Human cannibalism

A cannibal feast onTanna,Vanuatu,c. 1885–1889

Human cannibalismis the act or practice of humans eating the flesh or internal organs of other human beings. A person who practicescannibalismis called acannibal.The meaning of "cannibalism" has been extended intozoologyto describe animals consuming parts of individuals of the same species as food.

Anatomically modern humans,Neanderthals,andHomo antecessorare known to have practised cannibalism to some extent in thePleistocene.Cannibalism was occasionally practised inEgyptduringancientandRoman times,as well as later during severe famines. TheIsland Caribsof theLesser Antilles,whose name is the origin of the wordcannibal,acquired a long-standing reputation as eaters of human flesh, reconfirmed when their legends were recorded in the 17th century.Some controversy exists over the accuracy of these legends and the prevalence of actual cannibalism in the culture.

Cannibalism has been well documented in much of the world, includingFiji(once nicknamed the "Cannibal Isles" ),theAmazon Basin,theCongo,and theMāori peopleof New Zealand.Cannibalism was also practised inNew Guineaand in parts of theSolomon Islands,and human flesh was sold at markets in some parts ofMelanesiaand of theCongo Basin.A form of cannibalism popular in early modern Europe was the consumption of body parts or blood formedical purposes.Reaching its height during the 17th century, this practice continued in some cases into the second half of the 19th century.

Cannibalism has occasionally been practised as a last resort by people suffering fromfamine.Well-known examples include the ill-fatedDonner Party(1846–1847), theHolodomor(1932–1933), and the crash ofUruguayan Air Force Flight 571(1972), after which the survivors ate the bodies of the dead. Additionally, there are cases of people engaging in cannibalism for sexual pleasure, such asAlbert Fish,Issei Sagawa,Jeffrey Dahmer,andArmin Meiwes.Cannibalism has been both practised and fiercely condemned in several recent wars, especially inLiberiaand theDemocratic Republic of the Congo.It was still practised inPapua New Guineaas of 2012, for cultural reasons.

Cannibalism has been said to test the bounds ofcultural relativismbecause it challenges anthropologists "to define what is or is not beyond the pale of acceptable human behavior".A few scholars argue that no firm evidence exists that cannibalism has ever been a socially acceptable practice anywhere in the world,but such views have been largely rejected as irreconcilable with the actual evidence.

Etymology

The word "cannibal" is derived from Spanishcaníbalorcaríbal,originally used as a name variant for theKalinago(Island Caribs), a people from theWest Indiessaid to have eaten human flesh.The older termanthropophagy,meaning "eating humans", is also used for human cannibalism.

Reasons and types

Cannibalism has been practised under a variety of circumstances and for various motives. To adequately express this diversity,Shirley Lindenbaumsuggests that "it might be better to talk about 'cannibalisms'"in the plural.

Institutionalized, survival, and pathological cannibalism

One major distinction is whether cannibal acts are accepted by the culture in which they occur –institutionalized cannibalism– or whether they are merely practised under starvation conditions to ensure one's immediate survival –survival cannibalism– or by isolated individuals considered criminal and often pathological by society at large –cannibalism as psychopathologyor "aberrant behavior". Institutionalized cannibalism, sometimes also called "learned cannibalism", is the consumption of human body parts as "an institutionalized practice" generally accepted in the culture where it occurs.

Sketch of theMignonetteby Tom Dudley. In English common law, theR v Dudley and Stephens (1884)case banned survival cannibalism after maritime disasters, which had been a widely acceptedcustom of the sea.

By contrast, survival cannibalism means "the consumption of others under conditions of starvation such as shipwreck, military siege, and famine, in which persons normally averse to the idea are driven [to it] by the will to live".Also known asfamine cannibalism,such forms of cannibalism resorted to only in situations of extreme necessity have occurred in many cultures where cannibalism is otherwise clearly rejected. The survivors of the shipwrecks of theEssexandMédusein the 19th century are said to have engaged in cannibalism, as did the members ofFranklin's lost expeditionand theDonner Party.

Such cases often involve onlynecro-cannibalism(eating the corpse of someone already dead) as opposed tohomicidal cannibalism(killing someone for food). In modern English law, the latter is always considered a crime, even in the most trying circumstances. The case ofR v Dudley and Stephens,in which two men were found guilty of murder for killing and eating a cabin boy while adrift at sea in a lifeboat, set the precedent thatnecessityis no defence to a charge of murder. This decision outlawed and effectively ended the practice of shipwrecked sailors drawing lots in order to determine who would be killed and eaten to prevent the others from starving, a time-honoured practice formerly known as a "custom of the sea".

In other cases, cannibalism is an expression of a psychopathology ormental disorder,condemned by the society in which it occurs and "considered to be an indicator of [a] severe personality disorder or psychosis".Well-known cases includeAlbert Fish,Issei Sagawa,andArmin Meiwes.Fantasies of cannibalism, whether acted out or not, are not specifically mentioned in manuals of mental disorders such as theDSM,presumably because at least serious cases (that lead to murder) are very rare.

Exo-, endo-, and autocannibalism

Within institutionalized cannibalism,exocannibalismis often distinguished fromendocannibalism.Endocannibalismrefers to the consumption of a person from the same community. Often it is a part of afuneraryceremony, similar toburialorcremationin other cultures. The consumption of the recently deceased in such rites can be considered "an act of affection"and a major part of the grieving process.It has also been explained as a way of guiding the souls of the dead into the bodies of living descendants.

Enemies being killed and roasted in South America – engraving byTheodor de Bry(1592)

In contrast,exocannibalismis the consumption of a person from outside the community. It is frequently "an act of aggression, often in the context of warfare",where the flesh of killed or captured enemies may be eaten to celebrate one's victory over them.

Some scholars explain both types of cannibalism as due to a belief that eating a person's flesh or internal organs will endow the cannibal with some of the positive characteristics of the deceased.However, several authors investigating exocannibalism inNew Zealand,New Guinea,and theCongo Basinobserve that such beliefs were absent in these regions.

A further type, different from both exo- and endocannibalism, isautocannibalism(also calledautophagyorself-cannibalism), "the act of eating parts of oneself".It does not ever seem to have been an institutionalized practice, but occasionally occurs as pathological behaviour, or due to other reasons such as curiosity. Also on record are instances of forced autocannibalism committed as acts of aggression, where individuals are forced to eat parts of their own bodies as a form oftorture.

