Chinese Clans, 1300–1850 Carol H. Shiue March 2008 http://www.mcgill.ca/files/economics/shiue.pdf</ref>▼
Auke Rijpma and Sarah Carmichael (2013)<ref>''Testing Todd: global data on family characteristics'', Auke Rijpma and Sarah Carmichael, Utrecht University http://vkc.library.uu.nl/vkc/seh/Lists/Events/Attachments/33/carmichaelrijpma_testing.pdf</ref> tested Murdock and Todd's global data on family characteristics. According to them, Todd is more reliable for European family data and Murdock is more reliable for Africa, as he was a great expert on this area. Regarding inheritance practices, after reviewing many studies about land inheritance they came to the conclusion that the pattern of land inheritance traditionally prevalent among English, Dutch and [[New Englander]] peasants was [[partible inheritance]], rather than the lack of any definite inheritance pattern that Todd argued, while the pattern of land inheritance traditionally prevalent among [[Russians|Russian]] peasants was close to [[patrilineal primogeniture]], "as oldest sons may well inherit more", rather than being one of equal inheritance of land by all sons as both Todd and Murdock argued.
▲Among [[Alaska Native]] peoples such as the [[Eyak people|Eyak]], first sons had more authority over siblings, had more power and influence over others and were more likely to head a kin group than the other sons, but all sons inherited the same.<ref name=Rosenblatt/>
An entry to the Ethnographic Atlas was recently added by Bondarenko, Kazankov, Khaltourina and Korotayev discussing the data about peoples of Easternmost Europe.<ref>Ethnographic Atlas XXXI: Peoples of Easternmost Europe Author(s): Dmitri Bondarenko, Alexander Kazankov, Daria Khaltourina, Andrey Korotayev Source: Ethnology, Vol. 44, No. 3 (Summer, 2005), pp. 261–289 Published by: University of Pittsburgh- Of the Commonwealth System of Higher Education Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3774059</ref> [[Patrilineal ultimogeniture]] prevailed among most [[Turkic peoples|Turkic]] peoples living in Europe, equal inheritance of property by all sons prevailed among most [[Uralic]] and [[Finno-Ugric]] peoples, and patrilineal primogeniture prevailed among [[Estonians]] and [[Balts]]. [[Slavs|Slavic]] peoples (such as [[Russians]]) were not included in their study.
▲Among the 39 societies studied, on average "the birth of a first child of either sex is more likely than the birth of other children to increase parent status, stabilize parent marriage, and provide a parental teknonym. Firstborns are likely to receive more elaborate birth ceremonies and, in childhood, to have more authority over siblings and to receive more respect from siblings. In adulthood, firstborn daughters are likely to receive more respect from siblings than other daughters, and firstborn sons, in comparison to other sons, are likely to have more authority over siblings, more control of property, more power or influence over others, to be respected more by siblings, and to head a kin group".<ref name=Rosenblatt/>
[[Jack Goody]] was an influential anthropologist during the twentieth century and published various works like Death, property and the ancestors (1962), Technology, Tradition, and the State in Africa (1971), The myth of the Bagre (1972) and ''The domestication of the savage mind'' (1977). In these works, he wrote about inheritance customs, among other things. However, his theories have been mostly rejected during the last decades.{{citation needed|date=March 2014}}
▲However, as a counterpart of this general beneficial effect of being the first son and being the first daughter, both first sons and first daughters were given more duties to perform among the Egyptian Fellahin, the Gros Ventre, the Klamath, the Lepcha, the Leyte, the Luo, the Marshallese and the Tikopia. First daughters (but not first sons) were given more duties to perform among the Yanomamo and the Arapesh. This burden placed upon the first-born has been called "the first-born burden" and exists mainly in poorer households because poor families do not have the economic capacity to send their earlier-born children to school, but may send their later-born children to school thanks to the wages provided by their elder siblings with their work (earlier-born children being able to receive higher wages due to their greater age). This phenomenon has been ascertained in many industrialising Third World countries, especially Latin American ones, such as Brazil.<ref>Birth Order, Child Labor, and School Attendance in Brazil PATRICK M. EMERSON Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, USA and ANDRE´ PORTELA SOUZA * Sa˜o Paulo School of Economics, Fundac¸a˜o Getulio Vargas, Brazil http://econ.ucdenver.edu/beckman/tiffany/childlabor/emerson-birth-order.pdf</ref> It also existed in Europe during the period of industrialization.<ref>Sibship size and status attainment across contexts: Evidence from the Netherlands, 1840–1925 Hilde Bras Jan Kok Kees Mandemakers http://vkc.library.uu.nl/vkc/seh/research/Lists/Research%20Desk/Attachments/39/testingtodd.pdf</ref><ref>Individual Lives and Family Strategies in the French Proletariat* Louise A. Till http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/handle/2027.42/67452/10.1177_036319907900400204.pdf?sequence=2</ref> In Sub-Saharan Africa, later-born children tend to receive more education than earlier-born children in poorer families, while earlier-born children tend to receive more education than later-born children in richer families.<ref>Birth Order and Schooling: Theory and Evidence from Twelve Sub-Saharan Countries Michel Tenikue and Bertrand Verheyden http://jae.oxfordjournals.org/content/19/4/459</ref> In India, the eldest son receives more education than the other children.<ref name="faculty.wcas.northwestern.edu">Why Are Indian Children Shorter Than African Children? Seema Jayachandran Northwestern University Rohini Pande Harvard University July 27, 2013 http://faculty.wcas.northwestern.edu/~sjv340/height.pdf</ref> In Chinese-speaking countries like China and Taiwan, as well as in Vietnam, Japan and South Korea, eldest sons also receive more education than the other children.<ref>Has the One-Child Policy Improved Adolescents’ Educational Wellbeing in China? Juhua Yang http://paa2006.princeton.edu/papers/60804</ref><ref>W EI - HSIN Y U The University of Texas at Austin K UO - HSIEN S U National Taiwan University* Gender, Sibship Structure, and Educational Inequality in Taiwan: Son Preference Revisited http://homepage.ntu.edu.tw/~khsu/mobile/sibling.pdf</ref><ref>Family size and children’s education in Vietnam Truong Si Anh, John Knodel, David Lam, Jed Friedman http://link.springer.com/article/10.2307/3004027</ref><ref>Does Money Matter? The Effect of Private Educational Expenditures on Academic Performance by Changhui Kang http://www.fas.nus.edu.sg/ecs/pub/wp/wp0704.pdf</ref><ref>Gender, sibling order, and differences in the quantity and quality of educational attainment: Evidence using Japanese twin data October 3, 2013 Tien Manh Vu† Ph.D Candidate, Osaka School of International Public Policy Hisakazu Matsushige Professor, Osaka School of International Public Policy http://www.osipp.osaka-u.ac.jp/archives/DP/2013/DP2013E007.pdf</ref> Evidence regarding Arab countries is varied,<ref>Determinants of educational participation and gender differences in education in six Arab countries Jeroen Smits Janine Huisman www.ru.nl/publish/pages/516298/nice_12102.pdf</ref><ref>Family background and context effects on educational participation www.ru.nl/publish/pages/516298/nice_07106.pdf</ref> but in Egypt, earlier-born children receive more education than later-born ones.<ref>Gender Differences in Schooling Attainment: The Role of Sibling Characteristics and Birth Order Effects Diane M. Dancer and Anu Rammohan http://econpapers.repec.org/paper/sydwpaper/2123_2f7643.htm</ref><ref>Child schooling and child labour: evidence from Egypt http://www.erf.org.eg/CMS/uploads/pdf/9916%20.pdf</ref>
Both preferential primogeniture and preferential ultimogeniture were practiced in pre-revolutionary Russia, for example, where the eldest son succeeded as family head and inherited more than the other sons
▲Stanley Schachter Article Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2089913</ref><ref>Birth order and educational achievement in adolescence and young adulthood David M. Fergusson L. John Horwood Joseph M. Boden http://www.otago.ac.nz/christchurch/otago014903.pdf</ref> In Europe, earlier-born children are also more educated, although, surprisingly, this effect is even stronger when care and education are shifted from parents to state-run institutions.<ref>Crown Princes and Benjamins: Birth Order and Educational Attainment in East and West Germany Martina Eschelbach http://www.lsw.wiso.uni-erlangen.de/BGPE/texte/DP/085_eschelbach.pdf</ref> In Indonesia, gender and birth order effects on education have disappeared as the country has developed.<ref>The Changing Relationship Between Family Size and Educational Attainment Over the Course of Socioeconomic Development: Evidence From Indonesia VIDA MARALANI http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2831397/</ref> In pre-industrial societies these correlations between education and birth order do not exist, as shown by a study on education and family characteristics in Late Imperial China (1300–1850).<ref>Human Capital and Fertility in Chinese Clans, 1300–1850 Carol H. Shiue March 2008 http://www.mcgill.ca/files/economics/shiue.pdf</ref>
Emil de Laveleye describes the Russian family around 1900 as follows: "The patriarchal family is the basis of the commune; and the members of the mir are generally considered as descended from a common ancestor. Family ties have maintained a force among the Russians, as also among the Slavs of the Danube and the Balkan, which they have lost elsewhere. The family is a sort of perpetual corporation. It is governed by a chief called "the ancient," with almost absolute authority. All property is in common. There is usually neither succession nor partition. The house, the garden, the agricultural implements, the stock, the produce—moveables of every description—remain the collective property of all the members of the family. No one thinks of claiming a separate share. On the death of the father of a family, his authority and administration devolve on the eldest member of the house: in some districts, on the eldest son; in others, on the eldest brother of the deceased, provided he live under the same roof. In some parts, too, the members of the family themselves elect the new chief. If all the survivors are under age, a relation establishes himself with them and becomes a co-proprietor. The head of the family is called Khozain, which signifies "the administrator," or Bolshak, that is, the "great one."
