Show inheritance laws born in private ownership anon anong our primitive ancestors ance there were no such clings it ings as a will or even inheritance by a limited num ber her of heirs because there was noth ing to inherit or to will all proper y was community eity when a man d ed he sin ply ceased to use tie vie common property pool and aitho wilhoit it any tiny f amal ties the surviving mem bers hers of the group continued to make use of it when private ownership of thin things s and land came to be recognized the tide govern ng unit village tribe or state found tl it at it had to take some ac ton tion ak wien I 1 en a man died leaving prop erty if U nothing were done anyone who happened to be near or strong 7 might beze se ze the ownerless property even though he were a total stranger to or even an enemy of its former owner tribal concepts of fair play came into oper operation tion and it was rec that the dead man mans s family hould have first claim to his former belong from this developed the customs and laws of inheritance which have taken varied and in some cases very complex forms in d parts of the world national geographic society bulletin |