F ▶ family introduction Throughout most of the ancient world the family was the basic unit of social organization “Family” included not just the nuclear family of mother, father, and children but typically a much more extended family of aunts, uncles, cousins, and, if they survived to an old age, grandparents The responsibility for raising children was often shared by members of the extended family Typically, too, a family considered itself part of a much more extended clan of people who were linked by blood or marriage In places like ancient Europe it was not uncommon for clans to be at odds with one another and engage in extended feuds In some cultures, such as that of the Chinese, ancestor worship was practiced as a form of religion and as a way for people to remain linked to the wisdom of those who had gone before them Marriage in the ancient world was primarily a social, political, and economic institution Rarely did modern concepts of romantic love play any role in the formation of a marriage and family, and marriage was usually regarded as a contractual arrangement rather than an expression of love In the ancient world, for example, it was common for grooms to pay a bride-price to compensate a family for the loss of a daughter; alternatively, it was common for the bride’s family to pay a dowry to the husband as a way of compensating him for, in effect, taking the girl off of the family’s hands and promising to support her Marriages were often arranged as a way of linking the resources of two families, and it was not uncommon for husbands to be considerably older than their brides; the older husband had resources that enabled him to support his wife and family, and the younger bride had years of fertility to help ensure the birth of children and the survival of the family name Further, marriages were arranged according to social class, with the bride’s parents, in particular, doing everything possible to ensure that the husband-to-be was of the right class This was particularly true in ancient India, where people were unable to marry members of a different caste Before the advent of Christianity in some parts of the world, though, polygyny, or the practice of a man’s having two or more wives, was common Divorce, too, was relatively common in the ancient world Most ancient cultures were male dominated In ancient Rome, for example, the concept of paterfamilias, whereby the father was the source of authority in the family, was common In most other cultures women were regarded as inferior or subject to their husbands Their primary role was the production of children, specifically a healthy male heir; in some cultures, babies who were not healthy were left to die If the woman and child survived childbirth, the woman’s role was to raise the children and maintain the home, performing such domestic chores as cooking and cleaning Most ancient cultures were “patrilocal,” meaning that at marriage the woman left her family and moved in with her husband and his family AFRICA BY SAHEED ADERINTO The family in Africa is as old as the history of human existence on the continent The agricultural revolution that took place 447