Code for Supplement from A worldwide view of matriliny: using cross-cultural analyses to shed light on human kinship systems

Although matriliny and matrilocality are relatively rare in contemporary human populations, these female-based descent and residence systems are present in different cultural contexts and across the globe. Previous research has generated numerous hypotheses about which cultural traits are associated with the stability or loss of matrilineal descent. In addition, several studies have examined matrilineal descent with phylogenetic analyses; however, the use of language phylogenies has restricted these analyses to comparisons within a single language family, often confined to a single continent. Cross-cultural comparisons are particularly informative when they account for the relationships between widely distributed populations, as opposed to treating each population as an independent sample or focusing on a single region. Here, we study the evolution of descent systems on a worldwide scale. First, we test for significant associations between matriliny and numerous cultural traits that have been theoretically associated with its stability or loss, such as subsistence strategy, animal domestication, mating system, residence pattern, wealth transfer and property succession. In addition, by combining genetic and linguistic information to build a global supertree that includes 16 matrilineal populations, we also perform phylogenetically controlled analyses to assess the patterns of correlated evolution between descent and other traits: for example, does a change in subsistence strategy generally predict a shift in the rules of descent, or do these transitions happen independently? These analyses enable a worldwide perspective on the pattern and process of the evolution of matriliny and matrilocality.This article is part of the theme issue ‘The evolution of female-biased kinship in humans and other mammals’.

尽管母系继嗣（matriliny）与母居制（matrilocality）在当代人类群体中相对罕见，但这类以女性为核心的继嗣与居住制度，却广泛存在于全球不同文化语境之中。既往研究已就与母系继嗣的存续或消亡相关的各类文化特征，提出了诸多假说。此外，已有多项研究借助系统发育分析（phylogenetic analyses）探讨母系继嗣问题，但这类分析多依赖语言系统发育框架，因此仅能在单一语系内开展比较，且通常局限于单个大陆范围内。跨文化比较若能考量广泛分布的群体间的亲缘关系，而非将每个群体视为独立样本或仅聚焦单一区域，则将具备更高的参考价值。本研究在全球尺度下探讨继嗣制度的演化历程。首先，我们检验母系继嗣与诸多理论上与其存续或消亡相关的文化特征间的显著关联，这些特征包括生计模式、动物驯化、婚配制度、居住模式、财富转移与财产继承等。此外，我们结合遗传与语言学信息构建涵盖16个母系群体的全球超树，并开展系统发育控制分析，以评估继嗣制度与其他特征间的协同演化模式：例如，生计模式的转变是否通常预示着继嗣规则的变迁，抑或两类转变各自独立发生？上述分析为我们从全球视角解析母系继嗣与母居制的演化模式与过程提供了可能。本文隶属于主题专栏《人类与其他哺乳动物中以女性为核心的亲属关系演化》。