What term describes a marital system where a woman may take multiple husbands simultaneously, but a man is restricted to one wife?
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Answer: D. polyandry
Explanation
Polyandry describes a marital system where one woman takes multiple husbands simultaneously. This rare family structure often occurs in societies facing severe land shortages and resource scarcity. Men in polyandrous unions are frequently brothers sharing a single wife to preserve family estates. Anthropologists classify family and marriage systems based on the number of spouses permitted. Polygamy is the general term for multiple spouses, which divides into polygyny and polyandry. Fraternal polyandry historically prevented the subdivision of agricultural land across generations.
Studying global kinship systems reveals diverse cultural adaptations to economic and environmental pressures. Demographic studies examine how marriage patterns influence birth rates and household labor organization. Cross-cultural research challenges ethnocentric assumptions about universal Western nuclear family norms. Option A is a marital system restricting individuals to having only one spouse at a time. Option B is the broader overarching category encompassing all forms of multiple marriages. Option C specifies polygyny, where one man is permitted multiple wives simultaneously.
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