Additional motives

Exocannibalism is thus often associated with the consumption of enemies as an act of aggression, a practice also known aswar cannibalism.Endocannibalism is often associated with the consumption of deceased relatives in funerary rites driven by affection – a practice known asfuneraryormortuary cannibalism.But acts of institutionalized cannibalism can also be driven by various other motives, for which additional names have been coined.

An 18th-centuryalbarelloused for storingmummia.Medicinal cannibalismwas widespread in many countries of early modern Europe.

Medicinal cannibalism(also calledmedical cannibalism) means "the ingestion of human tissue... as a supposed medicine or tonic". In contrast to other forms of cannibalism, which Europeans generally frowned upon, the "medicinal ingestion" of various "human body parts was widely practiced throughoutEuropefrom the sixteenth to the eighteenth centuries ", with early records of the practice going back to the first century CE.It was also frequently practised inChina.

Sacrificial cannibalismrefers the consumption of the flesh of victims ofhuman sacrifice,for example among theAztecs.Human and animal remains excavated inKnossos,Crete,have been interpreted as evidence of a ritual in which children and sheep were sacrificed and eaten together during theBronze Age.According toAncient Romanreports, theCeltsinBritainpractised sacrificial cannibalism,and archaeological evidence backing these claims has by now been found.

Infanticidal cannibalismorcannibalistic infanticiderefers to cases where newborns or infants are killed because they are "considered unwanted or unfit to live" and then "consumed by the mother, father, both parents or close relatives". Infanticidefollowed by cannibalism was practised in various regions, but is particularly well documented amongAboriginal Australians.Among animals, such behaviour is calledfilial cannibalism,and it is common in many species, especially among fish.

Human predationis the hunting of people from unrelated and possibly hostile groups in order to eat them. In parts of theSouthern New Guinea lowland rain forests,hunting people "was an opportunistic extension of seasonalforagingor pillaging strategies ", with human bodies just as welcome as those of animals as sources of protein, according to the anthropologist Bruce M. Knauft. As populations living near coasts and rivers were usually better nourished and hence often physically larger and stronger than those living inland, they" raided inland 'bush' peoples with impunity and often with little fear of retaliation ".Cases of human predation are also on record for the neighbouringBismarck Archipelagoand forAustralia.In the Congo Basin, there lived groups such as theZappo Zapsand theBankutuwho hunted humans for food even when game was plentiful.

The terminnocent cannibalismhas been used for cases of people eating human flesh without knowing what they are eating. It is a subject of myths, such as the myth ofThyesteswho unknowingly ate the flesh of his own sons.There are also actual cases on record, for example from the Congo Basin, where cannibalism had been quite widespread and where even in the 1950s travellers were sometimes served a meat dish, learning only afterwards that the meat had been of human origin.

Gastronomic and functionalist explanations

"A cannibal scene with human flesh roasting over the fire" – drawing from theCongo BasinbyHerbert Ward(1891)

The termgastronomic cannibalismhas been suggested for cases where human flesh is eaten to "provide a supplement to the regular diet"– thus essentially for its nutritional value – or, in an alternative definition, for cases where it is "eaten without ceremony (other than culinary), in the same manner as the flesh of any other animal".While the term has been criticized as being too vague to clearly identify a specific type of cannibalism,various records indicate that nutritional or culinary concerns could indeed play a role in such acts even outside of periods of starvation. Referring to the Congo Basin, where many of the eaten were butcheredslavesrather than enemies killed in war, the anthropologistEmil Tordaynotes that "the most common [reason for cannibalism] was simply gastronomic: the natives loved 'the flesh that speaks' [as human flesh was commonly called] and paid for it".The historian Key Ray Chong observes that, throughout Chinese history, "learned cannibalism was often practiced... for culinary appreciation".

In his popular bookGuns, Germs and Steel,Jared Diamondsuggests that "protein starvation is probably also the ultimate reason why cannibalism was widespread in traditional New Guinea highland societies",and both in New Zealand andFiji,cannibals explained their acts as due to a lack of animal meat.InLiberia,a former cannibal argued that it would have been wasteful to let the flesh of killed enemies spoil,and eaters of human flesh in New Guinea and the neighbouring Bismarck Archipelago expressed the same sentiment.

In many cases, human flesh was also described as particularly delicious, especially when it came from women, children, or both. Such statements are on record for various regions and peoples, including the Aztecs,today's LiberiaandNigeria,theFang peoplein west-central Africa,the Congo Basin,China up to the 14th century,Sumatra,Borneo,Australia,New Guinea,New Zealand,and Fijias well as various otherMelanesianandPolynesianislands. Some Europeans and Americans who ate human flesh accidentally, out of curiosity, or to comply with local customs likewise tended to describe it as very good.

There is a debate among anthropologists on how importantfunctionalistreasons are for the understanding of institutionalized cannibalism. Diamond is not alone in suggesting "that the consumption of human flesh was of nutritional benefit for some populations in New Guinea" and the same case has been made for other "tropical peoples... exploiting a diverse range of animal foods", including human flesh. ThematerialistanthropologistMarvin Harrisargued that a "shortage of animal protein" was also the underlying reason for Aztec cannibalism.The cultural anthropologistMarshall Sahlins,on the other hand, rejected such explanations as overly simplistic, stressing that cannibal customs must be regarded as "complex phenomen[a]" with "myriad attributes" which can only be understood if one considers "symbolism, ritual, and cosmology" in addition to their "practical function".

In pre-modern medicine, an explanation given by the now-discredited theory ofhumorismfor cannibalism was that it was caused by a black acrimonious humor, which, being lodged in the linings of theventriclesof the heart, produced a voracity for human flesh.On the other hand, the French philosopherMichel de Montaigneunderstood war cannibalism as a way of expressing vengeance and hatred towards one's enemies and celebrating one's victory over them, thus giving an interpretation that is close to modern explanations. He also pointed out that some acts of Europeans in his own time could be considered as equally barbarous, making his essay "Of Cannibals"(c. 1580) a precursor to later ideas ofcultural relativism.

Body parts and culinary practices

Nutritional value of the human body

Archaeologist James Cole investigated the nutritional value of the human body and found it to be similar to that of animals of similar size. He notes that, according to ethnographic and archaeological records, nearly all edible parts of humans were sometimes eaten – not onlyskeletal muscletissue ( "flesh" or "meat" in a narrow sense), but also "lungs,liver,brain,heart,nervous tissue,bone marrow,genitaliaandskin",as well askidneys.For a typical adult man, the combined nutritional value of all these edible parts is about 126,000kilocalories(kcal).The nutritional value of women and younger individuals is lower because of their lower body weight – for example, around 86% of a male adult for an adult woman and 30% for a boy aged around 5 or 6.

