Final answer:
Marvin Harris concludes that the economic rationale for the reverence of cattle in India is due to their usefulness in various aspects of life. However, he acknowledges the cultural and religious importance of cattle as well.
Step-by-step explanation:
Marvin Harris, a cultural anthropologist, concludes in his article "The Cultural Ecology of India's Sacred Cattle" that the economic rationale associated with revering cattle in India is due to their usefulness in various aspects of life. Cattle provide dung for fuel, traction for plowing fields, limited milk production, and reproductive capacity. Harris argues that keeping cattle alive as long as possible provides greater material assets than raising them for food alone. However, he acknowledges that the cultural and religious importance of cattle cannot be ignored in understanding human belief systems.