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Matrilineal belt

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In anthropology, the matrilineal belt is an area in Africa south of the equator centered in south-central Africa where matrilineality is predominant. The matrilineal belt runs diagonally from the Atlantic to the Indian ocean, crossing Angola, Zambia, Malawi and Mozambique. The belt is linked to horticultural household economics, and Bantu groups that have embraced pastoralism have tended to lose matrilinearity.[1]

Hypotheses linking the matrilineal belt to a supposed matrilineal Bantu expansion have been rejected as lacking evidence.[2]

References

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  1. ^ Holden, Clare–Janaki; Ruth, Mace (2003). "Spread of cattle led to the loss of matrilineal descent in Africa: a coevolutionary analysis". Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B. 270 (1532): 2425–2433. doi:10.1098/rspb.2003.2535. PMC 1691535. PMID 14667331.
  2. ^ Kuper, Adam; Van Leynseele, Pierre (1978). "Social Anthropology and the 'Bantu expansion'". Africa: Journal of the International African Institute. 48 (4): 335–352. doi:10.2307/1158800. JSTOR 1158800. S2CID 145719221.