Why do totems tend to be animals, and not plants/rocks?

Question

For my anthropology class, we're reading Emile Durkeim's "Elementary Forms of Religious Life." He has a section dedicated to discussing why totems tend to be animals, but his argument is that hunter-gatherers tended to choose animals because they were "more important foods" to them, as opposed to plants. But we know now that this isn't true, unless maybe you're talking about the Inuit. So if that's not the reason, then why animals? Why not sea shells or oak trees or flint?

Answer 1

Because animals tend to be more with the spirit world than humans. Animals are simple and accept spirit easier than humans do.