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| Anthropology of kinship |
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Social anthropology Cultural anthropology |
A clan is a group of people united by actual or perceived kinship[1] and descent. Even if lineage details are unknown, a clan may claim descent from a founding member or apical ancestor who serves as a symbol of the clan's unity. Many societies' exogamy rules are on a clan basis, where all members of one's own clan, or the clans of both parents or even grandparents, are excluded from marriage as incest.
Clans preceded[citation needed] more centralized forms of community organization and government, and have existed in every country.[citation needed] Members may identify with a coat of arms or other symbol.
- ^ Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 6 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 419–421.