As the daily energy need of an adult man is about 2,400 kilocalories, a dead male body could thus have fed a group of 25 men for a bit more than two days, provided they ate nothing but the human flesh alone – longer if it was part of a mixed diet.The nutritional value of the human body is thus not insubstantial, though Cole notes that for prehistoric hunters, largemegafaunasuch asmammoths,rhinoceros,andbisonswould have been an even better deal as long as they were available and could be caught, because of their much higher body weight.

Hearts and livers

Cases of people eating humanliversandhearts,especially of enemies, have been reported from across the world. After theBattle of Uhud(625),Hind bint Utbaate (or at least attempted to) the liver ofHamza ibn Abd al-Muttalib,an uncle ofMuhammad.At that time, the liver was considered "the seat of life". French Catholics ate livers and hearts ofHuguenotsat theSt. Bartholomew's Day massacrein 1572, in some cases also offering them for sale.

Emperor Wuzong of Tangsupposedly ateheartsandliversof teenagers to cure his illness

In China,medical cannibalismwas practised over centuries. People voluntarily cut their own body parts, including parts of their livers, and boiled them to cure ailing relatives.Children were sometimes killed because eating their boiled hearts was considered a good way of extending one's life.Emperor Wuzong of Tangsupposedly ordered provincial officials to send him "the hearts and livers of fifteen-year-old boys and girls" when he had become seriously ill, hoping in vain this medicine would cure him. Later private individuals sometimes followed his example, paying soldiers who kidnapped preteen children for their kitchen.

When "human flesh and organs were sold openly at the marketplace" during theTaiping Rebellionin 1850–1864, human hearts became a popular dish, according to some who afterwards freely admitted having consumed them. According to a missionary's report from the brutal suppression of theDungan Revolt of 1895–1896in northwestern China, "thousands of men, women and children were ruthlessly massacred by the imperial soldiers" and "many a meal of human hearts and livers was partaken of by soldiers", supposedly out of a belief that this would give them "the courage their enemies had displayed".

In World War II, Japanese soldiers ate the livers of killed Americans in theChichijima incident. Many Japanese soldiers who died during the occupation ofJoloIsland in thePhilippineshad their livers eaten by localMorofighters, according to Japanese soldier Fujioka Akiyoshi.

During theCultural Revolution(1966–1976), hundreds of incidents of cannibalism occurred, mostly motivated by hatred against supposed "class enemies", but sometimes also by health concerns.In a case recorded by the local authorities, a school teacher inMengshan County"heard that consuming a 'beauty's heart' could cure disease". He then chose a 13- or 14-year-old student of his and publicly denounced her as a member of the enemy faction, which was enough to get her killed by an angry mob. After the others had left, he "cut open the girl's chest..., dug out her heart, and took it home to enjoy". In a further case that took place inWuxuan County,likewise in theGuangxiregion, three brothers were beaten to death as supposed enemies; afterwards their livers were cut out, baked, and consumed "as medicine". According to the Chinese author Zheng Yi, who researched these events, "the consumption of human liver was mentioned at least fifty or sixty times" in just a small number of archival documents.He talked with a man who had eaten human liver and told him that "barbecued liver is delicious".

During a massacre of theMadureseminority in theIndonesianpart ofBorneoin 1999, reporter Richard Lloyd Parry met a young cannibal who had just participated in a "human barbecue" and told him without hesitation: "It tastes just like chicken. Especially the liver – just the same as chicken."In 2013, during theSyrian civil war,Syrian rebel Abu Sakkar was filmed eating parts of the lung or liver of a government soldier while declaring that "We will eat your hearts and your livers you soldiers ofBasharthe dog ".

Breasts, palms, and soles

Humanpalmsandsolesmade popular eating in various parts of the world

Various accounts from around the world mention women'sbreastsas a favourite body part. Also frequently mentioned are thepalms of the handsand sometimes thesoles of the foots,regardless of the victim's gender.

Jerome,in his treatiseAgainst Jovinianus,claimed that the BritishAttacottiwere cannibals who regarded thebuttocksof men and the breasts of women as delicacies. During theMongol invasion of Europein the 13th century and their subsequent rule over China during theYuan dynasty(1271–1368), someMongolfighters practised cannibalism and both European and Chinese observers record a preference for women's breasts, which were considered "delicacies" and, if there were many corpses, sometimes the only part of a female body that was eaten (of men, only thethighswere said to be eaten in such circumstances).

After meeting a group of cannibals in West Africa in the 14th century, the Moroccan explorerIbn Battutarecorded that, according to their preferences, "the tastiest part of women's flesh is the palms and the breast." Centuries later, the anthropologistPercy Amaury Talbotwrote that, in southernNigeria,"the parts in greatest favour are the palms of the hands, the fingers and toes, and, of a woman, the breast." Regarding the north of the country, his colleagueCharles Kingsley Meekadded: "Among all the cannibal tribes the palms of the hands and the soles of the feet were considered the tit-bits of the body." Among the Apambia, a cannibalistic clan of theAzande peoplein Central Africa, the palms of the hands and the soles of the foots were considered the best parts of the human body, while their favourite dish was prepared with "fat from a woman's breast", according to the missionary and ethnographer F. Gero.

Similar preferences are on record throughoutMelanesia.According to the anthropologistsBernard DeaconandCamilla Wedgwood,women were "specially fattened for eating" inVanuatu,"the breasts being the great delicacy". A missionary confirmed that "a body of a female usually formed the principal part of the repast" at feasts for chiefs and warriors. The ethnologistFelix Speiserwrites: "Apart from the breasts of women and the genitals of men, palms of hands and soles of feet were the most coveted morsels." He knew a chief onAmbae,one of the islands of Vanuatu, who, "according to fairly reliably sources", dined on a young girl's breasts every few days. When visiting theSolomon Islandsin the 1980s, anthropologist Michael Krieger met a former cannibal who told him that women's breasts had been considered the best part of the human body because they were so fatty, with fat being a rare and sought delicacy. They were also considered among the best parts inNew Guineaand theBismarck Archipelago.

Modes of preparation

Based on theoretical considerations, thestructuralistanthropologistClaude Lévi-Strausssuggested that human flesh was most typicallyboiled,withroastingalso used to prepare the bodies of enemies and other outsiders inexocannibalism,but rarely in funeraryendocannibalism(when eating deceased relatives). But an analysis of 60 sufficiently detailed and credible descriptions of institutionalized cannibalism by anthropologist Paul Shankman failed to confirm this hypothesis.Shankman found that roasting and boiling together accounted for only about half of the cases, with roasting being slightly more common. In contrast to Lévi-Strauss's predictions, boiling was more often used in exocannibalism, while roasting was about equally common for both.

