Final answer:
Lineage registers are historical records that document various aspects of individuals and families in a society, such as property, household composition, and obligations. They varied by culture, from ancient Qin and Egypt king-lists to lineage-based societies, and serve to establish ancestral lines and social stratification within communities.
Step-by-step explanation:
Lineage registers, historically, have been records that document various aspects of individuals, families, and households within a particular culture or society. For instance, the excavated Qin population registers contained information such as names, marital status, labor service owed by the household head, household composition including children and slaves, property details, as well as obligations for military service for men. Notably, details like heights of men were initially used for military conscription purposes, which later evolved to include ages as the records became more sophisticated.
Similarly, in ancient Egypt, historical data was primarily organized around the reign of pharaohs, using regnal years as a dating system. The Egyptians also created extensive king-lists that were used for record-keeping and for demonstrating legitimacy and continuity of rule. In other cultures, like the Silla kingdom, registers would focus on village holdings and include categories unique to their administrative needs, thereby capturing the economic and social resources of their communities.
In terms of traditional kinship, societies often documented lineage based on unilineal descent—either patrilineal or matrilineal—to establish a clear line of ancestry from an original progenitor, which is vital in understanding one's kinship and heritage. Families and clans were distinguished by these lineages, which could carry social, legal, and economic implications, reflecting the social stratification and familial duties within the society. Pedigrees are a modern reflection of such lineage recording, providing visual representations of ancestral connections and their genetic implications.