Studying one German village in depth, Sabean questions the idea that the more modern society became, the less kin mattered.

Introduction: 1. An introduction to kinship; 2. Vetterleswirtschaft: rise and fall of a political discourse; 3. The politics of incest and the ecology of alliance formation; Cohort I (1700-9): 4. Introduction to kinship during the early decades of the eighteenth century; 5. Kinship as a factor in marriage strategy; 6. Marriage and kinship practices; 7. Ritual kinship; 8. Naming children; Cohort II (1740-9): 9. Restructuring the system of alliance; 10. Village politics at mid-century; Cohort III (1780-9): 11. Consanguinity as a principle of alliance; 12. The formation of an alliance system; 13. Ritual kinship and alternative alliance; 14. Naming an patrilineal alliance; Cohort IV (1820-9): 15. Kinship at the beginning of the nineteenth century; 16. Kinship and practice at the turn of the century; Cohort V (1860-9): 17. Kinship in the mid-nineteenth century village: an introduction; 18. Networking with kin around the mid-nineteenth century; 19. Matrifocal alliance; Conclusion: 20. Consanguinity in European perspective; 21. Neckarhausen in European comparative perspective; 22. Kinship and class formation; 23. Kinship and gender.