"Gastronomic customs aside, something terrible happened to these people and cannibalism is only one tentative detail in something far more complex. While people rush off to rewrite cannibalism into the history of the Anasazi or Ancestral Pueblo, it is important to note that it is as of yet uncertain who were the victims and their attackers” (Burn).
Labeling all peoples from Mexico as practicing cannibalism is a huge leap IMO. I have absolutely no doubt it was practiced by the Toltecs and the Aztecs. But they came at a much later time than the Maya and had very little in common with them. My mind is open about the Maya but I haven't seen any real proof of non-ritualistic cannibalism except that mentioned in my previous post. It's pretty clear from very modern incidents that cannibalism is almost inevitable when people get hungry enough. Why should people struggling through a serious drought behave any differently than the Donner Party or the athletes in the Andes?
When my son was at ASU getting his PhD, he said ocassionally he bumped into Turner. I asked him a couple times to ask Turner this 'or that' question...I never heard a thing back, lol.
I don't like Jared Diamond's writing, albeit, I received and read his book "Collapse" as a present last Christmas. I liked his ideas about continental alignment and the possible consequences. His explanation of why the Africans never domesticated the Zebra was laughable...they were too mean, lol.