672 THE DESCENT OF MAN. 



either during the breeding-season or for the whole year, 

 keeping possession of her by the law of might; or, as when 

 they speak of a polygamous species, meaning that the male 

 lives with several females. This kind of marriage is all 

 that concerns ns here, as it suffices for the work of sexual 

 selection. But I know that some of the writers above 

 referred to imply by the term marriage a recognized right 

 protected by the tribe. 



The indirect evidence in favor of the belief of the former 

 prevalence of communal marriages is strong, and rests 

 chiefly on the terms of relationship which are employed 

 between the members of the same tribe, implying a con- 

 nection with the tribe, and not with either parent. But 

 the subject is too large and complex for even an abstract to 

 be here given, and I will confine myself to a few remarks. It 

 is evident in the case of such marriages, or where the mar- 

 riage tie is very loose, that the relationship of the child to its 

 father cannot be known. But it seems almost incredible 

 that the relationship of the child to its mother should ever 

 be completely ignored, especially as the women in most 

 savage tribes nurse their infants for a long time. Accord- 

 ingly, in many cases the lines of descent are traced through 

 the mother alone, to the exclusion of the father. But in 

 other cases the terms employed express a connection with 

 the tribe alone, to the exclusion even of the mother. It 

 seems possible that the connection between the related 

 members of the same barbarous tribe, exposed to all sorts 

 of danger, might be so much more important, owing to the 

 need of mutual protection and aid, than that between the 

 mother and her child, as to lead to the sole use of terms 

 expressive of the former relationships; but Mr. Morgan is 

 convinced that this view is by no means sufficient. 



The terms of relationship used in different parts of the 

 world may be divided, according to the author just quoted, 

 into two great classes the classificatory and descriptive 

 the latter being employed by us. It is the classificatory 

 system which so strongly leads to the belief that communal 

 and other extremely loose forms of marriage were originally 

 universal. But, as far as I can see, there is no necessity on 

 this ground for believing in absolutely promiscuous inter- 

 course; and I am glad to find that this is Sir J. Lubbock's 

 view. Men and women, like many of the lower animals, 

 might formerly have entered into strict though temporary 



