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A review by mnboyer
Cannibals and Kings: Origins of Cultures by Marvin Harris
5.0
I am very lucky to have Bookman's, a local buy-sell-trade bookstore, because I have found an infinite amount of hidden gems hiding throughout the shelves. That can be said of Cannibals and Kings, which drew me in because... cannibals... and won me over with its intense discussion of civilization, adaptation, and general anthropology.
You probably don't hear this often, but this was a fun anthropology book. It was a quick read, largely in part because I couldn't put it down once I started reading. Now, you can argue I'm a huge nerd, and that is true, but Harris definitely has a writing style that is worthy of praise. Because this material has the potential to be dull (doesn't everything?) but manages to be a page-turner.
One fun fact I picked up from this book: The word barbecue comes from the Carib word barbricot, a grill made of green boughs, to prepare their cannibal feasts on (p176). Just keep that in mind the next time you're at a family gathering.
Oddly enough, you also learn a lot about different animals. Including the pig, which was "the first domesticated species to become too expensive to serve as a source of meat" (p195). Hmm. And in case you wonder about that, that's a pretty significant change in diet because for "every 100 pounds of feed consumed, a pig will produce about 20 pounds of meat, while from the same amount of feed cattle produce only 7 pounds" (p196). I'm definitely going to be bringing that up at the next 4-H meeting or County Fair that I attend.
Seriously though, a great book that tackles changes in civilization over thousands of year. And it does this in a very interesting, thrilling way that led to finish this book rapidly (in under 24 hours). I was also excited to see discussions of cannibalism because, let's be honest, the title is what lured me in. Harris includes examples from the Pacific, from Indigenous North and South America, etc. Very well rounded!
Definitely check this out if you're an anthropology nerd.
You probably don't hear this often, but this was a fun anthropology book. It was a quick read, largely in part because I couldn't put it down once I started reading. Now, you can argue I'm a huge nerd, and that is true, but Harris definitely has a writing style that is worthy of praise. Because this material has the potential to be dull (doesn't everything?) but manages to be a page-turner.
One fun fact I picked up from this book: The word barbecue comes from the Carib word barbricot, a grill made of green boughs, to prepare their cannibal feasts on (p176). Just keep that in mind the next time you're at a family gathering.
Oddly enough, you also learn a lot about different animals. Including the pig, which was "the first domesticated species to become too expensive to serve as a source of meat" (p195). Hmm. And in case you wonder about that, that's a pretty significant change in diet because for "every 100 pounds of feed consumed, a pig will produce about 20 pounds of meat, while from the same amount of feed cattle produce only 7 pounds" (p196). I'm definitely going to be bringing that up at the next 4-H meeting or County Fair that I attend.
Seriously though, a great book that tackles changes in civilization over thousands of year. And it does this in a very interesting, thrilling way that led to finish this book rapidly (in under 24 hours). I was also excited to see discussions of cannibalism because, let's be honest, the title is what lured me in. Harris includes examples from the Pacific, from Indigenous North and South America, etc. Very well rounded!
Definitely check this out if you're an anthropology nerd.