This chapter gives another look at states in Mesoamerica, particularly the sacrifice culture of the Aztecs. They believed that their gods ate human beings which resulted in widespread human sacrifice for the sake of religion. Harris gives gory specifics of the happenings. He states that the ice age left the region generally depleted of proteins. With that in mind, he suggests that distributing the flesh of these human sacrifices could have provided a very important source of protein and fat for the population. Inversely, having lots of proteins easily available (like cattle) could curb cannibalism. If you are looking to read one chapter of Harris’s book, this should be the chapter you choose.