Earth oveninNew Caledonia,Melanesia

Shankman observed that various other "ways of preparing people" were repeatedly employed as well; in one third of all cases, two or more modes were used together (e.g. some bodies or body parts were boiled or baked, while others were roasted).Human flesh wasbaked in steamon preheated rocks or inearth ovens(a technique widely used in the Pacific),smoked(which allowed to preserve it for later consumption), or eaten raw.While these modes were used in both exo- and endocannibalism, another method that was only used in the latter and only in the Americas was to burn the bones or bodies of deceased relatives and then to consume the bone ash.

After analysing numerous accounts from China, Key Ray Chong similarly concludes that "a variety of methods for cooking human flesh" were used in this country. Most popular were "broiling,roasting, boiling and steaming ", followed by"picklingin salt, wine, sauce and the like ".Human flesh was also often "cooked intosoup"orstewedin cauldrons.Eating human flesh raw was the "least popular" method, but a few cases are on record too.Chong notes that human flesh was typically cooked in the same way as "ordinary foodstuffs for daily consumption" – no principal distinction from the treatment of animal meat is detectable, and nearly any mode of preparation used for animals could also be used for people.

Whole-body roasting and baking

Though human corpses, like those of animals, were usually cut into pieces for further processing, reports of people being roasted or baked whole are on record throughout the world. At thearchaeological site of Herxheim,Germany, more than a thousand people were killed and eaten about 7000 years ago, and the evidence indicates that many of them werespit-roastedwhole over open fires.

During severe famines inChinaandEgyptduring the 12th and early 13th centuries, there was a black-market trade in corpses of little children that were roasted or boiled whole. In China, human-flesh sellers advertised such corpses as good for being boiled or steamed whole, "including their bones", and praised their particular tenderness. InCairo,Egypt, the Arab physicianAbd al-Latif al-Baghdadirepeatedly saw "little children, roasted or boiled", offered for sale in baskets on street corners during a heavy famine that started in 1200 CE. Older children and possibly adults were sometimes prepared in the same way. Once he saw "a child nearing the age of puberty, who had been found roasted"; two young people confessed to having killed and cooked the child. Another time, remains were found of a person who had apparently been roasted and served whole, the legs tied like those of "a sheep trussed for cooking". Only the skeleton was found, still undivided and in the trussed position, but "with all the flesh stripped off for food".

In some cases children were roasted and offered for sale by their own parents; other victims were street children, who had become very numerous and were often kidnapped and cooked by people looking for food or extra income. The victims were so numerous that sometimes "two or three children, even more, would be found in a single cooking pot." Al-Latif notes that, while initially people were shocked by such acts, they "eventually... grew accustomed, and some conceived such a taste for these detestable meats that they made them their ordinary provender... The horror people had felt at first vanished entirely".

Depiction ofMongolcannibalism from theChronica Majora

After the end of the Mongol-ledYuan dynasty(1271–1368), a Chinese writer criticized in his recollections of the period that someMongolsoldiers ate human flesh because of its taste rather than (as had also occurred in other times) merely in cases of necessity. He added that they enjoyed torturing their victims (often children or women, whose flesh was preferred over that of men) by roasting them alive, in "large jars whose outside touched the fire [or] on an iron grate". Other victims were placed "inside a double bag... which was put into a large pot" and so boiled alive. While not mentioning live roasting or boiling, European authors also complained about cannibalism and cruelty during theMongol invasion of Europe,and a drawing in theChronica Majora(compiled byMatthew Paris) shows Mongol fighters spit-roasting a human victim.

Pedro de Margarit,who accompaniedChristopher Columbusduring hissecond voyage,afterwards stated "that he saw there with his own eyes several Indians skewered on spits being roasted over burning coals as a treat for the gluttonous." Jean de Léry,who lived for several months among theTupinambáin Brazil, writes that several of his companions reported "that they had seen not only a number of men and women cut in pieces and grilled on theboucans,but also little unweaned children roasted whole "after a successful attack on an enemy village.

According to German ethnologistLeo Frobenius,children captured bySongyeslave raiders in the Central AfricanKasaï regionthat were too young to be sold with a profit were instead "skewered on long spears like rats and roasted over a quickly kindled large fire" for consumption by the raiders.

In theSolomon Islandsin the 1870s, a British captain saw a "dead body, dressed and cooked whole" offered for sale in a canoe. A settler treated the scene as "an every-day occurrence" and told him "that he had seen as many as twenty bodies lying on the beach, dressed and cooked". Decades later, a missionary reported that whole bodies were still offered "up and down the coast in canoes for sale" after battles, since human flesh was eaten "for pleasure".

InFiji,whole human bodies cooked in earth ovens were served in carefully pre-arranged postures, according to anthropologistLorimer Fisonand several other sources:

The limbs having been arranged in the posture which it is intended they shall assume, banana leaves are wrapped round them to prevent the flesh falling off in the possible event of over-baking.... A hole of sufficient size is then dug in the earth, and filled with dry wood, which is set on fire. When it is well kindled, a number of stones, about the size of a man's fist, are thrown into it; and when the firewood is burnt down to a mass of glowing embers, some of the heated stones are lifted nimbly by tongs made of bent withes, and thrust within the dead man's body.... Presently the mound swells and rises; little cracks appear, whence issue jets of steam diffusing a savoury odour; and in due time, of which the Fi gian s are excellent judges, the culinary process is complete. The earth is then cautiously removed, the body lifted out, its wrappings taken off, its face painted, a wig or a turban placed upon its head, and there we have a "trussed frog" [as such steamed corpses were called] in all its unspeakable hideousness, staring at us with wide open, prominent, lack-lustre eyes. There is no burning or roasting: the body is cooked in its own steam, and the features are so little disturbed by the process that the dead man can almost always be recognised by those who knew him when he was alive.

A re-enactment fromc. 1895of a cannibal feast reported to have occurred inFijiin 1869

Within this archipelago, it was especially theGau Islanderswho "were famous for cooking bodies whole".

InNew Caledonia,a missionary named Ta'unga from theCook Islandsrepeatedly saw how whole human bodies were cooked inearth ovens:"They tie the hands together and bundle them up together with the intestines. The legs are bent up and bound with hibiscus bark. When it is completed they lay the body out flat on its back in the earth oven, then when it is baked ready they cut it up and eat it."Ta'unga commented: "One curious thing is that when a man is alive he has a human appearance, but after he is baked he looks more like a dog, as the lips are shriveled back and his teeth are bared."

