Ancestors and Relatives

239 Pages·2011·1.9 MB·English

by  Zerubavel, Eviatar.

ANCESTORS AND RELATIVES
This page intentionally left blank
ANCESTORS AND
RELATIVES
Genealogy, Identity, and Community
Eviatar Zerubavel
1
Oxford University Press, Inc., publishes works that further
Oxford University’s objective of excellence
in research, scholarship, and education.
Oxford New York
Auckland Cape Town Dar es Salaam Hong Kong Karachi
Kuala Lumpur Madrid Melbourne Mexico City Nairobi
New Delhi Shanghai Taipei Toronto
With offi ces in
Argentina Austria Brazil Chile Czech Republic France Greece
Guatemala Hungary Italy Japan Poland Portugal Singapore
South Korea Switzerland Th ailand Turkey Ukraine Vietnam
Copyright © 2012 by Eviatar Zerubavel
Published by Oxford University Press, Inc.
198 Madison Avenue, New York, New York 10016
www.oup.com
Oxford is a registered trademark of Oxford University Press
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced,
stored in a retrieval system, or transmitt ed, in any form or by any means,
electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise,
without the prior permission of Oxford University Press.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Zerubavel, Eviatar.
Ancestors and relatives : genealogy, identity, and community / Eviatar Zerubavel.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-19-977395-4 (cloth : alk. paper) 1. Genealogy—Social aspects.
2. Genealogy—Psychological aspects. 3. Genealogy—Political aspects.
4. Families. 5. Kinship. 6. Heredity. I. Title.
CS14.Z47 2011
929′.1—dc22 2011005663
1 3 5 7 9 8 6 4 2
Printed in the United States of America
on acid-free paper
To Yael, Noga, and Noam—
the relatives I have actually chosen
This page intentionally left blank
A ttai begot Nathan, and Nathan begot Zabad; and Zabad
begot Ephlal, and Ephlal begot Obed; and Obed begot Jehu,
and Jehu begot Azariah; and Azariah begot Helez, and Helez
begot Eleasah; and Eleasah begot Sisamai, and Sisamai begot
Shallum; and Shallum begot Jekamiah, and Jekamiah begot
Elishama.
—I Chronicles 2:36–41
All living creatures are cousins.
—Richard Dawkins, Th e Ancestor’s Tale , 13
This page intentionally left blank
CONTENTS
Preface xi
1. Th e Genealogical Imagination 3
2. Ancestry and Descent 15
Lineage 16
Pedigree 23
Origins 26
3. Co-Descent 31
Kinship 31
Community and Identity 46
4. Nature and Culture 53
Blood 53
Nature or Culture? 59
Th e Rules of Genealogical Lineation 65
Th e Rules of Genealogical Delineation 71
5. Th e Politics of Descent 77
Stretching 78