Cannibals and Kings

Cannibals and Kings (1977, ISBN ) is a book written by anthropologist Marvin Harris. The book presents a systematic discussion of ideas about the reasons for a culture making a transition by stages from egalitarian hunter-gatherer to hierarchically based states as population density increases.

According to Harris, humans shifted from a low-carbohydrate diet largely based on hunter-gatherer sources to a high-carbohydrate diet largely based on agricultural when intensive agriculture began. Harris posits that this diet change resulted in more body fat, which for females led to earlier menarche and a smaller reduction in fertility from nursing infants, which then led to shorter periods between pregnancies.

Harris also describes the state of the world in the late 19th century as one of approaching catastrophe as predicted by Malthus (Malthusian catastrophe). Harris then discusses three 20th century innovations that explain this postponement of the catastrophe: the exploitation of petroleum, reliable contraceptives, and social changes in some cultures that make smaller families more desirable.

Cannibals and Kings discusses the development of pork as a taboo food in ancient Israelite society. Harris argues that while cattle, sheep and many other domesticated animals consume grass, pigs are poor grazers and compete with humans for grain. In addition, pigs produce only meat, compared with cattle and goats, which also provide milk, transport, and labor.

This led to pigs being reviled, and he argues this gave rise to the pig as a non-kosher food in the Old Testament. He briefly discuss the other Jewish food taboos. Harris notes that pigs were also taboo in Ancient Egypt and continue to be forbidden by Islam, suggesting that environmental rather than cultural factors are responsible for putting this food animal off limits.

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