Which statement correctly describes matrilineal wealth transmission?

Which statement correctly describes matrilineal wealth transmission?

• A. Wealth and power transmitted from mothers to daughters
• B. Wealth and power transmitted from fathers to sons
• C. Wealth and power transmitted from husbands to wives
• D. Wealth and power transmitted from the state to families

Answer: (A)

Matrilineal wealth transmission means inheritance flows along the mother’s side of the family, with wealth and power typically passed from mothers to daughters. In societies with matrilineal descent, lineage and property are traced through women, so resources move through the female line rather than the male line. This is different from patrilineal systems, where inheritance goes from fathers to sons. So, the statement that wealth and power are transmitted from mothers to daughters best captures how matrilineal inheritance operates. The other patterns—husbands to wives, the state to families, or fathers to sons—reflect different forms of transfer that do not follow the matrilineal kinship pattern.

Matrilineal wealth transmission means inheritance flows along the mother’s side of the family, with wealth and power typically passed from mothers to daughters. In societies with matrilineal descent, lineage and property are traced through women, so resources move through the female line rather than the male line. This is different from patrilineal systems, where inheritance goes from fathers to sons. So, the statement that wealth and power are transmitted from mothers to daughters best captures how matrilineal inheritance operates. The other patterns—husbands to wives, the state to families, or fathers to sons—reflect different forms of transfer that do not follow the matrilineal kinship pattern.