Harris, Marvin (1927– )

US cultural anthropologist and author. Occasionally controversial for his claims, such as his assertion that the Aztecs gained much of their necessary protein from eating sacrificial victims, he gained a reputation as a ‘comparative’ anthropologist by studying the findings and issues common to the work of his fellow anthropologists in many areas. He then demonstrated an ability to relate these professional matters to concerns of a broader public in such works as Cannibals and Kings (1957) and Our Kind: Who We Are, Where We Came From, Where Are We Going (1990). Harris was born in New York City. He was educated at Columbia University, gaining his PhD in 1953, and joined the faculty there in 1952. He was chairman of the anthropology department at Columbia (1963–66) before becoming professor of anthropology at the University of Florida.