Abstract

The Mosuo of Southwest China are the only society to practice both patrilineal and matrilineal kinship as distinct modes of inheritance and descent. In this talk, I explore variation in kinship practices and parental investment in relation to subsistence base and market integration among patrilineal and matrilineal Mosuo. I show that tourism is associated with departures from normative matrilineal behaviors, including differences in fathers’ investments in their children and that mode of inheritance is associated with modest preferences for sons in patrilineal areas and for daughters in matrilineal areas. Using the lens of behavioral ecology, I advocate for a more nuanced depiction of Mosuo kinship practices than has often been provided and for recognition of the material, in addition to cultural, contributions to divergent behaviors