When, on a death, a division of property takes place, which is less rare than in former times, it is not made according to the degrees of relationship, but each adult male living in the house takes an equal share. An orphan cannot succeed for his father by representation; and those who have left the paternal roof have no right of succession. The females remain in the charge of one branch or other of the family, and receive a portion on their marriage.
In the north, the house passes to the eldest son. In the south, the youngest inherits it, because, ordinarily, the eldest has set up a separate establishment during the lifetime of his father. It is not blood, or descent, which gives the title to succeed, but a much more effective title, co-operation in the labour which has produced the property whose division is in question. The adult uncle, nephew, and cousin, have laboured together; they shall take an equal portion. The young girl and the child have contributed nothing to production: their wants will be provided for, but they have no right to a share in the inheritance.
▲[[Jack Goody]] was an influential anthropologist during the twentieth century. However, his theories have been mostly rejected during the last decades.{{citation needed|date=March 2014}} He made a distinction between a complete and a preferential form of primogeniture and ultimogeniture. In the complete form of both customs, the rest of the children are excluded from the inheritance. However, in the preferential form of primogeniture, the eldest son acts as custodian of the father's rights on behalf of his brothers. In the preferential form of ultimogeniture, the youngest son inherits the residue of his father's property after elder sons have received their shares during the father's lifetime. Goody called ultimogeniture "Borough English" and primogeniture "Borough French" because in England ultimogeniture was a native custom, while primogeniture was a custom brought by the Norman invaders. According to Goody, in Late Medieval England, patrilineal primogeniture predominated in feudal tenures and among the peasantry of large parts of the Midlands. Patrilineal ultimogeniture ('Borough English') prevailed elsewhere in the champion country. Partible inheritance (''gavelkind'') prevailed in Kent, East Anglia and the Celtic areas.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Death and the Ancestors: A Study of the Mortuary Customs of the LoDagaa of the LoDagaa of West Africa|author= Goody, Jack|publisher=Routledge|year=2013|isbn=9781136528842}}</ref>
In the Russian family as in the Russian state, the idea of authority and power is confused with that of age and paternity. The word starosta signifies "the old;" the word starshina is in the comparative, "older." The emperor is the "father,"—the "little father." This is the real principle of the patriarchal system."<ref name="efm.bris.ac.uk"/>
▲Both preferential primogeniture and preferential ultimogeniture were practiced in pre-revolutionary Russia, where the eldest son succeeded as family head and inherited more than the other sons.<ref>{{Cite journal|title=Peasant Inheritance Strategies in Russia |author= Bohac, Rodney D. |journal=The Journal of Interdisciplinary History |volume= 16|issue= 1|year = 1985|pages= 23–42| url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/204320}}</ref> The "the youngest son, if he remained with the father, inherited the house and also at times other property" (''minorat'').<ref>{{cite web|url=http://encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com/Minorat|title=Minorat|publisher=Great Soviet Encyclopedia}}</ref> However, the share of land and moveables of the other sons was only slightly smaller than that of the eldest and the youngest son. Only in the southern part of the country was the house inherited by the youngest son; in the north it was inherited by the eldest son.<ref name="efm.bris.ac.uk">[http://www.efm.bris.ac.uk/het/laveleye/prim02.htm Chapter 2 Village Communities in Russia], Emil de Lavelye</ref>
== Systems of inheritance among various peoples ==
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== Inheritance customs as a cultural dimension ==
Inheritance customs do not follow clear ethnic, linguistic or geographical patterns. Equality between all sons and a subordinate position of women (with the exclusion of daughters from inheriting) are prominent aspects of [[Hungarian culture|Hungarian]],<ref>
Written by John M. Mogey,László Cseh-Szombathy http://books.google.es/books?id=IpH9Vn6HY0sC&pg=PA11&lpg=PA11&dq=%22Hungary%22+%22partible+inheritance%22&source=bl&ots=YMsnu5AhRw&sig=xTGjkOt6qpGtLebZBfv4sJkKQ40&hl=es&sa=X&ei=tAZbUdHoI_Ky7AaVvoDgBw&ved=0CC8Q6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=%22Hungary%22%20%22partible%20inheritance%22&f=false</ref><ref>Regulating Bodies: Everyday Crime and Popular Resistance in Communist ...
