Allegra’s Reviews > Cows, Pigs, Wars, and Witches: The Riddles of Culture > Status Update

Savage male chapter woman socially subordinate sex not actually logical. Cultural capacities of women mean they should be in charge as they control reproduction.Yanomamo tribe violent tribe in amazon violence against women. Warfare they control technological aggression. Horrible treatment of women.

Warfare chapter
Warfare is an ecologically adaptive lifestyle among primitive peoples. Keeps human population in equilibrium to habituate. Ritual cycle and warfare and pig eating means of recycling the forest burn and love in different parts. Relative value of males to females for warfare mean less women in general. Form of population control without contraceptives.

Pig hate and love
Muslim & Jewish van on pork. Pigs weren’t as adapted to climate more economical sheep’s goats etc. Making it tabou prevented people tending to an animal not mecologically viable. Also taboos good for social cohesion of group.

Chapter 1 cow love. Explores contradiction of Hindus in India sacred cow to the detriment of perceived efficiency and survival for society. Keeping a skeletal cow alive despite them starving. Actually cow love reveals super efficiency and adaptation to difficult environment of famine , drought and poverty. Eg cow dung being used for everything!