Abstract
This is an accepted article with a DOI pre-assigned that is not yet published.
The research on which this paper is based aims at showing, by means of field data, the correlations between the locally dominant land tenure system, mezzadria (sharecropping), and the resulting family structure, size, and lifestyle. The kinship roles in the life cycle of the share-croppers of this area of Tuscany are described and analysed by correlating each kinship theme with the guidelines of the whole research project: 1) relationship between structure and size (i.e.: identification of stages or cycles in the composition of the household units), 2) residential norms and marriage patterns (i.e., as expressed in the possible functions of celibacy), 3) evidence of the correlations between structural and ideological patterns, 4) genealogical knowledge in relationship with residential stability, sex, age, and kinship roles.