HARRIS, MARVIN

born Aug. 18, 1927, New York City U.S. anthropological historian and theoretician known for his work on cultural materialism. His fieldwork in the Islas (Islands) de la Baha and other regions of Brazil and in Mozambique focussed on the concept of culture. Harris saw functionalism in the social sciences as being similar to adaptation in biology. His work on the surplus controversy and ethnoenergetic exchange in primitive cultures led him to comparisons with medieval European economies, in which he saw two distinct types, feudalism and manorialism. His best known works include The Rise of Anthropological Theory (1968), Cannibals and Kings: The Origins of Cultures (1977), Cultural Materialism: The Struggle for a Science of Culture (1979), and Cultural Anthropology (1983). Harris received his Ph.D. from Columbia University (1953), where he taught anthropology from 1952. He served as technical adviser to the Brazilian Ministry of Education. His theoretical work led to an active role in the anthropological controversies of his day.