Multimedia Gallery - Passing on material things, as well as knowledge and skills, is important to wealth inheritance.

Photo of woman from Guatemala making a textile.

October 29, 2009

Passing on material things, as well as knowledge and skills, is important to wealth inheritance.

Research on small scale societies, ranging from egalitarian hunter gatherers to hierarchical farmers and herders in Africa, Asia, Europe and Latin America, concludes that the degree of wealth inequality in a society is based on inheritance. The passing on of material things--such as farms, herds and other real property, or even knowledge, skills and other valuable resources--plays a large role in whether the next generation will accumulate or maintain high wealth status. Here a young Guatemalan woman demonstrates a wealth earning skill weaving textiles.

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