Are the prerogatives of age universal? This first-ever anthropological exploration of relationships between older and younger women suggests that this may be the case.

Cross-cultural in nature, the volume looks at relationships between women of different age groups in a village in Taiwan, a town in central Sudan, a rural setting in western Kenya, an Andean peasant community, a horticultural village in Melanesia, and an Aboriginal community in Australia. Adding an interspecies perspective is a study of two age groups of Japanese Macaques. Included is an ethnographic bibliography that lists books with a wealth of information on women in sixty societies.

The volume will appeal not only to anthropologists but also to readers interested in women’s issues, gender studies, life course studies, gerontology, and intergenerational relations.