Among theMāoriinNew Zealand,children captured in war campaigns were sometimes spit-roasted whole (after slitting open their bellies to remove the intestines), as various sources report.Enslaved children, including teenagers, could meet the same fate, and whole babies were sometimes served at the tables of chiefs.

In theMarquesas Islands,captives (preferably women) killed for consumption "were spitted on long poles that entered between their legs and emerged from their mouths" and then roasted whole.Similar customs had a long history: InNuku Hiva,the largest of these islands, archaeologists found the partially consumed "remains of a young child" that had been roasted whole in an oven during the 14th century or earlier.

Medical aspects

A well-known case of mortuary cannibalism is that of theForetribe inNew Guinea,which resulted in the spread of thepriondiseasekuru.Although the Fore's mortuary cannibalism was well-documented, the practice had ceased before the cause of the disease was recognized. However, some scholars argue that although post-mortemdismembermentwas the practice during funeral rites, cannibalism was not.Marvin Harristheorizes that it happened during a famine period coincident with the arrival of Europeans and was rationalized as a religious rite.

In 2003, a publication inSciencereceived a large amount of press attention when it suggested that early humans may have practised extensive cannibalism.According to this research, genetic markers commonly found in modern humans worldwide suggest that today many people carry a gene that evolved as protection against thebrain diseasesthat can be spread by consuming human brain tissue.A 2006 reanalysis of the data questioned this hypothesis,because it claimed to have found a data collection bias, which led to an erroneous conclusion.This claimed bias came from incidents of cannibalism used in the analysis not being due to local cultures, but having been carried out by explorers, stranded seafarers or escaped convicts.The original authors published a subsequent paper in 2008 defending their conclusions.

Myths, legends and folklore

Hansel and Gretel,illustrated byArthur Rackham

Saturn Devouring His Son,from theBlack Paintingsseries byFrancisco Goya,1819

Cannibalism features in the folklore and legends of many cultures and is most often attributed to evil characters or as extreme retribution for some wrongdoing. Examples include thewitchin "Hansel and Gretel",Lamiaof Greek mythology and the witchBaba YagaofSlavic folklore.

A number of stories inGreek mythologyinvolve cannibalism, in particular the eating of close family members, e.g., the stories ofThyestes,Tereusand especiallyCronus,who becameSaturnin the Roman pantheon. The story ofTantalusis another example, though here a family member is prepared for consumption by others.

Thewendigois a creature appearing in thelegendsof theAlgonquianpeople. It is thought of variously as a malevolent cannibalistic spirit that couldpossesshumans or a monster that humans could physically transform into. Those who indulged in cannibalism were at particular risk,and the legend appears to have reinforced this practice astaboo.TheZuni peopletell the story of theÁtahsaia– a giant who cannibalizes his fellow demons and seeks out human flesh.

Thewechugeis ademoniccannibalistic creature that seeks out human flesh appearing in the mythology of theAthabaskanpeople.It is said to be half monster and half human-like; however, it has many shapes and forms.

Scepticism

William Arens, author ofThe Man-Eating Myth: Anthropology and Anthropophagy,questions the credibility of reports of cannibalism and argues that the description by one group of people of another people as cannibals is a consistent and demonstrable ideological and rhetorical device to establish perceivedcultural superiority.Arens bases his thesis on a detailed analysis of various "classic" cases of cannibalism reported by explorers, missionaries, and anthropologists. He claims that all of them were steeped in racism, unsubstantiated, or based on second-hand or hearsay evidence. Though widely discussed, Arens's book generally failed to convince the academic community.Claude Lévi-Straussobserves that, in spite of his "brilliant but superficial book... [n]o serious ethnologist disputes the reality of cannibalism".Shirley Lindenbaum notes that, while after "Arens['s]... provocative suggestion... many anthropologists... reevaluated their data", the outcome was an improved and "more nuanced" understanding of where, why and under which circumstances cannibalism took place rather than a confirmation of his claims: "Anthropologists working in the Americas, Africa, and Melanesia now acknowledge that institutionalized cannibalism occurred in some places at some times. Archaeologists and evolutionary biologists are taking cannibalism seriously."

Lindenbaum and others point out that Arens displays a "strong ethnocentrism".His refusal to admit that institutionalized cannibalism ever existed seems to be motivated by the implied idea "that cannibalism is the worst thing of all" – worse than any other behaviour people engaged in, and therefore uniquely suited to vilifying others. Kajsa Ekholm Friedman calls this "a remarkable opinion in a culture [the European/American one] that has been capable of the most extreme cruelty and destructive behavior, both at home and in other parts of the world."

She observes that, contrary to European values and expectations, "in many parts of theCongo regionthere was no negative evaluation of cannibalism. On the contrary, people expressed their strong appreciation of this very special meat and could not understand the hysterical reactions from the white man's side. "And why indeed, she goes on to ask, should they have had the same negative reactions to cannibalism as Arens and his contemporaries? Implicitly he assumes that everybody throughout human history must have shared the strong taboo placed by his own culture on cannibalism, but he never attempts to explain why this should be so, and "neither logic nor historical evidence justifies" this viewpoint, as Christian Siefkes commented.

See also:The Man-Eating Myth § Reception

Some have argued that it is the taboo against cannibalism, rather than its practice, that needs to be explained.Hubert Murray,the Lieutenant-Governor ofPapuain the early 20th century, admitted that "I have never been able to give a convincing answer to a native who says to me, 'Why should I not eat human flesh?'"After observing that theOrokaiva peoplein New Guinea explained their cannibal customs as due to "a simple desire for good food", the Australian anthropologistF. E. Williamscommented: "Anthropologically speaking the fact that we ourselves should persist in a superstitious, or at least sentimental, prejudice against human flesh is more puzzling than the fact that the Orokaiva, a born hunter, should see fit to enjoy perfectly good meat when he gets it."

Accusations of cannibalism could be used to characterize indigenous peoples as "uncivilized", "primitive", or even "inhuman."While this means that the reliability of reports of cannibal practices must be carefully evaluated especially if their wording suggests such a context, many actual accounts do not fit this pattern. The earliest firsthand account of cannibal customs in theCaribbeancomes fromDiego Álvarez Chanca,who accompaniedChristopher Columbuson his second voyage. His description of the customs of theCaribsofGuadeloupeincludes their cannibalism (men killed or captured in war were eaten, while captured boys were "castrated [and used as] servants until they gr[e]w up, when they [were] slaughtered" for consumption), but he nevertheless notes "that these people are more civilized than the other islanders" (who did not practice cannibalism).Nor was he an exception. Among the earliest reports of cannibalism in the Caribbean and the Americas, there are some (like those ofAmerigo Vespucci) that seem to mostly consist of hearsay and "gross exaggerations", but others (by Chanca, Columbus himself, and other early travellers) show "genuine interest and respect for the natives" and include "numerous cases of sincere praise".

