Posted on 04/19/2015 4:41:17 AM PDT by WhiskeyX
Back in the 1980’s, a respected anthropologist wrote a book refuting the vast majority of “recorded” cannibalism.
Outside of the contemptuous eating of an enemy’s heart after a battle, most accounts are unverified accusations from one tribe against another, doubled by the other tribe asserting cannibalism from the first, though both deny doing it themselves. Therefore, two cannibal tribes, without any real evidence.
There are some exceptions, such as starvation cannibalism, typically on isolated islands with few or no animals and poor fishing. But this was not cannibalism out of preference.
Of the known cases of cannibalism, such as in New Guinea, they often result in a prion disease called “Kuru”, an incurable degenerative neurological disorder endemic to tribal regions. From eating human brains and bone marrow.
(Prions are extremely hard to destroy, requiring both very harsh chemicals and extended autoclaving.)
Elsewhere, *ritualistic* cannibalism does not involve the consumption of flesh, but of ashes after cremation of an honored leader, added to some drink.
So, the bottom line is that this was likely either intermittent cannibalism, carried out in times of starvation; or ritualistic cannibalism, in which the meat was removed from the bones as part of a death ritual.
Survival cannibalism is found in hunter gathering cultures and agrarian cultures. A crop failure, or prolonged drought is all it takes.
...or the Donner Party or that soccer team that crashed in the Andes years ago.
Yep.
Well, well - my neighbor’s made of meat!
Who knew Islam pre-dated MadMo?
"In fact, natural law teaches us to kill our neighbor, and this is how everyone acts everywhere. If we don't exercise the right of eating him, that's because we have other things to make a good meal with; but you don't have the same resources as we do; certainly it is better to eat your enemy that to leave the fruits of your victory to crows and ravens."
"In fact, natural law teaches us to kill our neighbor, and this is how everyone acts everywhere. If we don't exercise the right of eating him, that's because we have other things to make a good meal with; but you don't have the same resources as we do; certainly it is better to eat your enemy that to leave the fruits of your victory to crows and ravens."
“What’s for dinner?”
Idi Amin preferred liver!
Can’t remember the name of the book, but the authors thesis was that cannibalism, specifically cannibalism that involved eating the brains of the victim, was the cause of the sudden jump in the evolutionary path that led to homo sapiens.
Something distanced homo sapiens from the other hominid species and they believed that the brain contains additional nutrients (or whatever) that enhanced the brains of the cannibal species that evolved to homo sapiens.
At least it is an alternative to Ancient Aliens tinkering with our DNA to create us in their image. :-)
Pass the frontal lobe, please.
That’s amusing, but Kuru and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease are both killers, and both result from cannibalism (I think many people learned this from The X-Files).
So, the bottom line is that this was likely either intermittent cannibalism, carried out in times of starvation; or ritualistic cannibalism, in which the meat was removed from the bones as part of a death ritual..
.................
What was common everywhere in ancient times was human sacrifice.
Human sacrifice is usually fairly simple, because its purpose is just killing, if ritually. But cannibalism is hard work. This is why the bones show a lot of scoring from the meat being removed.
Yeah, but those diseases are attacking the namby pamby modern humans. I ‘spect those original progenitors were made of sterner stuff. Eat a hominid for lunch without even a burp.
And I know you don’t want to go to the other theory to explain the major jump from ape to homo sapiens—Ancient Aliens.
Cannibalism is no harder to achieve for humans than the butchering of any other animal.
Humans are one fairly large animal that is easier to catch than other animals for paleolithic hunters.
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