family

Table of Contents

References & Edit History Related Topics

Videos

Finding prehistoric family ties with modern DNA

For Students

Discover

An ancient egyptian hieroglyphic painted carving showing the falcon headed god Horus seated on a throne and holding a golden fly whisk. Before him are the Pharoah Seti and the goddess Isis. Interior wall of the temple to Osiris at Abydos, Egypt.

11 Egyptian Gods and Goddesses

Demystified - Do Lemmings Really Commit Mass Suicide? illustration

Do Lemmings Really Commit Mass Suicide?

Lake Mead (the impounded Colorado River) at the Hoover Dam. The light-coloured band of rock above the shoreline shows the decrease in water level in the first few years of the 21st century.

6 Lakes That Are Drying Up

New York NY/ USA- November 23, 2018 Hordes of shoppers throng the Macy's Herald Square flagship store in New York looking for bargains on the day after Thanksgiving, Black Friday.

Why Is It Called Black Friday?

airplane in flight (plane, aircraft, flying)

7 Puzzling Plane Disappearances

Statue of Nostradamus

Nostradamus and His Prophecies

Paul Revere. "The bloody massacre perpetrated in King Street Boston on March 5th 1770 by a party of the 29th Regt.," engraved by Paul Revere. Boston Massacre.

There’s a Riot Goin’ On: Riots in U.S. History (Part One)

family: Related Content

Written and fact-checked by The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last Updated: May 13, 2025

Videos

Finding prehistoric family ties with modern DNA

See All Videos →

Topics

conjugal family household one-parent family father grandparent mother nephew uncle orphan foster care social class social group education political system social science library museum slavery modernization crime

Dig Deeper: More Articles That Discuss This Topic

Key People

Frédéric Le Play

French sociologist

Ernest Watson Burgess

American sociologist

Johann Jakob Bachofen

Swiss jurist and anthropologist

Jessie Bernard

American sociologist

Gail Godwin

American author