Warning: This article contains some disturbing descriptions of cannibalism. But I am sure this will not stop those with a curious mind.
There have been many accounts of cannibalism throughout history and taking place over many parts of the world. Several of these have allegedly happened in recent history. There are, we believe a number of reasons for eating the flesh of another human being. Some say certain warrior groups would eat the flesh of their fallen enemies for they believed that by doing so, they would inherit much of their warrior skills and strength.
Another more common reason could be that they were forced to because of famine in the region they were in. A couple of decades ago there was an air crash in the Andes of South America where some of the passengers died and some survived. The region was so remote and the conditions appalling, that they soon ran out of food. It is believed by the rescuers and some statements, that they were forced to consume some meat from their dead fellow passengers.
Anasazi Cave Painting
To see how anthropologists and other scientists research such stories and evidence, we can take the case of the Anasazi Indians. They were the ancestors of the Pueblo Indians who inhabited the southwestern region of the United States of America during the period between approximately 900 to 1200 CE.
It was in 2001 that the Society of American Archaeology asked the question of whether the Anasazi were cannibals. The debate was based on the discovery of 12 corpses in the area of Cowboy Wash in Colorado in, I believe 1994. All dated back to the 1200s and five of them were found to have been “normal” burials. This basically means that the bodies were intact. On the other hand, the remaining seven were not in the same condition.
Analysis of the remains showed them to have been systematically dismembered. In addition, their flesh had been cut away and the scattered bones bore the scars and marks of cuts and fractures resembling the scattered bones of animals nearby which had been used as food. Because some of the bones were lighter in colour, it indicated that they were first cooked like a stew. On others, there were patterns of burning which suggested they were cooked over an open flame whilst the flesh was still present. I hope you are still feeling curious!
Scientists at Utah State University have researched this find and have come up with why this might have occurred. The first reason they gave was that these were possibly from enemies. This is because it is known there violent outrages between different tribes of the Anasazi in the mid-1100s. In addition, we know that there was a likely drought in this region in about the same period. Other data indicates that there was an increase in cannibalism between 1130 and 1150. By the 1200s, the climate was better and it appears that the cannibalism reduced indicating at least some of it was down to survival just as in the Andes air crash.
Finally, about another 30 similar sites have been discovered in this region. Analysis of them has also suggested any cannibalism was mainly due to starvation. Well done for getting this far.
John Pullen 