Mogey, John M. and Cseh-Szombathy, László|pages=11|publisher= Greenwood Publishing Group|year=1990|isbn= 9780313273155}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Regulating Bodies: Everyday Crime and Popular Resistance in Communist Hungary, 1948—1956|publisher=ProQuest|year=2007|author= Brown, Karl William |pages=167|isbn=9780549380849}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=The Development of the Economies of Continental Europe 1850-1914|pages=287|publisher =Routledge|author=Milward, Alan| year =2011|isbn=9780415616133}}</ref> [[Albanians|Albanian]],<ref>{{cite book|title=Albania: Family, Society and Culture in the 20th Century |author= Hemming, Andreas; Kera, Gentiana and Pandelejmoni, Enriketa |publisher= LIT Verlag Münster |pages=71|year=2012|isbn= 9783643501448}}</ref> [[Romanian culture|Romanian]],<ref>{{cite web|title=Marriage Strategies and Sequels: Prosperity or Conflict between Relatives (Romania, 18th century) |author= Vintilă-Ghiţulescu, Constanţa| publisher=“Nicolae Iorga” Institute of History, Bucharest Faculty of Literature, Department of European Studies, University of Bucharest|url=http://www.ub.edu/tig/GWBNet/MinhoPapers/Constanta%20Ghitulescu.pdf}}</ref> and most [[Slavic culture|Slavic]]<ref>{{cite book|title=Household and Family in the Balkans: Two Decades of Historical Family Research|author=Kaser, Karl|pages=181|publisher=LIT Verlag Münster|year=2012|isbn=9783643504067}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Peasant Inheritance Strategies in Russia|url=http://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/204320?uid=3737952&uid=2&uid=4&sid=21101837948093}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| title= Customary Law and Property Devolution among Russian Peasants in the 1870s |author=Worobec, Christine|url=https://www.artsrn.ualberta.ca/csparxiv/members/Issues/1984_26_2_3/1984_26_2_3_220_Worobec.pdf}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Family Forms in Historic Europe |author= Wall, Richard; Robin, Jean and Laslett, Peter| publisher=Cambridge University Press|pages=105|year=1983|isbn= 9780521245470}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=The Russian post-emancipation household two villages in the Moscow area |author= Kolle, Herdis |publisher=HovudoppgÂve i historie Historisk institutt Bergen |date=1995 |url=https://bora.uib.no/bitstream/handle/1956/1203/Hovedoppgave-kolle.pdf?sequence=1}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Custom and Law in Marriage and Family Relations Among Russian Peasants During the Second Half of the Nineteenth Century|author= Kryukova, S.S.|url=http://www.jlp.bham.ac.uk/volumes/46/kryukova-art.pdf}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Patriarchy on Trial: Suicide, Discipline, and Governance in Imperial Russia|author= Morrissey, Susan|publisher=University College London |url=http://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/13003/1/13003.pdf}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title= Sanu the Legal Structure of Households in Serbia and Bulgaria in the 19th Century|author= Svirčević, Miroslav |publisher=Balkanološki institut |url=http://www.doiserbia.nb.rs/img/doi/0350-7653/2003/0350-76530334285S.pdf}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|title=Power and inheritance Male domination, property, and family in eastern Europe, 1500–1900|author=Kaser, Karl|journal=The History of the Family|year=2002|volume=7|issue=3|pages=275–395|doi= 10.1016/S1081-602X(02)00109-4 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|title=Families and mountains in the Balkans Christian and Muslim household structures in the Rhodopes, 19th–20th century|author= Brunnbauer, Ulf |journal=The History of the Family|year=2002|volume=7|issue=3|pages=327–350|doi= 10.1016/S1081-602X(02)00107-0 }}</ref><ref>cite Land Fragmentation in Bulgaria: Reconsidering Its Measurement and Extent Natalia Boliari http://www.ccsenet.org/journal/index.php/res/article/view/22301</ref> or Latin American<ref>David Robichaux: Sistemas familiares en culturas subalternas de América Latina: una propuesta conceptual y un bosquejo preliminar</ref><ref>Familia y parentesco en México y Mesoamérica: unas miradas antropológicas editado por David Robichaux http://books.google.es/books?id=ATDU1kY6ttkC&pg=PA196&lpg=PA196&dq=%22A+diferencia+de+la+residencia,+de+la+cual+abundan%22&source=bl&ots=sEuz13Gfka&sig=oDuDeI4eAChfVd6WxIP6reUydng&hl=es&sa=X&ei=9eh7UYrWHdK1hAego4DQDA&ved=0CDAQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=%22A%20diferencia%20de%20la%20residencia%2C%20de%20la%20cual%20abundan%22&f=false</ref><ref>Familia y parentesco en México y Mesoamérica: unas miradas antropológicas editado por David Robichaux http://books.google.es/books?id=ATDU1kY6ttkC&pg=PA250&lpg=PA250&dq=%22Tlaxcala%22+%22hijo+mayor%22+%22herencia%22&source=bl&ots=sEuy3-Imjb&sig=-h_j0_UMXGjUADibZc2fAVrDn_w&hl=es&sa=X&ei=OCJvUZ_ONNSChQe-mYCoDg&ved=0CC8Q6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=%22Tlaxcala%22%20%22hijo%20mayor%22%20%22herencia%22&f=false</ref><ref>FAMILIA Y PARENTESCO EN MÉXICO Y MESOAMÉRICA. UNAS MIRADAS ANTROPOLÓGICAS Sobre el libro de David Robichaux1</ref><ref>EL NUEVO MARCO DE RELACIONES INTERGENERACIONALES LUIS ALBERTO DEL REY POVEDA* El nuevo marco de relaciones intergeneracionales en las familias ejidales: migración y herencia en el sur de Veracruz http://www.pa.gob.mx/publica/rev_28/luis%20alberto%20del%20rey.pdf</ref><ref>El destino de la tierra en las ex-repúblicas de indios: tenencia y herencia en el área cultural mesoamericano. Robichaux, David Posgrado en Antropología Social Universidad Iberoamericana, México, D.F.</ref> cultures, for example, while many studies show the privileged position that the eldest son traditionally enjoyed in [[Slovene culture|Slovene]]<ref>THE SOCIAL CONTEXT OF CHANGES IN SLOVENE AGRICULTURE SINCE FEUDALISM hrcak.srce.hr/file/29517</ref> [[Finnish culture|Finnish]]<ref name="transmission">The transmission of well- being, marriage and inheritance – Siblings and family property in 18th and 19th century Finland and Sweden Beatrice Moring University of Cambridge http://www.ub.edu/tig/GWBNet/MinhoPapers/Beatrice%20Moring.pdf</ref><ref name="middleborns">Middleborns Disadvantaged? Testing Birth-Order Effects on Fitness in Pre-Industrial Finns http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0005680</ref><ref name="elder">Are elder siblings helpers or competitors? Antagonistic fitness effects of sibling interactions in humans http://rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/280/1750/20122313.full.pdf+html</ref><ref name="lifespan">Selection for long lifespan in men: benefits of grandfathering? M Lahdenperä*, A.F Russell and V Lummaa http://rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/274/1624/2437.full.pdf+html</ref>▼
Written by por Karl William Brown http://books.google.es/books?id=RMQLxXnBD3IC&pg=PA167&lpg=PA167&dq=%22Hungary%22+%22partible+inheritance%22&source=bl&ots=08MvK1hR_L&sig=pfJYCBmGEwsvRYv__e-Bqu16LoE&hl=es&sa=X&ei=tAZbUdHoI_Ky7AaVvoDgBw&ved=0CDMQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=%22Hungary%22%20%22partible%20inheritance%22&f=false</ref><ref>The Development of the Economies of Continental Europe 1850–1914 (Routledge ...
