by Marvin Harris · Alianza Editorial, S. A. · tapa blanda · ISBN 9788420617558
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«Vacas, cerdos, guerras y brujas» is the anthropology essay by Marvin Harris, published by Alianza Editorial in 1996, in paperback (235 pages, in Spanish).
Marvin Harris sets out to explain customs that seem irrational, such as the pig taboo among Jews and Muslims, the sacredness of cows in India, or the emergence of messiahs and witches. His thesis is that behind these cultural enigmas lie material, ecological, and economic causes, not mere beliefs or superstitions.
The work, subtitled «Los enigmas de la cultura», is the translation of the original «Cows, Pigs, Wars, and Witches: The Riddles of Culture»; in this edition the translation is by Juan Oliver Sánchez.
Marvin Harris was an American anthropologist. He was born in Brooklyn, New York City. A prolific writer, he was highly influential in the development of cultural materialism. In his work, he combined Karl Marx's emphasis on the forces of production with Thomas Malthus's insights on the impact of demographic factors on other parts of the sociocultural system.
