Pangur Bán
Deconstructed
Anyone with an extended knowledge of history (meaning knowledge of several periods in several regions of the world), or anyone with an interest in things anthropological will be aware that food habits can vary drastically between different cultures. In this thread, I am genuinely seeking answers that explain what are sometimes extraordinary variations. I've been prompted to do this because of my recent experience reading Bernal Diaz and the results of pursuing my subsequent curiosity. I will pose some questions, but I very much hope that others will post other perplexing questions of variations in addition to answer these questions. 
Here are some, based to a large degree on ideas from this webpage:
http://anthro.fullerton.edu/sjohnson/anth315/Lecture 9 Outline.htm
It might help if you take a look at this page
PORK
Why did middle eastern societies ban pork. On the surface, religion is the explanation; however, christian societies in Europe did not follow in their wake. They didn't follow this Jewish practice; but, interestingly, Moslems did. Why?
CATTLE
Even though, according to that website, "examination of earliest Hindu sacred texts reveals that cows and bulls were eaten at ceremonies", cows have become sacred since. Is there an explanation for this strange change in culture?
PETS
Westerners do not, as a rule, eat their pets. But Far Eastern societies often do. The Aztecs actually bred small dogs for food, although I doubt that they would have considered these dogs as pets. What's the reason for divergence here. Are westerners simply a more pet-orientated people?
INSECTS
Why do Europeans not eat insects? Insects are healthier and safer than most sources of energy available to humans. It is perplexing that westerners have such a revulsion to insects in general, but many other societies do not. Why?
CANNIBALISM
In almost the whole area that we might call "Old World Civilization", cannibalism is a taboo and was not, and is not p[ractised, except in extreme circumstances, such as sieges. However, in the Americas, cannibalism was part of their culture. There can be few things as repulsive to the modern westerner as Aztec sacrificial practices.
The following is a quote from the above website:
Domesticated animals
In many places large herbivores, such as cattle in Asia and Africa, were domesticated
In Mesoamerica most large herbivores became extinct before large settlements in fertile valleys led to grain domestication
In South America camelids such as llama and alpaca were domesticated as well as guinea pigs
In Mesoamerica chihuahua and turkey were bred for animal protein and fat
These were not efficient solutions
Harner argues that the very high population density in the Valley of Mexico led the Aztecs to consider another source of animal protein and fat: each other
How many sacrifices?
Estimates range widely
Best estimate is 250,000 people per year in central Mexico from a population of 25 million
If this is accurate, one percent of the population was consumed every year
Preparation of sacrifices
Aztecs consumed most of their sacrifices
Main aim of much of Aztec warfare was to capture sacrifices
Captives were kept in wooden cages while being fattened up
Nutritional balance
Consumption of sacrifices added fat and protein to the diet of Aztec commoners
Commoner rarely had access to animal products except snakes, worms, and stone dung (lake algae)
Diet largely consisted of maize and beans
While maize and beans can supply all eight necessary amino acids, to ensure an adequate supply they must be eaten in very large quantities
Because crop failures were common, it is unlikely that commoners had access to sufficient quantities of maize and beans on a regular basis
Who ate the sacrifices?
The Aztec elite had a far better diet full of wild game, some imported from great distances
The elite reserved the consumption of human meat for itself
Commoners could get privilege of human meat consumption by capturing sacrifices
This was great incentive for commoners to participate in frequent warfare
Cannibal empire?
Aztecs did not stay in conquered territory and become political administrators
Once a population had become defeated, large numbers of captives and others were sent to Aztec cities to be sacrificed
After these people were sacrificed, Aztecs withdrew from area
Harner argues this was there way of utilizing surrounding populations like a stockyard
Materialist perspective
From the materialist perspective Aztec cannibalism is not about religion, symbol, or blood thirst
Rather, Aztec cannibalism is an unusual response to unusual survival challenges
So, do you agree with this guy Harner? Perhaps you could read this interesting article and then decide
I have to admit that I find that argument totally absurd. People do not know what minerals, etc, their food contains. I can't see how this explanation could work in practise. I think that cannibalism is natural, but that in Old World civilizations, the practice was inconsistent with the other moral values that were necessitated by the social pressures of large societies. Why were Mesoamericans different then? Well, I'd suggest that Mesoamerica was not as large a political cauldron as the Old World. The former were subject to virtually no consistent external pressures, and, the societies of Mesoamerica had very few neighbours as a rule. This makes Mesoamerican society quite, quite distinctive from the Old World!