Written by Alan Milward http://books.google.es/books?id=lIjtzt5CGxEC&pg=PA289&lpg=PA289&dq=%22Hungary%22+%22partible+inheritance%22&source=bl&ots=iXYal3MaIQ&sig=xDFVeqCfXVz0h2oPepQELP67O1g&hl=es&sa=X&ei=tAZbUdHoI_Ky7AaVvoDgBw&ved=0CHsQ6AEwCQ#v=onepage&q=%22Hungary%22%20%22partible%20inheritance%22&f=false</ref> [[Albanians|Albanian]],<ref>Albania: Family, Society and Culture in the 20th Century edited by Andreas Hemming,Gentiana Kera,Enriketa Pandelejmoni http://books.google.es/books?id=HfpTqhlsCtMC&pg=PA71&lpg=PA71&dq=%22The+elders+or+the+head+of+household+divided+the+property%22&source=bl&ots=UBGp91eAZ2&sig=6Q9k6XtL_SrUhyvF8rCF_CnBTzk&hl=es&sa=X&ei=0liXUpi4J9PX7AbR64G4Bw&ved=0CDEQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=%22The%20elders%20or%20the%20head%20of%20household%20divided%20the%20property%22&f=false</ref> [[Romanian culture|Romanian]],<ref>Marriage Strategies and Sequels: Prosperity or Conflict between Relatives (Romania, 18th century) Constanţa Vintilă-Ghiţulescu “Nicolae Iorga” Institute of History, Bucharest Faculty of Literature, Department of European Studies, University of Bucharest http://www.ub.edu/tig/GWBNet/MinhoPapers/Constanta%20Ghitulescu.pdf</ref> and most [[Slavic culture|Slavic]]<ref>Household and Family in the Balkans: Two Decades of Historical Family Research
▲
<ref name="sons">Producing sons reduces lifetime reproductive
success of subsequent offspring in
pre-industrial Finns http://rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/274/1628/2981.full.pdf+html</ref><ref>The Dynamics of the Finnish Migration to America and the Development of Emigration Databases http://www.migrationinstitute.fi/articles/067_Heikkila-Uschanov.pdf</ref><ref name="Kaukianen">Kaukiainen, Yrjö. 1987. "Population growth and land availability in southeast Finland 1750-1840"</ref> or [[Tibetan people|Tibetan]]<ref>Buddhist Western Himalaya: A Politico-Religious History Written By Omacanda Hāṇḍā http://books.google.es/books?id=R4VuovXa5YUC&pg=PA113&lpg=PA113&dq=%22The+king+also+ensured+that+the+precious+agricultural%22&source=bl&ots=IbHPdrNV0U&sig=kYorD-m7lTkYS8ZCRIfpPyFUzYQ&hl=es&sa=X&ei=hb93UbKIE4iShge-84Bg&ved=0CDAQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=%22The%20king%20also%20ensured%20that%20the%20precious%20agricultural%22&f=false</ref><ref name="polyandry">Why Polyandry Fails: Sources of Instability in Polyandrous Marriages Nancy E. Levine; Joan B. Silk http://www.case.edu/affil/tibet/tibetanSociety/documents/02.pdf</ref><ref>Tibetan Fraternal Polyandry: A Review of its Advantages and Breakdown Jeff Willet http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1112&context=nebanthro</ref><ref>When Brothers Share a Wife http://anthropologyman.com/files/15_When_Brothers_Share_a_Wife.pdf</ref><ref>Tibet: The Country and Its Inhabitants Written by Fernand Grenard http://books.google.es/books?id=cwTBgOI2-CkC&pg=PA184&lpg=PA184&dq=%22Tibetan+custom%22+%22eldest+son%22&source=bl&ots=DjE_2mttXq&sig=VRux2tYp67UOZsPlu1IMq2eIphQ&hl=es&sa=X&ei=IKNbUcaQH_Oe7Abh2oHQDQ&ved=0CEUQ6AEwAg#v=onepage&q=%22Tibetan%20custom%22%20%22eldest%20son%22&f=false</ref><ref>Solidarity written by K. Bayertz http://books.google.es/books?id=RQBHJMDuGLEC&pg=PA160&lpg=PA160&dq=%22Tibet%22+%22eldest+son%22+%22inherits%22&source=bl&ots=Qv7XIAPUaq&sig=sFsQeNxesAXK3HaTc6iKPik87M0&hl=es&sa=X&ei=x6NbUeWEIueV7AakhIDgCQ&ved=0CF8Q6AEwBQ#v=onepage&q=%22Tibet%22%20%22eldest%20son%22%20%22inherits%22&f=false</ref><ref>The Oriental, the Ancient and the Primitive: Systems of Marriage the Family in the Pre-Industrial Societies of Eurasia Written by Jack Goody http://books.google.es/books?id=Tdgos7fWazIC&pg=PA139&lpg=PA139&dq=%22Tibet%22+%22eldest+son%22+%22inherits%22&source=bl&ots=MGE6MPwqFH&sig=T6MSpWq7rN7G7EIdVuHJ-iYgTpk&hl=es&sa=X&ei=x6NbUeWEIueV7AakhIDgCQ&ved=0CGcQ6AEwCA#v=onepage&q=%22Tibet%22%20%22eldest%20son%22%20%22inherits%22&f=false</ref><ref>Polyandry and population growth in a historical Tibetan society Geoff Childs http://www.case.edu/affil/tibet/booksAndPapers/childs.polyandry.and.population.growth.pdf</ref><ref>http://www.artsci.wustl.edu/~gchilds/publications/articles/G.Childs%20Migration%20as%20Process.pdf</ref><ref>http://himalaya.socanth.cam.ac.uk/collections/journals/contributions/pdf/CNAS_20_02_03.pdf</ref><ref>http://himalaya.socanth.cam.ac.uk/collections/journals/ancientnepal/pdf/ancient_nepal_134_06.pdf</ref><ref>In a Tibetan Village http://www.tibetanhistory.net/wp/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Ramble-Status-and-death.pdf</ref><ref>Tibetan Buddhism Monasticism http://www.case.edu/affil/tibet/booksAndPapers/buddhistmonasticism.PDF</ref><ref name="faculty.washington">Is Tibetan polyandry adaptive? Methodological and metatheoretical Analyses Eric Alden Smith University of Washington http://faculty.washington.edu/easmith/Polyandry-HN1998.pdf</ref> culture, for example. The [[Jaintia people|Jaintia]], the [[Garo people|Garo]] and the [[Khasi people|Khasi]], on the other hand, traditionally privileged the youngest daughter. Some peoples, like the Dinka,<ref>Divinity and Experience : The Religion of the Dinka: The Religion of the Dinka written by por Godfrey Lienhardt http://books.google.es/books?id=z7Y4X9kHeU8C&pg=PA82&lpg=PA82&dq=%22Dinka%22+%22eldest+son%22+%22inherits%22&source=bl&ots=L3OMcEbbbr&sig=aU42PQbNx2MLvYnAPaKRpkmXg6Q&hl=es&sa=X&ei=QwxoUeaKI4PJhAfTkYGIBA&ved=0CDwQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=%22Dinka%22%20%22eldest%20son%22%20%22inherits%22&f=false</ref><ref>Human Rights, Southern Voices: Francis Deng, Abdullahi An-Na'im, Yash Ghai … Written by William Twining http://books.google.es/books?id=WTBZTNPLOGEC&pg=PA48&lpg=PA48&dq=%22Dinka%22+%22eldest+son%22+%22inherits%22&source=bl&ots=zmOuA059Kq&sig=vez_nFXpVLArTC32aiLNEXiE7II&hl=es&sa=X&ei=dHl6UaebHdPb7AbR54HwBQ&ved=0CEcQ6AEwBA#v=onepage&q=%22Dinka%22%20%22eldest%20son%22%20%22inherits%22&f=false</ref><ref name="books.google_a">Customary Law in the Modern World: The Crossfire of Sudan's War of Identities Written By Francis Deng http://books.google.es/books?id=AcRfaVfD3i8C&pg=PA122&lpg=PA122&dq=%22Dinka%22+%22eldest+son%22+%22inherits%22&source=bl&ots=77JFYXlbVa&sig=jBoRZMsEVa9nCAFAPIPTryrC_1w&hl=es&sa=X&ei=xsYcUpKJOIiv7Aa7r4HQBg&ved=0CE0Q6AEwBQ#v=onepage&q=%22Dinka%22%20%22eldest%20son%22%20%22inherits%22&f=false</ref><ref name="Deng">Customary Law In The Cross Fire Of Sudan’s War Of Identities By Francis M. Deng http://s4rsa.wikispaces.com/file/view/Customary+Law+in+the+Cross+fire.doc</ref> the [[Rakhine people|Arakanese]],<ref>http://www.arakanmusic.com/books/hill_tribes_of_nothern_aracan.pdf</ref> the [[Chin peoples|Chins]] of Myanmar,<ref>System, Structure, and Contradiction: The Evolution of "Asiatic" Social … http://books.google.es/books?id=c8Ys-px62PEC&pg=PA247&lpg=PA247&dq=%22Chin%22+%22ultimogeniture%22&source=bl&ots=DAxtI_xe9t&sig=nP58qFww9b0t192K9uMb3jCgbZw&hl=es&sa=X&ei=L-xvUa2TJoW1hAfCsoAg&ved=0CEEQ6AEwAw#v=onepage&q=%22Chin%22%20%22ultimogeniture%22&f=false</ref> or the [[Karen people|Karen]], frequently show a compromise between [[primogeniture]] and ultimogeniture in their inheritance patterns
