<P> Kinship can refer both to the patterns of social relationships themselves , or it can refer to the study of the patterns of social relationships in one or more human cultures ( i.e. kinship studies ) . Over its history , anthropology has developed a number of related concepts and terms in the study of kinship , such as descent , descent group , lineage , affinity / affine , consanguinity / cognate and fictive kinship . Further , even within these two broad usages of the term , there are different theoretical approaches . </P>
what is the general purpose of kinship studies
the study of the patterns of social relationships in one or more human cultures