Family Systems and Inheritance

"One of the obvious facts of human society is that people die and institu-tions remain " (Friedman, 1966, p. 3 4 0). This continuity is achieved by rules for succession to statuses and rules for inheritance of property. These rules must be sufficiently precise to minimize the number of unresolvable conflicts (Radcliffe-Brown, 1935, p. 3 0 1). This is true in both preliterate and complex societies. In preliterate societies these rules are bound to traditional religion and ritual. Typically inheritance of property follows the lines of succession to status. Equity passage is intertwined with the indi-vidual's and family's position in the society. In more complex societies these rules are part of a codified system of secular law. The laws dealing with inheri tance of property are distinct from those governing succession to an office or status. Individuals in preliterate societies are likely to possess only a few tools, utensils, and personal ornaments. These may be destroyed at death, or more commonly, because of the sexual division of labor, they are transmit