In Han Chinese tradition, the eldest son was of special importance. The law punished more harshly offences by a younger brother against an elder brother than vice versa.<ref>Brothers: On His Brothers and Brothers in History Written By George Howe Colt http://books.google.es/books?id=h2DgQ--NqMMC&pg=PA56&lpg=PA56&dq=%22Differential+treatment+of+siblings+according+to+birth+order%22&source=bl&ots=2hlakJS8H3&sig=6hCEDYgE0BtPi6Wa2f9-FxB5BZ0&hl=es&sa=X&ei=NtvfUt33DZSthQfemYCoAQ&ved=0CDIQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=%22Differential%20treatment%20of%20siblings%20according%20to%20birth%20order%22&f=false</ref> The eldest son received the family headship in cases where the family held together as a single unit, and the largest share in cases of family division, since he also inherited the cult to family ancestors.<ref name="fateandfortune">Fate and Fortune in Rural China: Social organization and population behavior in Liaoning, 1774–1873. James Z. Lee, Cameron D. Campbell http://books.google.es/books?id=-pybannCO7wC&pg=PA105&lpg=PA105&dq=%22Fate+and+fortune+in+rural+china%22+%22eldest+son%22&source=bl&ots=njf8MWFdG3&sig=Z6fZK4h-XYvbupjWupv7CucBuU8&hl=es&sa=X&ei=9TpaUdLxAuKN7QaO-oGoBQ&ved=0CC8Q6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=%22Fate%20and%20fortune%20in%20rural%20china%22%20%22eldest%20son%22&f=false</ref><ref>The Salt Merchants of Tianjin: State Making and Civil Society in Late … Written by Kwan Man Bun http://books.google.es/books?id=sJ4s72IHh4sC&pg=PA172&lpg=PA172&dq=%22China%22+%22firstborn%22+%22extra+share%22&source=bl&ots=ATnA1JC8-Y&sig=BIzgWM8j3iu7JdYhTkHnzdeTb2s&hl=es&sa=X&ei=4aZ5UaWzEIWK7AasvYGQAQ&ved=0CDAQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=%22China%22%20%22firstborn%22%20%22extra%20share%22&f=false</ref><ref>The Chinese: A General Description of the Empire of China and Its …, Volumen 1 Written By John F. Davis http://books.google.es/books?id=9g5BAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA284&lpg=PA284&dq=%22China%22+double+portion%22+%22eldest+son%22&source=bl&ots=asDBKrgHNx&sig=XZfQFVx6z1xkJtkATTZmafhq_9U&hl=es&sa=X&ei=EiOrUemQNIWB7QajroCACg&ved=0CD8Q6AEwAjgU#v=onepage&q=%22China%22%20double%20portion%22%20%22eldest%20son%22&f=false</ref> This is still practiced in Taiwan nowadays,<ref>Revisiting the Issues Regarding the Inheritance System in the Chinese Family Business Yu-Hsu Sean Hsu and Connie Chang http://www.wbiworldconpro.com/uploads/bangkok-conference-2013/management/1364451871_422-Yu-Hsu.pdf</ref> though Chinese peasants have practiced partible inheritance since the time of the [[Qin Dynasty]] and the [[Han Dynasty]], when the previous system of male primogeniture was abolished.<ref>Nested Political Coalitions: Nation, Regime, Program, Cabinet Written By Terrence E. Cook http://books.google.es/books?id=rV6OHa0a7HsC&pg=PA118&lpg=PA118&dq=%22Qin+Dynasty%22+%22primogeniture%22&source=bl&ots=cwJQKKXyWT&sig=viYB5QL8UCoreanfBrhY0j0N0XE&hl=es&sa=X&ei=i8K4UtLvOqem0QXRzIEg&ved=0CDUQ6AEwATgK#v=onepage&q=%22Qin%20Dynasty%22%20%22primogeniture%22&f=false</ref><ref>The Earth and Its Peoples. Written By Richard Bulliet,Pamela Kyle Crossley,Daniel R. Headrick,Steven W. Hirsch,Lyman L. Johnson,David Northrup http://books.google.es/books?id=-T4FAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA165&lpg=PA165&dq=%22Qin+Dynasty%22+%22primogeniture%22&source=bl&ots=YCGLgygT-1&sig=1ZJKtkK-QqaUzsGRucEf5r3T9es&hl=es&sa=X&ei=i8K4UtLvOqem0QXRzIEg&ved=0CGMQ6AEwCDgK#v=onepage&q=%22Qin%20Dynasty%22%20%22primogeniture%22&f=false</ref><ref>China's Geography: Globalization and the Dynamics of Political, Economic ... Written By Gregory Veeck,Clifton W. Pannell,Christopher J. Smith,Youqin Huang http://books.google.es/books?id=K3XdB5o4VFAC&pg=PA64&lpg=PA64&dq=%22Han+Dynasty%22+%22primogeniture%22&source=bl&ots=cR97bK8vKU&sig=2keiQLLiUk6wX52usquqRdCu9bI&hl=es&sa=X&ei=M8a4UtC9L4aK0AWS-4HoDQ&ved=0CDYQ6AEwATgK#v=onepage&q=%22Han%20Dynasty%22%20%22primogeniture%22&f=false</ref> In some cases, the eldest son of the eldest son, rather than the eldest son, was favored.<ref>Fenjia: household division and inheritance in Qing and Republican China Written By David Wakefield http://books.google.es/books?id=o2c26kQGZIIC&pg=PA156&lpg=PA156&dq=%22China%22+%22eldest+grandson%22+%22share%22&source=bl&ots=0R77EOs23u&sig=AQtUnR4bYt_1_hRN-yeHkLKy1Pw&hl=es&sa=X&ei=xaV5UdfXH6SJ7Aay14GwBg&ved=0CDAQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=%22China%22%20%22eldest%20grandson%22%20%22share%22&f=false</ref> Ritual primogeniture was emphasized in the lineage organizations of North China.<ref name="ReferenceA">Kinship, Contract, Community, And State: Anthropological Perspectives On China Written by Myron L. Cohen http://books.google.es/books?id=sBBbfCx3gzwC&pg=PA165&lpg=PA165&dq=%22north+china%22+%22lineage%22+%22eldest+son%22&source=bl&ots=rYGtnhU6M5&sig=GIplWa5ykYaE7qZV8XP9DolOU1U&hl=es&sa=X&ei=lzx_UauLCc2KOLfUgegF&ved=0CDAQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=%22north%20china%22%20%22lineage%22%20%22eldest%20son%22&f=false</ref> During the [[Longshan culture]] period and period of the three Dynasties ([[Xia dynasty]], [[Zhou dynasty]] and [[Shang dynasty]]), patrilineal primogeniture predominated.<ref>Archaeological Thought in America edited by C. C. Lamberg-Karlovsky http://books.google.es/books?id=uc3ZokKnaQYC&pg=PA160&lpg=PA160&dq=%22Three+dynasties%22+%22China%22+%22conical+clan%22&source=bl&ots=W6dN0PZp5N&sig=8A07lLbITcpTnUf42ot2s0HNIwM&hl=es&sa=X&ei=-UWwUqWRHMbR0QXRlYHAAg&ved=0CDIQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=%22Three%20dynasties%22%20%22China%22%20%22conical%20clan%22&f=false</ref><ref>China: Ancient Culture, Modern Land edited by Robert E. Murowchick http://books.google.es/books?id=tO42ZlxKf4cC&pg=PA65&lpg=PA65&dq=%22Longshan+people%22+%22male+primogeniture%22&source=bl&ots=1ot2Icb86r&sig=leWF7vg0XOIFQWV6rL_4rGxYn8w&hl=es&sa=X&ei=9HmwUu7zBaH8ygO184HQBw&ved=0CDIQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=%22Longshan%20people%22%20%22male%20primogeniture%22&f=false</ref><ref>Understanding Early Civilizations: A Comparative Study Written By Bruce G. Trigger http://books.google.es/books?id=ZEX-yZOAG9IC&pg=PA168&lpg=PA168&dq=%22Shang%22+%22elder+brothers%22+%22younger+brothers%22&source=bl&ots=x3Ub3ma8g4&sig=_f05twT2qPaGg7VV6QoXttgzJc8&hl=es&sa=X&ei=RR2sUvq8JZGM7Abt74Aw&ved=0CD0Q6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=%22Shang%22%20%22elder%20brothers%22%20%22younger%20brothers%22&f=false</ref><ref>Ancestral Memory in Early China Written By K. E. Brashier http://books.google.es/books?id=aJAMLt5NYAQC&pg=PA71&lpg=PA71&dq=%22The+White+tiger+hall+discussion+is+here%22&source=bl&ots=_v909EbDMK&sig=eOK5lPHbTo7DSSNLqHstF1mHAEg&hl=es&sa=X&ei=i6E8UpziCIbR7AatzoDwBQ&ved=0CDEQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=%22The%20White%20tiger%20hall%20discussion%20is%20here%22&f=false</ref><ref>TAO, HSI-SHENG. Marriage and Family, Shanghai. 1934</ref> [[Confucius]] says that the elder brother must be in a higher position than the younger brother, and texts such as the LÎ KÎ (The Book of Rites) express this idea.<ref>{{cite web|title=The LÎ KÎ (The Book of Rites) |url=http://www.sacred-texts.com/cfu/liki/}}</ref>▼
