Sib (anthropology)
group of people recognized by an individual as kin
Sib is a technical term in the discipline of anthropology which originally denoted a kinship group among Anglo-Saxon and other Germanic peoples. In an extended sense, it then became the standard term for a variety of other kinds of lineal (matrilineal or patrilineal) or cognatic (i.e., descended through links of both sexes) kinship groups. The word may also denote a member of such a group.
American anthropologists often used the term 'sib' as the generic term for a category that breaks down into the sub-classifications of patri-sib, referring to patrilineal clan descent, and matri-sib, to refer to matrilineal clan descent.
Footnotes
References
Oxford English Dictionary. Vol. XV (2nd ed.). Clarendon Press. 1989.
Fox, Robin (1967).
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Sib (anthropology)” is group of people recognized by an individual as kin. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through anthropology, group and people, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “group of people recognized by an individual as kin” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
The citation trail is more important than the brevity of the summary: it shows where individual claims can be examined in context. The source revision retrieved here is dated Feb 28, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q7506895. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1989 and 1967.
The absence of detail may reflect summary conventions rather than a lack of surviving documentation. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Sib (anthropology)”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Sib (anthropology) primary sources, Sib (anthropology) archive and anthropology research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Sib (anthropology)”?
- Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
- Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Sib (anthropology)” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.