Cannibals and Kings by Marvin Harris.

President Camacho · Posted: Tue Jun 10, 2008 8:53 am Post subject:

This book is very entertaining and that may be a little dangerous. Have you ever read Kon Tiki by Thor Heyerdahl? He believed that people from Peru traveled west to populate Easter Island and other islands. He built his own raft using methods and resources of the same pre-columbian time period and sails west over the pacific ocean. He makes it too! It was all very entertaining and very believable. Unfortunately, he's a crack pot. It was proven through carbon dating that the Polynesian islands were populated from the west, not the east.

Thor went even further to say that pyramids were the result of Egyptians traveling west to the Americas. He built his own reed sail-boat and made the expedition on the second try. Very entertaining - very ludicrous.

Smile

Ophelia · Posted: Tue Jun 10, 2008 10:33 am Post subject:

Penelope · Posted: Tue Jun 10, 2008 10:43 am Post subject:

I am so, so interested in this debate....I could 'cry' that I haven't yet got a copy of this book.

The point about the food offered as sacrifice to the Gods.....yet eaten by the all-too-human priests, and sometimes, by the offerers themselves....Does it not reflect ourselves in this modern day?....we give money to Oxfam....to feed the hungry....because 'perhaps' we don't want to have people starving to death......making us feel guilty.......

How inconvenient that would be!!!!

I think it is something about our 'intentions'......

The Hindus have a very separate and special way of dealing with human need......The needs of the receiver and the needs of the donator...

Carry on.....Pres.C and Ophelia...I am really interested.....

Ophelia · Posted: Tue Jun 10, 2008 10:43 am Post subject:

Ophelia · Posted: Tue Jun 10, 2008 10:54 am Post subject:

Penelope wrote:

President Camacho · Posted: Tue Jun 10, 2008 11:13 am Post subject:

By making a stronger argument for cultural materialism in an entertaining and popular book, Harris is setting the stage for mass education and debate. He's promoting his theory rather than defending it.

If anything, cultural materialism should be considered. Cost/benefit is a great way to find out why people (most of the time) do things. There are exceptions to every rule but that doesn't mean that it shouldn't be applied because of a few statistical outliers. No, I think cultural materialism has significant weight, although it is not the only motive why people do what they do.

Penelope, most of the topics in this book are rather controversial and make for great discussion. Abortion, infanticide, cannibalism, and male dominance are just a few examples. You can give your opinion Smile

Penelope · Posted: Tue Jun 10, 2008 11:46 am Post subject:

Ophelia said:-

Ophelia · Posted: Tue Jun 10, 2008 3:30 pm Post subject:

Camacho wrote:

President Camacho · Posted: Tue Jun 10, 2008 3:32 pm Post subject:

That's probably what I did... sometimes things like that get stuck in my head and I use it as my own. I'm not claiming it. Did you say it already? I'm going to go back through and read all the posts.

Ophelia · Posted: Tue Jun 10, 2008 3:37 pm Post subject:

There was no irony in my last post, I just meant it was neat phrasing in reference to Harris's book, not that I had written or seen this before.

Chris OConnor · Posted: Fri Jun 13, 2008 1:25 am Post subject:

I cannot fathom how some people can see the "COPY TO CLIPBOARD" button and some can't, but there is still a method you can and should employ to copy your post to your clipboard prior to clicking submit.

Click Control-A to select all text in the window
Click Control-C to copy it to your clipboard

Then click Submit. If after submitting your post it is somehow lost you can rest assured it is still on your clipboard. Just get back to the screen where you can enter your reply and...

Click Control-V to paste your post into the window.

Now click submit again.

Ophelia · Posted: Fri Jun 13, 2008 2:49 am Post subject:

Thanks Chris.

I've just checked this method and it worked. Smile

Ophelia · Posted: Fri Jun 13, 2008 9:35 am Post subject: Empire

Empire: the last pages of chapter 10 give interesting explanations as to why empires are created and how they work.

President Camacho · Posted: Fri Jun 13, 2008 1:27 pm Post subject:

That's interesting! lol

My last boss actually gathered us together and asked us - what would you guys prefer... money or kudos? Kudos being like pats on the back or medals (if you aren't familiar with the word). We looked at him like he was insane.

I remember commenting after the discussion to a co-worker that I'd be happy to accept kudos instead of money as soon as the supermarket starts accepting them as payment too.

Great job stocking the shelves with groceries!! Oh, is this bag full of fruits and vegetables for me? Thanks!

I want to learn more about these traps. That's the joy of becoming educated. Knowledge really is power as long as one chooses to use it and keep pragmatic.

I just got done reading chapters 13 and 14. The hydraulic trap theory chapter really left a lot up for grabs. To explain why civilizations were more despotic when there was a heavy reliance for agricultural productivity on massive public works needs far more than 15 pages to cover. Especially when you end it how Harris ended the chapter. A fear of government and power is apparent in this book.

The origin of capitalism was also kind of a stretch, I think.

Ophelia · Posted: Sat Jun 14, 2008 11:46 am Post subject:

Chapter 12: the origin of the sacred cow, the highlight of the book.

I'll start with Camacho's account of the chapter, which is very much to the point (I note that Camacho gave as the equivalent in American culture: the car).


	FORUMS	ABOUT	BOOKS	VIDEOS	TRANSCRIPTS	LINKS	BLOGS	DONATE	CONTACT