One of the most useful ways to study relationships between different people in any given social group is to study how they are related to each other. A kinship diagram allows anthropologists to map out the different relations between people so that they can get a better idea of how those relationships function.
Indicating Gender
First, you will draw circles (O) to represent females, triangles (Δ) to represent males, and a square (□) to represent persons of undetermined gender. If a person is dead, strike an X through their circle or triangle to indicate this.
Indicating Marriage and Cohabitation
A “=” between two symbols indicates marriage between these two individuals, while a “≈” between two symbols indicates two cohabitating individuals who are not married. A “~” sign indicates that they are parents, but neither cohabitate nor are married. This can also be used to indicate homosexual couples, such as Δ~ Δ.
If a marriage ends in divorce, use “≠”, as in Δ≠O. A person with two spouses can be drawn with one on either side, as with O=Δ=O (a man with two wives) or Δ=O= Δ (a woman with two husbands. Again, if one of the spouses is dead, the respective circle or triangle would have an X through it.
Indicating Descent
A solid line directly from the equals sign or other symbol indicates biological descent. Adoptive descent is indicated by a dotted line. If the parents are unknown, you can draw a solid bar connecting the brothers and sisters without drawing in the parents.
Example:
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