In Mesoamerica the hunter- gatherers of Techucan made use of grains such as amaranth and maize. Their means of seed collection was labor efficient, like agriculture, it did provide a storable surplus. Yet the people from the Techuacan settlements did not set up their towns near the amaranth and corn. The domestication of animals in Techuacan did not coincide with the domestication of amaranth and corn because all domesticatable animals became extinct as a result of the climate change and overkill. When the people of Tehuacan wanted animal proteins they had to be more mobile and follow the prey, which consisted of deer, rabbit, turtles and other small animals. This explains the unwillingness to invest large amounts of time and energy into permanent settlements, roasting pits or storage facilities. Hence the people postponed living complete village life until they had exhausted even smaller animals long after they had domesticated many species of plants.
Harris believes that the depletion of resources in the New World had consequences that set them on a slower path of agricultural development. Domestication of animals in the Middle East let to new technologies such as ploughs increased transportation12. The “faunal endowments” of the different hemispheres had other positive consequences. Village life resulted in higher quality nutrition, which increased lactation periods hence, the spacing between offspring increased. This stands as an excellent example of infrastructure, the mode of production and reproduction. How the environment and the means of exploiting it can lead to different results in the causal chain of cultural materialism.
Another theory than Harris has formulated concentrated on the idea of tribal warfare. In a cross cultural study of tribal warfare Harris defines warfare as “an organized form of inter group homicide involving combat teams of two or more persons, including feuding and raiding13.” Harris feels that warfare is a way of regulating population size, not only because of the deaths in battle, but through female infanticide. Harris believes that cultures that practice war activities tend to favor the birth of boys who are the preferred warriors. He points out that aggressive tribes have the advantage over less aggressive tribes. In the study by Harris found that the ratio of fourteen-year-old and under was 127 boys to 100 girls. He feels that the spread of warfare was a result of the expansion of plant cultivation. With the increase of carbohydrates and fats in their diet, female fertility increased and more pregnancies occurred. Harris feels that in cultures where birth control methods are not available to regulate population, female infanticide occurred. Infanticide rates rise when war occurs. This example exemplifies how food production and reproduction are related and combined under the heading infrastructure.
Harris uses cultural materialism to describe the rise and fall of archaic societies. According to Harris the movers have been practicing the same economic cycle. Population pressures result in higher production, which depletes the environment, leading to the need for new innovation of production. Harris uses the Maya of Mexico’s Yucatan peninsula to illustrate his theory of cultural materialism. Many archeologists have attempted to explain out how (between 300 – 900AD) Maya cultures supported themselves on only slash and burn cultivation14. Harris shows that the economy was more productive than once believed. The Maya environment was less rich in resources than the surrounding areas yet they were able to sustain a large population. Harris’ ideas have often been criticized. By far one of the most shocking ideas is that Aztecs turned to cannibalism for their protein intake. Harris believes that the reason there were so many sacrifices was directly related to the lack of domesticated animals, which were needed to increase food. Hence the rise in population coupled with the lack of food resulted in a taste for cannibalism. This satisfied the populations hunger. Harris believes that with the highly populated centers, the inhabitants were prone to food crisis and famines. Therefore human sacrifice had both a religious purpose and a material result.
Marvin Harris feels that one issue that shines out in the ethnographic record is the need for prestige and power15. He notes that groups often compete for land, power and prestige. The competition often reaches the level of obsession. The most extraordinary attempts at seeking status occur in British Colombia where the potlatch is practiced. The goal of the potlatch was to give away and destroy as much wealth as possible. A powerful chief for instance may destroy great amounts of food, clothing and money in an attempt to gain status and admiration from his competitors. Marvin Harris attempts to prove that the Kwakiutl potlatch was not an irrational activity. Instead the activities were based on definite economic and ecological conditions. The Kwakiutal used to live near the shore and rainforest. They sustained themselves through hunting fishing and gathering. The chief of Kwakiutl had inherited power therefore felt insecure in his position. This resulted in a need to prove and solidify their position as chief. The objective of the potlatch was for the host chief to give his rival chief and followers obscene amounts of valuable gifts. The guests would then be obligated to overshadow the former host. Preparation for the potlatch required the collection of food, skins, blankets and other possessions. Guests were then encouraged to devour vast amounts of food. The guest would also receive irrational amounts of gifts. The guest chief and his followers would then pledge to get even. There was an endless flow of prestige and valuables. Anthropologist Ruth Benedict believed that “The object of all Kwakiutl enterprises was to show oneself superiority to one’s rivals16.” Harris strongly disagrees. He points out that the Kwakiutl potlatch occurs in similar forms in all parts of the world. Unlike Benedict he feels that it functioned as a way to food transfer from centers of high productivity to less fortunate villages. It had a practical purpose. Competitive feasting can be understood in an evolutionary perspective. Tribes often participate in reciprocity with their tribes and other tribes. The mighty potlatch chiefs used their followers to do the work. Although the Kwakiutl were not agricultural their mode of production was still intense. Harris feels that the potlatch functioned as a way to intensify production. As a result the Kwakiutl possessed rank and were even known to have slaves.
Not only does Marvin Harris attack culture traits of Non Western societies of the past and present. He also explores present day Western Society. In “Our Kind” he attempts to explain the reason that Westerners become overweight or “fat17″. Harris feels that the reason for the high percentage of overweight people is due to our inability to know when we have had enough. As he explains natural selection has yet to select against people who have clogged arteries. He feels that in the past those who had higher status had more available food so they had abundant body weight. Healthy weight was associated with being an elite. Being skinny, having less access to food for the poor. Now the poor are overweight and the rich tend to be thin and in shape. Harris feels that weight control requires education and proper diet. According to Harris the poor have less access to proper information and lack the monetary funds to buy healthy food. He adds that foods high in fat and sugar are less expensive, therefore more accessible to the poor. It is true that a lean body is associated with status in Western Society.
. Marvin Harris is a writer who is not only known by anthropology students. His books appeal to the popular mass. I can definitely see why his writings appeal to such wide range of people. He manages to sum up every issue, problem, or dilemma humans in history, pre-history and in the present. Everything fits into place with cultural materialism. Unfortunately by only concentrating on the means of production and reproduction, the importance of all other aspects of culture seem trivial. In his analyses he does not give equal time to structure and superstructure. Because he wants anthropology to be scientific he focuses on the two universal aspects of being human, the need to eat and the need to reproduce. Why is it okay to ignore important aspects of culture if anthropology is a science? Variable must always be considered. With culture there are an extreme amount of variables. At times an audience may feel that he is leaving out important facts so that his theories fit into a neat package. Perhaps anthropology does not have to be a science to be taken seriously. In addition all of the analyses are based on Harris’ etic view. His own cultural background clouds his own view. Who is to say which etic is right? He also studies Western cultures, how is it possible for him to hold a position of etic? I suppose that he has an ability to remain objective unlike others in western culture. Perhaps anthropology does not need to be a science, is it really a problem to have anthropology considered humanity. Since the 1970s anthropologists have divided into two major schools of thought. Those who feel anthropology is humanity and those like Marvin Harris who feels that it is a natural science.