ABSTRACT
The extended house is a unit of three generations' depth, the descendants of a common grandfather through both males and females. The extended house has a localized agnatic core which, in terms of generation depth, may coincide with the nuclear lineage or may be shorter. Two possible structural processes may be postulated to explain lineage variation. First, it may be that the major lineage in time grows in numbers and complexity to divide and form two structures of like order. Secondly, it may be that the form of the major lineages endures and that growth of nuclear lineages is counterbalanced by their fusion within the framework of the minor lineage. The process of lineage growth and telescoping may perhaps be regarded as an ideal, a theoretical process which could only take place within a stable population living on adequate lands.
