Contrary to what many suppose even today, societies organize and inter-vene in different moments of the sequence of the reproductive process, from the social organization of coitus, pregnancy, childbirth, and nursing the number and to child education. Every moment of the reproductive sequence offers an opportunity for decision-making, management, and conflict. The factors tliat govern the organization of these different moments are related to forms of social organization, the sexual division of labor, systems of representation, and, especially, conceptions regarding the forms of relations between the sexes. Depending on the configuration of these factors at any given moment, we may even speak in terms of different systems or different models of reproduction. The paper discusses some hypotheses on the construction of such models, as ideal types.