Reports of cannibalism from other continents follow similar patterns. Condescending remarks can be found, but many Europeans who described cannibal customs inCentral Africawrote about those who practised them in quite positive terms, calling them "splendid" and "the finest people" and not rarely, like Chanca, actually considering them as "far in advance of" and "intellectually and morally superior" to the non-cannibals around them.Writing fromMelanesia,the missionaryGeorge Brownexplicitly rejects the European prejudice of picturing cannibals as "particularly ferocious and repulsive", noting instead that many cannibals he met were "no more ferocious than" others and "indeed... very nice people".

Reports or assertions of cannibal practices could nevertheless be used to promote the use of military force as a means of "civilizing" and "pacifying" the "savages". During theSpanish conquest of the Aztec Empireand its earlier conquests in the Caribbean there were widespread reports of cannibalism, and cannibals became exempted fromQueen Isabella's prohibition on enslaving the indigenous.Another example of thesensationalismof cannibalism and its connection toimperialismoccurred duringJapan's 1874 expedition to Taiwan.As Robert Eskildsen describes, Japan's popular media "exaggerated theaborigines' violent nature ", in some cases by wrongly accusing them of cannibalism.

This Horrid Practice: The Myth and Reality of Traditional Maori Cannibalism(2008) by New Zealand historianPaul Moonreceived a hostile reception by someMāori,who felt the book tarnished their whole people. However, the factual accuracy of the book was not seriously disputed and even critics such asMargaret Mutugrant that cannibalism was "definitely" practised and that it was "part of our [Māori] culture."

History

See also:List of incidents of cannibalism

There is archaeological evidence that cannibalism has been practised for at least hundreds of thousands of years by earlyHomo sapiensand archaic hominins. Among modern humans, cannibalism has been practised by various groups.An incomplete list of cases where it is documented to have occurred in institutionalized form includesprehistoricandearly modern Europe,South America,Mesoamerica,Iroquoian peoplesin North America,parts ofWesternandCentral Africa,ChinaandSumatra,among pre-contactAboriginal Australians,amongMāoriin New Zealand,on some otherPolynesianislandsas well as inNew Guinea,theSolomon Islands,andFiji.Evidence of cannibalism has also been found in ruins associated with theAncestral Puebloans,atCowboy Washin theSouthwestern United States.

AfterWorld War I,institutionalized cannibalism has become very rare, but cases were still reported during times of famine. Occasional cannibal acts committed by individual criminals also are documented throughout the 20th and 21st centuries.

The Americas

This section is an excerpt fromCannibalism in the Americas.[edit]

A scene depicting ritualistic Aztec cannibalism being practiced in theCodex Magliabechiano,folio 73r.

Cannibalism in the Americashas been practiced in many places throughout much of the history ofNorth AmericaandSouth America.The modern term "cannibal" is derived from the name of theIsland Caribs(Kalinago), who were encountered byChristopher ColumbusinThe Bahamas.Numerous cultures in the Americas were reported by European explorers and colonizers to have engaged in cannibalism. However, these claims may be unreliable since theSpanish Empireused them to justify conquest.

At least some cultures have been physically and archeologically proven beyond any doubt whatsoever to have undertaken institutionalized cannibalism. This includes human bones uncovered in a cave hamlet confirming accounts of theXiximesundertaking ritualized raids as part of theiragricultural cycleafter every harvest. Also proven are theAztecritual ceremonies during the Spanish conquest atTecoaque.TheAnasaziin the 12th century have also been demonstrated to have undertaken cannibalism, possibly due to drought, as shown byproteinsfrom human flesh found in recovered feces.

There is near universal agreement that someMesoamericanspracticedhuman sacrificeand cannibalism, but there is no scholarly consensus as to its extent. AnthropologistMarvin Harris,author ofCannibals and Kings,has suggested that the flesh of the victims was a part of an aristocratic diet as a reward since the Aztec diet was lacking in proteins. According to Harris, the Aztec economy would not support feeding enslaved people (the captured in war), and the columns of prisoners were "marching meat."Conversely, Bernard R. Ortiz de Montellano has proposed that Aztec cannibalism coincided with harvest times and should be considered more of a Thanksgiving. Montellano rejects the theories ofHarnerand Harris, saying that with evidence of so many tributes and intensivechinampaagriculture, the Aztecs did not need any other food sources.William Arens' 1979 bookThe Man-Eating Mythclaimed that "there is no firm, substantiable evidence for the socially accepted practice of cannibalism anywhere in the world, at any time in history", but his views have been largely rejected as irreconcilable with the actual evidence.

In later times, cannibalism has occasionally been practiced as a last resort by people suffering fromfamine.Well-known examples include the ill-fatedDonner Party(1846–1847) and the crash ofUruguayan Air Force Flight 571(1972), after which the survivors ate the bodies of the dead. Additionally, there are cases of people engaging in cannibalism for sexual pleasure, such asAlbert FishandJeffrey Dahmer.

Africa

This section is an excerpt fromCannibalism in Africa.[edit]

Sale of human flesh in the late 16th century. Engraving byTheodor de BryillustratingFilippo Pigafetta'sReport of the Kingdom of Congo,which contains the oldest known account of cannibalism in Central Africa.

Acts ofcannibalism in Africahave been reported from various parts of the continent, ranging from prehistoric times until the 21st century. The oldest firm evidence ofarchaic humansconsuming each other dates to 1.45 million years ago inKenya.Archaeological evidence for human cannibalism exists later amonganatomically modern humans,but its frequency remains unknown. Later inEast Africa,the Ugandan dictatorIdi Aminwas reputed to practise cannibalism, and acts of voluntary and forced cannibalism have been reported from theSouth Sudanese Civil War.While the oldest known written mention of cannibalism is from the tomb of theEgyptiankingUnas,later evidence from Egypt shows it to only re-appear during occasional episodes of severe famine.

