(Don't mammals generally avoid intercourse with littermates?)
^^^^^ CB: Yea, I almost wrote in my first post something like "but Levi-Strauss can be sort of inscrutible sometimes, and I recall some ambiguity in this passage in particular. " I'll pull out my copy and take another look.
I think he is saying that the incest taboo is universal _and_ uniquely human. Why focus on it if it is universal among most animal species related to humans ? It would be like saying "having sex is universal in human societies ". Well, uh yea, having sex is universal among mammals, among chordata, whatever.
Avoid sex with littermates, after they have been out of the litter for a while ?