In matrilineal kinship systems, lineage and inheritance are traced through a group's female members and children are part of their mother's kinship group.
In contrast, in patrilineal systems, group membership is determined through men and children are part of their father's kinship group..
descent through mother (family name through mother), matrilocal residence system (husband lives in wife's residence), and inheritance of parental property by daughter.
Any society where these characteristics exist is considered to be matrilineal..
A person's lineage is his or her line of ancestors.
So matrilineal means basically "through the mother's line", just as patrilineal means "through the father's line".
Matrilineality is an important concept in anthropology; among other things, it usually determines who will inherit property on a person's death..
Matrilineal societies trace lineage through the mother rather than the father.
Patrilineal societies were those that trace the lineage through the father..
In societies with patrilineal descent system, women bear children who are members of their husband's descent group, whereas in matrilineal systems, their children are members of their own descent group..
matrilineal society, also called matriliny, group adhering to a kinship system in which ancestral descent is traced through maternal instead of paternal lines (the latter being termed patrilineage or patriliny)..
