The Functions of the Family. The family performed two basic functions: biological reproduction and economic maintenance of the family unit. Most family members performed assigned functions. Gender-based division of labor was more pronounced in some kinship groupings than in others. Men dominated agricultural production for the market, while growing food for the household and raising animals for noncommercial purposes were exclusively reserved for women. In patrilineal lineage systems some household functions were traditionally defined as female, and sexual division of labor was strictly enforced, but in matrilineal systems those divisions were not so clear-cut. For instance, men in matrilineal cultures dominated activities such as fishing, hunting, waging war, and goldsmithing. Yet, contrary to many scholars' assumptions, hunting was not exclusively reserved for men. In many regions of ancient West Africa, especially among the Ashanti of Ghana and the...