Yes. AFAIK there are two canonical works on the family. Engels (yes really) for

Yes. AFAIK there are two canonical works on the family. Engels (yes really) for categories of historical families, and Emmanuel Todd for medieval and modern categories of families.

The African models of which (I am not sure) I think there are four? Are all minimum responsibility models. Where the other end of the spectrum: absolute nuclear family is the maximum responsibility model. So the issue is that family structure and individual responsibility within the family and of the family to the society are basically derived from degree of economic development. So family structures adapt to the distribution of insurance of the individual between the self, family, and polity.

@hbdchick