''Structural endogamy'' is a

network Network, networking and networked may refer to: Science and technology * Network theory, the study of graphs as a representation of relations between discrete objects * Network science, an academic field that studies complex networks Mathematic ...

concept that provides a means of finding the boundaries of

endogamy Endogamy is the practice of marrying within a specific social group, religious denomination, caste, or ethnic group, rejecting those from others as unsuitable for marriage or other close personal relationships. Endogamy is common in many cultu ...

in a community, using simply the genealogical and marriage linkages. The concept is related to that of structural cohesion. The examples are made with free tool Pajek. Another name for structural endogamy is (marital) relinking, which comes out of French

social anthropology Social anthropology is the study of patterns of behaviour in human societies and cultures. It is the dominant constituent of anthropology throughout the United Kingdom and much of Europe, where it is distinguished from cultural anthropology. In ...

, and the study of how communities are formed through couples marrying who are already linked: linked, that is, by chains of kinship and marriage, as in circles of intermarrying families, or marriages between people with one or more ancestors in common (i.e., ''blood'' relatives, such as cousins). Many of the marriages represented in the Turkish nomads figure are with cousins, for example. But relinking also occurs without blood marriages, as in the example from the Mexican village of Belén Atzitzi-mititlán within Apetatitlán de Antonio Carvajal.

References

Structural endogamy and the Graphe de Parenté
''Mathématiques, Informatique, et Sciences Humaines'' 137:107-125. 1997. Douglas R. White
Class, property and structural endogamy: Visualizing networked histories
''Theory and Society'' 26:161-208. 1997. Lilyan A. Brudner and Douglas R. White. * ''

Network Analysis and Ethnographic Problems ''Network Analysis and Ethnographic Problems: Process Models of a Turkish Nomad Clan'' is an anthropological and complexity science book by social anthropologists Douglas R. White, University of California, Irvine, and Ulla Johansen of the Uni ...

: Process Models of a Turkish Nomad Clan.'' 2004 (paper 2006). Douglas R. White and Ulla Johansen. Lexington Press.
Status Groups and Structural Endogamy
1998. Douglas R. White, Michael Schnegg, and Hugo G. Nutini {{Social networking Anthropology Social networks