Does anyone eat human meat

Musicologist Gary Tomlinson , who wrote about the Tupi in The Singing of the New World , describes it as an "economy of flesh" that passed through the warring tribes for generations. Archaeologists with a reconstruction of the Jamestown cannibalism victim. Many people might think of cannibalism in distant history and undeveloped countries. But cannibalism was a feature of early American history too.

In , archaeologists revealed they'd found evidence of cannibalism in Colonial Jamestown — an indication of just how desperate early Colonial life had been. Specifically, they discovered markings on the skull of a year-old girl that strongly indicated she'd been eaten by settlers during the particularly difficult winter of It was more concrete evidence for something historians had read stories about for years.

Driven thru insufferable hunger to eat those things which nature most abhorred, the flesh and excrements of man as well of our own nation as of an Indian.

An illustration depicting the desperate journey of the Donner Party. When most people think of cannibalism in America, they probably think of the Donner Party — the famous travelers who resorted to the practice when they were stuck in the snowy Sierra Nevada mountains while traveling west in What's surprising, however, is contemporary accounts of the trip focused less on the lurid accounts of cannibalism and more on the breadth of hardship that the party endured.

As Donner Party historian Kristin Johnson notes : "Out of the more than newspaper articles about the Donner Party published in , the most common headline is a variation of 'From California' What's more, many people were just as interested in legends about the Donner Party's buried treasure as they were in the cannibalism.

In the s, a Sacramento newspaper reported that treasure rumors made the people of Truckee, California, "feverish with excitement" and included discoveries that would "delight the heart of a numismatist. The treasure was probably a myth, but it shows that the story was considered far more complicated — and less purely shocking — than it is today. There are many horrifying examples of cannibalism in Europe throughout history. But one of the most bizarre is that cannibalism was occasionally seen as a remedy.

To pick one example, in Germany from the s to s, executioners often had a bizarre side job that supplemented their income: selling leftover body parts as medicine.

As described in Kathy Stuart's Defiled Trades and Social Outcasts , human fat was sold as a remedy for broken bones, sprains, and arthritis. Usually, this human fat was rubbed as a balm, not eaten. However, apothecaries regularly stocked fat, flesh, and bone, and there are also examples of a human skull being ground into a fine powder and mixed with liquid to treat epilepsy.

That treatment may sound strange, but remember that eating placenta has become a modern-day health fad. Most of the time, the popular verdict on cannibalism is clear — don't do it. But occasionally, what's cannibalism and what isn't has been surprisingly hard to define. Further reading: For a more detailed story about cannibalism, try this one about the disappearance of Michael Rockefeller.

Our mission has never been more vital than it is in this moment: to empower through understanding. Financial contributions from our readers are a critical part of supporting our resource-intensive work and help us keep our journalism free for all.

William Seabrook, an author and journalist, traveled to West Africa in the s and later described an encounter with man-flesh in great detail in his book, Jungle Ways. Human, he said, in fact tastes like veal.

Here's Seabrook's description :. It was like good, fully developed veal, not young, but not yet beef. It was very definitely like that, and it was not like any other meat I had ever tasted. It was so nearly like good, fully developed veal that I think no person with a palate of ordinary, normal sensitiveness could distinguish it from veal.

The tribe stopped practicing cannibalism in the s, which led to a decline in kuru. But because the disease can take many years to show up, cases of kuru continued to pop up for decades.

Researchers are working to understand how the genetic mutation works to prevent kuru and gather new insights into how to prevent prion diseases. In , archaeologists reported finding dozens of human bones bearing marks of cannibalism at the ancient Xiximes settlement of Cuevas del Maguey in northern Mexico.

The bones were found inside shelters dating back to the early s, National Geographic reported. The Xiximes believed that eating the flesh of their enemies would ensure a prolific grain harvest. The Aztecs are well known for having performed ritual human sacrifices, but there's also evidence that they engaged in ritualistic cannibalism, History reported. The bodies of sacrificed victims were likely presented to noblemen and other distinguished members of the community.

Some experts suggest cannibalism among the Aztecs may have been more common during famine. Another theory posits that cannibalism was their way of communing with the gods.

The Wari' people of Brazil practiced cannibalism of their war enemies and their own dead. Eating their enemies was their way of expressing hatred and anger. But if you look at the key reasons why cannibalism occurs across nature, it is usually due to overcrowding or a lack of alternative forms of nutrition.

In the West we have a layer of culture that prevents us from cannibalizing. But we know that cannibalism has taken place with humans during famine. In non-human cannibalism, the biggest surprise for me was how widespread it is across nature, for all sorts of reasons other than stress or lack of food. That blew me away.

With human cannibalism, what shocked me was how extensive medicinal cannibalism was in Europe for hundreds of years. Human body parts were used right up to the beginning of the 19 th century. Simon Worrall curates Book Talk. Follow him on Twitter or at simonworrallauthor. All rights reserved. Share Tweet Email. Why it's so hard to treat pain in infants. This wild African cat has adapted to life in a big city. Animals Wild Cities This wild African cat has adapted to life in a big city Caracals have learned to hunt around the urban edges of Cape Town, though the predator faces many threats, such as getting hit by cars.

India bets its energy future on solar—in ways both small and big. Environment Planet Possible India bets its energy future on solar—in ways both small and big Grassroots efforts are bringing solar panels to rural villages without electricity, while massive solar arrays are being built across the country.

Go Further. Animals Climate change is shrinking many Amazonian birds. Animals Wild Cities This wild African cat has adapted to life in a big city. Animals This frog mysteriously re-evolved a full set of teeth. Animals Wild Cities Wild parakeets have taken a liking to London. Animals Wild Cities Morocco has 3 million stray dogs.

Meet the people trying to help. Environment COP26 nears conclusion with mixed signals and frustration.