The oldest records of cannibalism inWest Africaare from Muslim authors who visited the region in the 14th century. Later accounts often ascribe it to secret societies such as theLeopard Society.Cannibal practices were also documented among variousNigerianpeoples such as theIgbo.The victims were usually killed or captured enemies, kidnapped strangers, and purchasedenslaved persons.Cannibalism was practised to express hatred and to humiliate one's enemies, as well as to avoid waste and because meat in general was rare; human flesh was also considered tastier than that of animals. While its consumption during peacetime seems to have ceased, cannibal acts are on record for civil wars inLiberiaandSierra Leonearound the turn from the 20th to the 21st century.

In the late 19th century, cannibalism seems to have been especially prevalent in parts of theCongo Basin. While some groups rejected the custom, others indulged in human flesh, often considering it superior to other meats. Killed or captured enemies could be consumed, and individuals from different ethnic groups were sometimes hunted down for the same purpose. Enslaved people were also sacrificed for the table, especially young children, who were otherwise in little demand but praised as particularly delicious. In some areas, human flesh and slaves intended for eating were sold at marketplaces. While cannibalism became rarer under the colonialCongo Free Stateand itsBelgium-run successor,colonial authorities seem to have done little to suppress the practice. Human flesh still appeared on the tables up to the 1950s and was eaten and sold during theCongo Crisisin the 1960s. Occasional reports of cannibalism during violent conflicts continue into the 21st century.

Cannibalism was also reported from north of the Congo Basin, extending up to theCentral African Republic Civil War,which started in 2012.Jean-Bédel Bokassa,dictator of theCentral African Republic,seems to have eaten the flesh of opponents and prisoners in the 1970s.

Europe

This section is an excerpt fromCannibalism in Europe.[edit]

Cannibalism inLithuaniaduring theLivonian Warin 1571 (German plate)

Acts ofcannibalism in Europeseem to have been relatively prevalent in prehistory but also occurred repeatedly in later times, often motivated by hunger, hatred, or medical concerns. Bothanatomically modern humansandNeanderthalspractised cannibalism to some extent in thePleistocene,and Neanderthals may have been eaten by modern humans as the latter spread into Europe. Amongst humans in prehistoric Europe, archaeologists have uncovered many clear and indisputable sites of cannibalism, as well as numerous other finds of which cannibalism is a plausible interpretation.

In antiquity, several Greek and Roman authors mentioned cannibal customs in remote parts of the continent, such as beyond theDnieper Riverand in Britain. TheStoicphilosopherChrysippusnoted that burial customs varied widely, with funerary cannibalism being practised by many peoples, though rejected by the Greeks. Several cases of survival cannibalism during sieges are on record. Cannibalism to face off starvation was also practised in later times, such as during theGreat Famine of 1315–1317.In the early modern and colonial era, shipwrecked sailors ate the bodies of the deceased or drew lots to decide who would have to die to provide food for the others – a widely acceptedcustom of the sea.

During theFirst Crusade,some crusaders ate the bodies of killed enemies, with the reasons for these acts (hunger or hatred?) being a matter of debate. Various cases of undoubtedly revenge-driven cannibalism took place in early modern Italy. In 1672, the Dutch statesmanJohan de Wittand his brother were lynched and partially eaten by an angry mob. In early modern Europe, the consumption of body parts and blood formedical purposesbecame popular. Reaching its height during the 17th century, this practice continued in some cases into the second half of the 19th century.

The first half of the 20th century saw a resurgence of acts of survival cannibalism in Eastern Europe, especially during theRussian famine of 1921–1922,theSoviet famine of 1930–1933,and thesiege of Leningrad.Several serial killers, among themKarl DenkeandAndrei Chikatilo,consumed parts of their victims. A few other people, such as reporterWilliam Seabrookand artistRick Gibson,ate human flesh out of curiosity or to shock the public, without killing anyone for the purpose. At the start of the 21st century,Armin Meiwesbecame infamous for killing and eating a voluntary victim, whom he had found via the Internet.

Asia

This section is an excerpt fromCannibalism in Asia.[edit]

Fanciful depiction of cannibalism in China, from a 15th-century edition ofThe Travels of Marco Polo

Acts ofcannibalism in Asiahave been reported from various parts of the continent, ranging from ancient times to the 21st century. Human cannibalism is particularly well documented forChinaand for islands that today belong toIndonesia.

The history of cannibalism in China is multifaceted, spanning from cases motivated by food scarcity duringfaminesand wars to culturally accepted practices motivated by vengeance, medical beliefs, and even culinary pleasure. Records from China'sOfficial Dynastic Historiesdocument over three hundred episodes of cannibalism, many of them seen as an inevitable means of avoiding starvation. Cannibalism was also employed as a form of vengeance, with individuals and state officials consuming enemies' flesh to further humiliate and punish them. The Official Histories also document multiple instances of voluntary cannibalism, often involving young individuals offering some of their flesh to ill family members as a form ofmedical treatment.Various reports, especially from early history and the medieval era, indicate that human flesh could also be served at lavish feasts and was considered an exotic delicacy by some. Generally, the reports from Chinese history suggest that people had fewer reservations about eating human flesh than one might expect today.

Episodes of cannibalism in China continued into the 20th century, especially during theGreat Leap Forward(1958–1962) famine. During theCultural Revolution(1966–1976), multiple cases motivated by hatred rather than hunger seem to have occurred.

InSumatra,cannibal practices are documented especially for the 14th and the 19th centuries, with purchased children, killed or captured enemies, and executed criminals mentioned as typical victims. In neighbouringBorneo,someDayak peopleate human flesh, especially in the context ofheadhuntingexpeditions and war campaigns. In both islands and also in China, human flesh was praised as extraordinarily delicious. Accounts from the 20th and early 21st centuries indicate that the cannibalization of despised enemies could still occur during episodes of mass violence, such as theIndonesian mass killings of 1965–66and, more recently, theSampit conflict.

Cases of famine cannibalism have been reported fromNorth Koreaduring the mid-1990s and subsequent starvation periods, but their prevalence is debated. Various reports indicate that some Japanese soldiers ate human flesh duringWorld War II,motivated by starvation or sometimes by hatred.

Oceania

This section is an excerpt fromCannibalism in Oceania.[edit]

A cannibal feast onTanna,Vanuatu,c. 1885–1889

Cannibalism in Oceaniais well documented for many parts of this region, with reports ranging from the early modern period to, in a few cases, the 21st century. Some archaeological evidence has also been found. Human cannibalism inMelanesiaandPolynesiawas primarily associated with war, with victors eating the vanquished, while inAustraliait was often a contingency for hardship to avoid starvation.

Cannibalism used to be widespread in parts ofFiji(once nicknamed the "Cannibal Isles" ),among some of theMāori peopleof New Zealand, and in theMarquesas Islands.It was also practised inNew Guineaand in parts of theSolomon Islands,and human flesh was sold at markets in some Melanesian islands.Cannibalism was still practised inPapua New Guineaas of 2012, for cultural reasons.