Here are some, based to a large degree on ideas from this webpage:
http://anthro.fullerton.edu/sjohnson/anth315/Lecture 9 Outline.htm
It might help if you take a look at this page
PORK
Why did middle eastern societies ban pork. On the surface, religion is the explanation; however, christian societies in Europe did not follow in their wake. They didn't follow this Jewish practice; but, interestingly, Moslems did. Why?
CATTLE
Even though, according to that website, "examination of earliest Hindu sacred texts reveals that cows and bulls were eaten at ceremonies", cows have become sacred since. Is there an explanation for this strange change in culture?
PETS
Westerners do not, as a rule, eat their pets. But Far Eastern societies often do. The Aztecs actually bred small dogs for food, although I doubt that they would have considered these dogs as pets. What's the reason for divergence here. Are westerners simply a more pet-orientated people?
INSECTS
Why do Europeans not eat insects? Insects are healthier and safer than most sources of energy available to humans. It is perplexing that westerners have such a revulsion to insects in general, but many other societies do not. Why?
CANNIBALISM
In almost the whole area that we might call "Old World Civilization", cannibalism is a taboo and was not, and is not p[ractised, except in extreme circumstances, such as sieges. However, in the Americas, cannibalism was part of their culture. There can be few things as repulsive to the modern westerner as Aztec sacrificial practices.
The following is a quote from the above website:
Domesticated animals
In many places large herbivores, such as cattle in Asia and Africa, were domesticated
In Mesoamerica most large herbivores became extinct before large settlements in fertile valleys led to grain domestication
In South America camelids such as llama and alpaca were domesticated as well as guinea pigs
In Mesoamerica chihuahua and turkey were bred for animal protein and fat
These were not efficient solutions
Harner argues that the very high population density in the Valley of Mexico led the Aztecs to consider another source of animal protein and fat: each other
How many sacrifices?
Estimates range widely
Best estimate is 250,000 people per year in central Mexico from a population of 25 million
If this is accurate, one percent of the population was consumed every year
Preparation of sacrifices
Aztecs consumed most of their sacrifices
Main aim of much of Aztec warfare was to capture sacrifices
Captives were kept in wooden cages while being fattened up
Nutritional balance
Consumption of sacrifices added fat and protein to the diet of Aztec commoners
Commoner rarely had access to animal products except snakes, worms, and stone dung (lake algae)
Diet largely consisted of maize and beans
While maize and beans can supply all eight necessary amino acids, to ensure an adequate supply they must be eaten in very large quantities
Because crop failures were common, it is unlikely that commoners had access to sufficient quantities of maize and beans on a regular basis
Who ate the sacrifices?
The Aztec elite had a far better diet full of wild game, some imported from great distances
The elite reserved the consumption of human meat for itself
Commoners could get privilege of human meat consumption by capturing sacrifices
This was great incentive for commoners to participate in frequent warfare
Cannibal empire?
Aztecs did not stay in conquered territory and become political administrators
Once a population had become defeated, large numbers of captives and others were sent to Aztec cities to be sacrificed
After these people were sacrificed, Aztecs withdrew from area
Harner argues this was there way of utilizing surrounding populations like a stockyard
Materialist perspective
From the materialist perspective Aztec cannibalism is not about religion, symbol, or blood thirst
Rather, Aztec cannibalism is an unusual response to unusual survival challenges
So, do you agree with this guy Harner? Perhaps you could read this interesting article and then decide
I have to admit that I find that argument totally absurd. People do not know what minerals, etc, their food contains. I can't see how this explanation could work in practise. I think that cannibalism is natural, but that in Old World civilizations, the practice was inconsistent with the other moral values that were necessitated by the social pressures of large societies. Why were Mesoamericans different then? Well, I'd suggest that Mesoamerica was not as large a political cauldron as the Old World. The former were subject to virtually no consistent external pressures, and, the societies of Mesoamerica had very few neighbours as a rule. This makes Mesoamerican society quite, quite distinctive from the Old World!
