Final answer:
Clans are large kin groups with unilineal descent, holding coercive power and often forming tribes or confederations for shared goals. Their internal structure might be patrilineal or matrilineal, and they manage both social and economic resources within the group.
Step-by-step explanation:
Clans are large kin groups that trace their descent from a common ancestor, who may be a distant, possibly mythological figure. Unilineal descent is a system of tracing kinship through one gender line, either male or female. Clans can form into tribes for mutual protection, resource management, or united actions such as raids. Tribes might unite to form larger confederations under a charismatic leader, although such unity tends to be ephemeral.
A clan can have significant coercive power, using socially sanctioned violence to enforce judgments and commands. The Nuer, for example, use a segmentary lineage system to rally support from larger kin groups in times of conflict, despite having no centralized leadership in those larger groups. Clans also manage their own economic and social affairs, including farmland and family rank and command within the clan's hierarchy, often with a focus on patrilineal principles.
In some societies, such as certain indigenous peoples of North America, matrilineal descent patterns are prevalent. In these systems, clan affiliation and inheritance is traced through the female line, which ensures certain knowledge of descent and allows for the transmission of property and status from mother to children.