▲Sometimes inheritance customs do not entirely reflect social traditions. Romans valued sons more than daughters and Thais and [[Shan people|Shan]] showed the reverse pattern, though all practiced equal land inheritance between all children.<ref>Thailand Inheritance and Succession Bhassorn Limanonda, in The Stem Family in Eurasian Perspective: Revisiting House Societies, 17th … Written By Antoinette Fauve-chamoux,Emiko Ochiai http://books.google.es/books?id=kcJkkBG8FygC&pg=PA470&lpg=PA470&dq=%22Thailand%22+%22succession+and+transfer+of+inheritance%22&source=bl&ots=BMkh9oNG3u&sig=2bznfslVcTQra8y30030Sullwqo&hl=es&sa=X&ei=LNh_UbTVD6au7AarkoGwAg&ved=0CDAQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=%22Thailand%22%20%22succession%20and%20transfer%20of%20inheritance%22&f=false</ref><ref>Thailand: Buddhism, Society, and Women Written By Alexandra Kapur-Fic http://books.google.es/books?id=kaBW8Ao-18oC&pg=PA73&lpg=PA73&dq=%22Citing+the+examples+from+a+Chiang+Mai+village%22&source=bl&ots=uSJVPITciY&sig=Kuhxlszf3pzgRP8NtFs2-YNJESM&hl=es&sa=X&ei=aH2EUd7tFdKLhQfd1oCAAQ&ved=0CC8Q6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=%22Citing%20the%20examples%20from%20a%20Chiang%20Mai%20village%22&f=false</ref><ref>Anthropological Demography: Toward a New Synthesis Written By David I. Kertzer,Thomas Earl Fricke http://books.google.es/books?id=NTk-o1tn6CwC&pg=PA62&lpg=PA62&dq=%22Thailand%22+%22youngest+daughter%22+%22inherits%22&source=bl&ots=sX09kc4BO3&sig=odB9m65LHLc_q38f2KIJWqlJbLM&hl=es&sa=X&ei=r36EUZSoC4yFhQe7wIGQBQ&ved=0CFcQ6AEwBQ#v=onepage&q=%22Thailand%22%20%22youngest%20daughter%22%20%22inherits%22&f=false</ref><ref>Did Ancient Romans Love Their Children? Infanticide in Ancient Rome By Mindy Nichols https://www.wou.edu/las/socsci/history/thesis%2008/MindyNicholsThesis.pdf</ref> In fact, [[Shan people]], who live mostly in northern Thailand and northeastern Myanmar, are markedly matrilocal. In Han Chinese tradition, the eldest son was of special importance. The law punished more harshly offences by a younger brother against an elder brother than
[[Arabic]] [[kinship]], in contrast to its central Asian counterpart, has been considered by some as reflective of the egalitarian nature of brothers' relationships in [[Arab]], [[Peoples of the Caucasus|Caucasian]] and [[Iranian peoples|Iranian]] culture.<ref name="Kinship structure and political authority">Kinship Structure and Political Authority: The Middle East and central Asia Charles Lindholm http://psychologie.dev.czu.cz/stred-asie/html/CD/stredni_asie/Kinship%20Structure%20and%20Political%20Authority-The%20Middle%20East%20an.pdf</ref> It is sometimes argued that the expansion of [[Islam]] brought an end to the sharp distinction between the firstborn and other sons so characteristic of ancient [[Semitic]] peoples<ref>Studies in biblical law [electronic resource]: from the Hebrew Bible to the … Written By Gershon Brin http://books.google.es/books?id=z_iMdqTr-iMC&pg=PA238&lpg=PA238&dq=%22It+follows+from+the+biblical+law+in+deut%22&source=bl&ots=qt6iQoEwaU&sig=4xNlGWPb2SJ_41qav37VlQycDPQ&hl=es&sa=X&ei=yn6uUZjDH-nd7QbD2YGQBw&ved=0CC8Q6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=%22It%20follows%20from%20the%20biblical%20law%20in%20deut%22&f=false</ref><ref>Studies in biblical law [electronic resource]: from the Hebrew Bible to the … Written By Gershon Brin http://books.google.es/books?id=z_iMdqTr-iMC&pg=PA245&lpg=PA245&dq=%22Other+approaches+regarding+the+extra+share%22&source=bl&ots=qt6iOiJueT&sig=QDto5EoWuhHurXX9f7EmHZ3DPXU&hl=es&sa=X&ei=EZqqUdVcscfsBv_-gUg&ved=0CC8Q6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=%22Other%20approaches%20regarding%20the%20extra%20share%22&f=false</ref><ref>Daily life in ancient Mesopotamia Written By Karen Rhea Nemet Nejat http://books.google.es/books?id=lbmXsaTGNKUC&pg=PA147&lpg=PA147&dq=%22Each+city+followed+different+customs+concerning+inheritance%22&source=bl&ots=ds5Q2lLWup&sig=b7JoreKjTLgACFzU8FlYJsCjYv4&hl=es&sa=X&ei=2ZWMUZy6C8mJhQeHpYG4Bw&ved=0CC4Q6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=%22Each%20city%20followed%20different%20customs%20concerning%20inheritance%22&f=false</ref><ref>Jacob’s Wealth: An Examination Into the Nature and Role of Material … Written By Paul Vrolijk http://books.google.es/books?id=Vf-DgELK3iMC&pg=PA49&lpg=PA49&dq=%22Assyria%22+%22eldest+son%22+%22inheritance%22&source=bl&ots=q2-E4X58fX&sig=27kwpmunlzUmApt5LS9zAI9bsCY&hl=es&sa=X&ei=23aWUe_yOMif7AaHvIGYCg&ved=0CFIQ6AEwBDgK#v=onepage&q=%22Assyria%22%20%22eldest%20son%22%20%22inheritance%22&f=false</ref><ref>Approaches to Akkadian Name-Giving in First-Millennium Mesopotamiax BC Heatber D. Baker – Helsinki http://www.academia.edu/284597/Baker_H.D._2002._Approaches_to_Akkadian_Name-Giving_in_First-Millennium_BC_Mesopotamia</ref><ref>The Historicity of the Patriarchal Narratives: The Quest for the Historical … Written By Thomas L. Thompson http://books.google.es/books?id=lwrzapZYqFAC&pg=PA276&lpg=PA276&dq=%22Ugarit%22+%22eldest+son%22+%22double+share%22&source=bl&ots=lLaLvYgIF7&sig=sWEH8ozT-iSxLXq-6ZUfIIcD58s&hl=es&sa=X&ei=x5aMUYTLOMyGhQeJtIDwCQ&ved=0CDIQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=%22Ugarit%22%20%22eldest%20son%22%20%22double%20share%22&f=false</ref><ref>The Invention of Enterprise: Entrepreneurship from Ancient Mesopotamia to … Edited By David S. Landes,Joel Mokyr,William J. Baumol http://books.google.es/books?id=6rw1fxYalfUC&pg=PA59&lpg=PA59&dq=%22Ugarit%22+%22eldest+son%22+%22double+share%22&source=bl&ots=42fLUE1A8J&sig=8zAYxACOyAIxuhhh79I1T9skXlE&hl=es&sa=X&ei=dZeMUfCXN8XOhAeT5IHgDw&ved=0CC4Q6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=%22Ugarit%22%20%22eldest%20son%22%20%22double%20share%22&f=false</ref><ref>Birth Order and Political Behavior Written By Albert Somit,Alan Arwine,Steven Ames Peterson http://books.google.es/books?id=6rw1fxYalfUC&pg=PA59&lpg=PA59&dq=%22Ugarit%22+%22eldest+son%22+%22double+share%22&source=bl&ots=42fLUE1A8J&sig=8zAYxACOyAIxuhhh79I1T9skXlE&hl=es&sa=X&ei=dZeMUfCXN8XOhAeT5IHgDw&ved=0CC4Q6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=%22Ugarit%22%20%22eldest%20son%22%20%22double%20share%22&f=false</ref><ref>Everyday Law in Biblical Israel: An Introduction Written By Raymond Westbrook,Bruce Wells, Ph.D. http://books.google.es/books?id=oLGfWXZuSMYC&pg=PA23&lpg=PA23&dq=%22Babylon%22+%22eldest+son%22+%22extra+portion%22&source=bl&ots=lgliHQt-ct&sig=6rfe1kZ1yoSVvi-jPuKwgq7drCo&hl=es&sa=X&ei=Dp2MUbmgE4aohAfWvoGgBQ&ved=0CC4Q6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=%22Babylon%22%20%22eldest%20son%22%20%22extra%20portion%22&f=false</ref> and erased the cultural notions of precedence of the first-born son over other sons in the family that previously existed among them (though many peoples who have partially or completely embraced Islam, have also established inequality between sons, like the Oromo, who even had patrilineal primogeniture in inheritance,<ref>The Political Economy of an African Society in Transformation: The Case of … Written By Tesema Ta'a http://books.google.es/books?id=_XwN2JdMYM4C&pg=PA37&lpg=PA37&dq=%22Oromo%22+%22primogeniture%22&source=bl&ots=WFSyExDbyi&sig=lnB64Pa_mAq9_rK3GH-Vc8eLTuA&hl=es&sa=X&ei=hWz7Ub6-DKiO7QaKnYG4Ag&ved=0CC8Q6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=%22Oromo%22%20%22primogeniture%22&f=false</ref><ref>Booran (Ethiopia, Kenya) written by Gemetchu Megerssa http://books.google.es/books?id=Pvy-jTk8DAQC&pg=PA15&lpg=PA15&dq=%22The+traditional+oromo+society+used+a+complex+system%22&source=bl&ots=-ZMVL_pP0e&sig=54ZvjM3mokmJ_1V_41HYeesuV5M&hl=es&sa=X&ei=xgWDUYKPBoO5hAewnIGoBQ&ved=0CC8Q6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=%22The%20traditional%20oromo%20society%20used%20a%20complex%20system%22&f=false</ref><ref>GENDER AND CULTURE IN SOUTHERN ETHIOPIA: AN ETHNOGRAPHIC ANALYSIS OF GUJI-OROMO WOMEN’S CUSTOMARY RIGHTS Dejene N. DEBSU Department of Anthropology, Miami University http://www.africa.kyoto-u.ac.jp/kiroku/asm_normal/abstracts/pdf/30-1/DEBSU.pdf</ref><ref>STUDY ON WOMEN’S PROPERTY RIGHTS IN AFAR AND OROMIYA REGIONS, ETHIOPIA http://edu.care.org/Documents/Women%20property%20rights%20in%20Oromiya%20and%20AFar.pdf</ref><ref>Journal of Oromo studies http://www.oromostudies.org/josfiles/JOS%20VOlume%2011%20Numbers%201&2%20(2004).pdf</ref><ref>Abstract: Contested Land rights: Oromo Peasants Struggle for Livelihood in Ethiopia http://munin.uit.no/bitstream/handle/10037/153/thesis.pdf?sequence=1</ref><ref>Title: Land tenure and agriculture in Sayyoo-Afillo, Western Wallaga, Ethiopia, 1880–1974 Author(s): Ayana, Daniel http://hdl.handle.net/2142/20684</ref> in spite of the fact that some of them were [[Muslim]]. Other [[Muslim]] peoples, like the [[Minangkabau people|Minangkabau]], the Turks, the [[Javanese people|Javanese]] or the [[Fur people|Fur]], also have inheritance practices that contradict their [[Islamic]] beliefs. Of course, most non-Arab Muslims historically followed their own inheritance customs, not those of the [[Sharia]]). In India, inheritance customs were (and still are) very diverse. Patrilineal primogeniture predominated in ancient times