See also

• Cannibal film
• Cannibalism in Africa
• Cannibalism in Asia
• Cannibalism in Europe
• Cannibalism in literature
• Cannibalism in Oceania
• Cannibalism in popular culture
• Cannibalism in poultry
• Cannibalism in the Americas
• Child cannibalismfor children as victims of cannibalism (in myth and reality)
• Custom of the sea,the practice of shipwrecked survivors drawing lots to see who would be killed and eaten so that the others might survive
• Endocannibalism,the consumption of persons from the same community, often as a funerary rite
• Exocannibalism,the consumption of persons from outside the community, often enemies killed or captured in war
• Filial cannibalism,the consumption of one's own offspring
• Homo antecessor,an extinct human species providing some of the earliest known evidence for human cannibalism
• Human placentophagy,the consumption of the placenta (afterbirth)
• Issei Sagawa,a Japanese man who became a minor celebrity after killing and eating another student
• List of incidents of cannibalism
• Medical cannibalism,the consumption of human body parts to treat or prevent diseases
• Placentophagy,the act of mammals eating the placenta of their young after childbirth
• Pleistocene human diet,the eating habits of human ancestors in the Pleistocene
• Self-cannibalism,the practice of eating oneself (also calledautocannibalism)
• Sexual cannibalism,behaviour of (usually female) animals that eat their mates during or after copulation
• Transmissible spongiform encephalopathy,an incurable disease that can damage the brain and nervous system of many animals, including humans
• Vorarephilia,a sexual fetish and paraphilia where arousal results from the idea of devouring others or being devoured

Bibliography

• Arens, William (1979).The Man-Eating Myth: Anthropology and Anthropophagy.Oxford University Press.ISBN978-0-19-976344-3.
• Bates, Daisy(1938).The Passing of the Aborigines.London: John Murray.
• Boulestin, Bruno; Coupey, Anne-Sophie (2015).Cannibalism in the Linear Pottery Culture: The Human Remains from Herxheim.Oxford: Archaeopress.
• Chong, Key Ray (1990).Cannibalism in China.Wakefield, NH: Longwood.
• Cole, James (April 6, 2017)."Assessing the Calorific Significance of Episodes of Human Cannibalism in the Palaeolithic".Scientific Reports.7.Article number: 44707.Bibcode:2017NatSR...744707C.doi:10.1038/srep44707.ISSN2045-2322.PMC5382840.PMID28383521.
• Edgerton, Robert B. (2002).The Troubled Heart of Africa: A History of the Congo.New York: St. Martin's Press.
• Harris, Marvin(1991) [1977].Cannibals and Kings: Origins of Cultures.New York: Vintage Books.ISBN0-679-72849-X.OCLC23985455.
• Hogg, Garry(1958).Cannibalism and Human Sacrifice.London: Robert Hale.
• Moon, Paul(2008).This Horrid Practice: The Myth and Reality of Traditional Maori Cannibalism.North Shore, New Zealand: Penguin.
• Ortiz de Montellano, Bernard R. (1978)."Aztec Cannibalism: An Ecological Necessity?".Science.200(4342): 611–617.Bibcode:1978Sci...200..611O.doi:10.1126/science.200.4342.611.PMID17812682.S2CID35652641.Archived fromthe originalon August 5, 2009.RetrievedAugust 30,2009.
• Shankman, Paul (1969)."Le Rôti et le Bouilli: Lévi-Strauss' Theory of Cannibalism".American Anthropologist.71(1): 54–69.doi:10.1525/aa.1969.71.1.02a00060.ISSN0002-7294.JSTOR671228.
• Siefkes, Christian (2022).Edible People: The Historical Consumption of Slaves and Foreigners and the Cannibalistic Trade in Human Flesh.New York: Berghahn.ISBN978-1-80073-613-9.
• Tannahill, Reay(1975).Flesh and Blood: A History of the Cannibal Complex.New York: Stein and Day.ISBN978-0-8128-1756-0.
• Travis-Henikoff, Carole A. (2008).Dinner with a Cannibal: The Complete History of Mankind's Oldest Taboo.Santa Monica: Santa Monica Press.
• Zheng, Yi (2018).Scarlet Memorial: Tales of Cannibalism in Modern China.Taylor & Francis.ISBN978-0-429-97277-5.

Further reading

• Dickeman, Mildred (1975). "Demographic Consequences of Infanticide in Man".Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics.6(1): 107–137.doi:10.1146/annurev.es.06.110175.000543.JSTOR2096827.
• Sahlins, Marshall. "Cannibalism: An Exchange."New York Review of Books 26,no. 4 (March 22, 1979).
• Schutt, Bill.Cannibalism: A Perfectly Natural History.Chapel Hill: Algonquin Books 2017.
• Sturtevant, William C. "Cannibalism".The Christopher Columbus Encyclopedia.1:93–96.

External links

• The Straight Dopecolumns:
  • Is there really such a thing as cannibalism?(1988) – argues, largely based on Arens'sThe Man-Eating Myth,that "routine" cannibalism may turn out to be nothing but is myth
  • Eat or be eaten: Is cannibalism a pathology as listed in the DSM-IV?(2004) – discusses the case ofArmin Meiwesand notes thatsexual fantasies of cannibalismare not listed in theDiagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders,presumably because they are rare
  • Does PCP turn people into cannibals?(2005) – answers that while usingphencyclidineoccasionally turns people violent, only in the case ofAntron Singletonit led to cannibalism
  • Did a mob of angry Dutch kill and eat their prime minister?(2005) – answers that the corpses ofJohan de Wittand his brother indeed seem to have been partially eaten after they were lynched by an angry mob
  • Cannibalism — yea or nay?(2016) – discusses whether it is ethical and practical to eat dead humans in famine situations
• Víctor Montoya,Cannibalism(2007, translated by Elizabeth Gamble Miller) – a look at representations of cannibalism in art and myth, and why we tend to be so horrified by it
• Rachael Bell,Cannibalism: The Ancient Taboo in Modern Times(2015) – fromCrime Library
• Alisa G. Woods,Cannibalism and the Resistant Brain(2015) – on how studies ofkurumight lead to a better understanding of other diseases
• Shirley Lindenbaum,Cannibalism(2021) – article from theOpen Encyclopedia of Anthropology
• Terry Madenholm,A Brief History of Cannibalism: Not Just a Matter of Taste(2022) – fromHaaretz