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 macaque monkeys. 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.