In some cultures, such as that of [[Khmers]] and non-aristocratic [[Ethnic Malays|Malays]], [[Bugis]] and [[Makassarese]], equality between all children, both male and female, is stressed.<ref>J. Nagata Adat in the city: Some perceptions and practices among urban Malays http://www.kitlv-journals.nl/index.php/btlv/article/viewfile/1823/2584</ref><ref>21st Century Cambodia: View and Vision Written By Wim Swann http://books.google.es/books?id=IAbUcEsv-x0C&pg=PA39&lpg=PA39&dq=%22Wim+Swann%22+%22Inheritance%22+%22bilateral%22&source=bl&ots=CS_2JAsEfl&sig=3UcloOSsQPCxHP-G2tvRZn6-Ii0&hl=es&sa=X&ei=SDqEUazGCo_6sga0-IGYAQ&ved=0CC8Q6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=%22Wim%20Swann%22%20%22Inheritance%22%20%22bilateral%22&f=false</ref>
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=== Variations by class and context ===
An strong relationship between fertility and inheritance exists in "Malthusian" contexts of resource scarcity; in contexts where resources are plentiful, the relationship between inheritance and social outcomes can be different. In the northern United States
Kathleen A. Gillogly discusses how inheritance practices and seniority of patriline, as well as the importance of inheritance itself, have varied over time among the [[Lisu people|Lisu]], mostly in response to changes in resource availability and poppy cultivation.<ref>Transformations of Lisu Social Structure Under Opium Control and Watershed Conservation in Northern Thailand by Kathleen A. Gillogly https://evols.library.manoa.hawaii.edu/bitstream/handle/10524/1545/gillogly_dissertation.pdf?sequence=1</ref>
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== Cultural patterns of child-preference ==
Nowadays in the western world, parents commonly show favoritism towards daughters and later-born sons,<ref>Birth order, sex of child, and perceptions of parental favoritism Catherine A. Salmona, Todd K. Shackelfordb, Richard L. Michalski http://www.toddkshackelford.com/downloads/Salmon-Shackelford-Michalski-PAID-2012.pdf</ref><ref>Perceived parental favoritism, closeness to kin, and the rebel of the family The effects of birth order and sex Percy A. Rohdea,*, Klaus Atzwangerb,c, Marina Butovskayad, Ada Lamperte, Iver Mysterudf, Angeles Sanchez-Andresg, Frank J. Sulloway http://sulloway.org/Rohde2003.pdf</ref><ref>Correlates of Perceived Parental Favoritism http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00221325.1985.9923447</ref> As regards only parent-son relationships, mothers usually show favoritism towards the first and the last son; their greatest expectation for the first son is that he continues the family line, while their greatest expectation for the last son is that he cares for her during her old age. Fathers, on the other hand, show more favoritism towards a son the later he has been born in comparison to his brothers. However, these tendencies aren't reflected in current inheritance practices, which have lost much of their past importance and are now generally egalitarian, and familial practices in general do not reflect significant sex or birth order biases. Familial or social feelings against firstborn sons have been explained as a consequence of the idea that the eldest son, being the foremost representative of the following generation, is also the one who symbolically "kills" the older generation. Mary W. Helms writes in "Access to Origins: Affines, Ancestors, and Aristocrats": "parents … may view their firstborn with considerable ambivalence given that this child is incontrovertible evidence that their own personal and social prominence will one day be usurped by the next generation. In such settings, firstborns … may be forced to stand apart from parents and be treated with considerable coldness".<ref>Access to Origins: Affines, Ancestors, and Aristocrats Written by Mary W. Helms http://books.google.es/books?id=KWTqgrZQgwQC&pg=PA81&lpg=PA81&dq=%22The+hierarchical+basis+for+the+relations+among%22&source=bl&ots=HksqVR85o7&sig=8c8KgJBd6bcaU8jO2i97o7IEpOw&hl=es&sa=X&ei=-2ukUvfAA-nE0QW2poCQCQ&ved=0CDYQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=%22The%20hierarchical%20basis%20for%20the%20relations%20among%22&f=false</ref> (See also Robert A. Paul's work on the [[Sherpas]]<ref>The Sherpas of Nepal in the Tibetan cultural context by Robert A. Paul https://openlibrary.org/search?author_key=OL447372A&subject_facet=Civilization&title=The+Sherpas+of+Nepal</ref>). Customs of ultimogeniture have been explained as a consequence of the farmers' desire to postpone a few years their age of retirement due to feelings of being "early dethroned" if they chose their eldest sons as successors. This line of superstitious thinking has been linked to the preeminence of lastborn siblings in popular [[myth]] and [[folklore]] around the world. Thus in some cultures that practice male primogeniture there are ambiguous, contradictory feelings towards lastborns. (see for example Walter H. Sangree's investigations about the [[Tiriki]] tribe in Kenya).<ref>The 'Last Born' (Muxogosi) and Complementary Filiation in Tiriki, Kenya http://hdl.handle.net/1802/6872</ref> Yet in all societies that practice infanticide, it is the youngest of the infants of the same sex who is invariably killed<ref>Daly, M., & Wilson, M. (1984). A sociobiological analysis of human infanticide. In G. Hausfater, S. B. Hrdy (Eds.),Infanticide: Comparative and evolutionary perspectives (pp. 487-502). New York, NY: Aldine de Gruyter</ref><ref>Daly, M., & Wilson, M. (1988). Homicide</ref> (see for example the evidence of population control among peasant families in Tokugawa Japan, where families killed the children born of the sex that was overrepresented among previous births after the birth of the second child, such that a couple who had two children and both were male would kill the next child if he was also a boy, for example,<ref>Population History and the Family: A Journal of Interdisciplinary History Reader
edited by Robert I. Rotberg http://books.google.es/books?id=OiQM-GIe69kC&pg=PA173&lpg=PA173&dq=%22peasant+families%22+%22population+control%22+%22Japan%22&source=bl&ots=axUyUcc-NR&sig=T6RUhpKmZk16HD53IokvvHSQaqQ&hl=es&sa=X&ei=SP3DUe-uKo-I7AbvioGwDw&ved=0CFUQ6AEwBQ</ref><ref>Mabiki: Infanticide and Population Growth in Eastern Japan, 1660-1950 Written By Fabian Drixler http://books.google.es/books?id=B25xmcnCV6oC&pg=PA229&lpg=PA229&dq=%22Subcultures+of+infanticide+in+the+1930s%22&source=bl&ots=l0s-aQ9kF3&sig=_vy12VLxJaNSU6rY09afFJYhrJU&hl=es&sa=X&ei=tebcUs7yDKiP7AbYpIHYAQ&ved=0CDIQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=%22Subcultures%20of%20infanticide%20in%20the%201930s%22&f=false</ref><ref>Nakahara. Family Planning and Population in a Japanese Village, 1717-1830. by Thomas C. Smith http://www.jstor.org/stable/2384204</ref> or among contemporary Karo [[Batak]], who do the same<ref name="faculty.washington.edu" />). The true objective of [[infanticide]] seems to be always population control, as shown for example by archaeological evidence regarding Child Sacrifice in Carthage, where youngest sons sons were customarily sacrificed to the Gods according to Lawrence E. Stager.<ref>Child Sacrifice at Carthage: Religious Rite or Population Control. Biblical Archaeology Review 10,1 (1984): 30-51 (with Lawrence E. Stager). http://www.academia.edu/2298111/Child_Sacrifice_at_Carthage_Religious_Rite_or_Population_Control._Biblical_Archaeology_Review_10_1_1984_30-51_with_Lawrence_E._Stager_</ref> He writes that this was done because even where primogeniture was the rule, family claims of one sort or another could easily dilute the family patrimony. However, according to Laiu Facchai, [[Phoenicians]] were the Semitic people among whom male primogeniture was strongest.<ref>Primogeniture in the Old Testament : towards a theological-ethical understanding of patriarchy in Ancient Israel Fachhai, http://scholar.sun.ac.za/bitstream/handle/10019.1/17750/Fachhai_primogeniture_2007.pdf?sequence=1</ref>
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farmers in many parts of China prefer agricultural land not to be privately owned. In fact, they prefer it to be periodically reallocated between neighbouring families, giving land free of charge to households that have grown in membership and taking land from families that have shrunk. Why is there such a preference for land reallocations among China’s farmers? Let us examine the first of these sets of practices. Is the division of a farm family’s property at the time of each son’s marriage a “new born” custom? And traditionally, did rural parents most often live together with the youngest son after his marriage, not with the eldest son? When I asked interviewees in villages in a number of Chinese provinces about this, most insisted that in traditional times it had been the eldest son who, after his marriage, had normally stayed on with the parents until they passed away: that this had been in accord with Confucian teachings of giving precedence to the eldest son. And when I examined books that provide an overall view of pre-revolution family life, a similar generalization cropped up. Lloyd Eastman, for instance, in his book Family, Field and Ancestors wrote that “It was customary... for just the eldest son to continue to reside in the family home and look after the aging parents: younger sons had to move out soon after they took a wife” But if we look instead at studies of specific pre-revolution Chinese villages, it becomes evident that, in fact, village households most frequently followed the opposite course. The practices today are the same as the range of preferences that are found in the studies about pre-revolution villages and Taiwanese villages. My visits to villages in a number of provinces in China revealed that parents who live in stem families with one of their sons most frequently live with the younger son, or alternatively live entirely independently, or live or eat with each married son in turn. Other recent researchers in Chinese villages have found similar living arrangements (e.g., Wang 2004; Jing 2004; Zhang 2004). What is different today is that the division of the paternal household, including its land and other property, most often takes place at the point of marriage. In pre-revolution times, most rural households apparently did not split into separate families by dividing their assets at the first point of a son’s marriage. Rather, the household often held together as a single economic and social unit for some years after the eldest son’s wedding (see, e.g., Harrell 1982: 159–170; Cohen 1970, 1976). Households sometimes remained intact until the younger sons themselves married and the separate conjugal interests of the brothers and their wives began eroding the household’s unity. Why, then, today do the elder sons most frequently split off from their paternal family at the point of their wedding? Certainly, the shift arose within the collective period, as is evident from a number of studies of Chinese villages (e.g., Chan, Madsen and Unger 1992:194; Parish and Whyte 1978: 220; Selden 1993: 145). Before the revolution, when the family had productive assets including land, the drawbacks of cutting the family property into smaller portions had provided a disincentive to split up the household immediately. But under the collectives there was no longer land or a household economy to hold a family together. Instead, the main source of income was in work points, earned by each individual, and thus the economic deterrent to dividing the household had disappeared."<ref>FAMILY CUSTOMS AND FARMLAND REALLOCATIONS IN CONTEMPORARY CHINESE VILLAGES* Jonathan Unger http://ips.cap.anu.edu.au/sites/default/files/IPS/PSC/CCC/publications/papers/JU_Family_Customs.pdf</ref>
However, some studies have found that coresiding with the eldest son and his family is prevalent even today.<ref>Sons and Daughters:Adult Children’s Care for Elderly Parents at the End of Life in Rural China Dongmei
According to [[Meyer Fortes]], "it is the firstborn who establishes the relationship of filiation once for all in respect of his parents' field of kinship and it is he (or she) who frequently carries the responsibility of representing te whole of his co-filiate sibling group in jural and ritual contexts. It is he who is likely to be principal heir and successor to his father in patrilineal, to a mother's brother in matrilineal, systems and it is upon him therefore that both the continuity and solidarity, and the cleavage and rivalry, between successive generations are apt to be focused".<ref>Kinship and the Social Order : the Legacy of Lewis Henry Morgan Escrito por Meyer Fortes http://books.google.es/books?id=iCjWC0nYA_4C&pg=PA253&lpg=PA253&dq=%22Fortes%22+%22firstborn%22&source=bl&ots=lDS031Wu08&sig=ri8pW3hpZenSV1JPPN_1WWJmx-E&hl=es&sa=X&ei=pEGkUo2jK-Kt0QWnz4DgCA&ved=0CDEQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=%22Fortes%22%20%22firstborn%22&f=false</ref> "The distinction is made explicit and the first born is thus set apart in almost every aspect of social organization, firstly as creator of parenthood, secondly as founder of the filial generation, thirdly as head of the sibling group thus constituted. In the ___domain of law and politics, he may be the designated heir, by primogeniture, as among Tallensi, Mossi, Tikopia, Hindu, Chinese, and other patrilineal peoples of antiquity as well as of today".<ref>Religion, Morality and the Person: Essays on Tallensi Religion Escrito por Meyer Fortes http://books.google.es/books?id=uJg4AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA231&lpg=PA231&dq=%22Fortes%22+%22domain%22+%22politics%22+%22primogeniture%22&source=bl&ots=352K51s6yV&sig=tTkdJVdjFg0lz2EwMy8ANWyxXM8&hl=es&sa=X&ei=B0akUvK7Oaqj0QWYtIH4CA&ved=0CDEQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=%22Fortes%22%20%22domain%22%20%22politics%22%20%22primogeniture%22&f=false</ref> He wrote extensively about the firstborn in his article "The firstborn".<ref>THE FIRST BORN Meyer Fortes http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1469-7610.1974.tb01228.x/abstract</ref>
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