The Archaeological and Ethnographic Evidence for the Practice of Ritualistic Anthropophagy-libre

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Bridget Brennan 4th Year Applied Archaeology. Anthropology Essay

May 22, 2014

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The ethnographic, historical and archaeological evidence for the

practice of institutionalised anthropophagy.

This essay will examine the practice of anthropophagy or human cannibalism by comparing

ethnographic and historical data to the archaeological record in order to determine the possible

reasons for its practice in antiquity. It will first of all define and explain the origins of the word

cannibalism. The various categories will then be outlined, including the differences between

exocannibalism and endocannibalism. Historical and ethnographic examples of the practice will be

discussed together with examples from archaeology.

Anthropophagy is a controversial subject among anthropologists, ethnographers and archaeologists

(Cole 2006). For many years, it has been at the centre of heated debate about the extent of its

existence both archaeologically and ethnographically (ibid.). The American anthropologist William

Arens in his book, 'The Man Eating Myth', went so far as to say that institutionalised cannibalism

never existed (Lindenbaum 2004, 475-476). Arens claimed that the accounts of 19th century

ethnographers were unreliable because of their colonial attitude and innate racism (Taylor 2002, 58-

59). He later conceded, "the ingestion of culturally processed human body parts was open to further

consideration" (Arens 1998, 47).

Increasingly biological, anthropological and archaeological evidence supports the idea that

anthropophagy has been very much a part of the human experience (Taylor 2002, 57). British

anthropologist Professor Chris Stringer has stated that if butchery can be seen in the tiny sample that

makes up the human fossil record, then it must have been a common occurrence throughout human

history (ibid.). Archaeologist Ann Gibbons is in agreement with Stringer and concludes that the

frequent presence of cannibalism in the archaeological record must indicate that hunger was not its

only driving force (Gibbons 1997).


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Anthropophagy is the scientific term used to describe the ingestion of human flesh by another human

being, more commonly known as cannibalism. The word cannibal was first used by Christopher

Columbus's ship surgeon, Diego Alvarez Chanca (Whitehead 2011, 17). Upon reaching the

Caribbean, Columbus (fig. 1) had been informed of a flesh eating tribe variously referred to as the

Car ibes, Canibes and Caniba les. Chanca identified the discovery of human remains as evidence of

cannibalism and believing that they were in Asia, Columbus immediately identified these people as

the subjects of Genghis Khan (Whitehead 2011, 17-18; Taylor 2002, 58). The word from then on

became a derogatory term used to infer savagery (Whitehead 2011, 17-18). It signified barbarism and

therefore, the antithesis of the enlightened refinement of western civilization (Lindenbaum 2004,

477).

Figure 1: Engraving of Christopher Columbus by Theodore de Bry (www.denstoredanska.dk).

Eating members of one's own species is recognised as an activity that occurs throughout nature from

fish to our nearest evolutionary relatives, chimpanzees (Taylor 2002, 63). Cannibalism has been

noted in over 1,300 animal species worldwide and zoologists have recognised it as an intrinsic part of

animal behaviour (ibid.). In the animal world cannibalism is usually prompted by dietary necessity,


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the promotion of a particular gene pool or as a means of controlling numbers (Taylor 2002, 63; Cole

2006).

Among Homo sapiens anthropophagy can also occur out of necessity for instance during famine,

military siege or shipwreck and the term used for this is survival or gustatory cannibalism

(Lindenbaum 2004, 477). It was noted in the records of Dublin's Christ Church Cathedral that during

the great famine of 1294, that ravaged much of Ireland, some people resorted to eating the remains of

those who had been hanged at crossroads (Kelly 2003, 41). Cannibalistic behaviour can manifest itself

as part of a personality disorder or severe psychosis and has often been seen among serial killers such

as Jeffrey Dahmer or Ed Gein (Lindenbaum 2004, 477-478; Scott and McMurry 2011, 215). It can

also be practiced for medicinal purposes such as the pulverised human remains sold by 19th/early

20th century apothecaries or indeed cadavers used in contemporary medicine (Arens 1998, 47).

However, this essay will be examining anthropophagy as a cultural choice which is much more

complex and can be part of religious ritual, revenge, social control or indeed a dietary preference that

is culturally driven (Scott and McMurry 2011, 214).

In anthropology two main types of institutionalised cannibalism are recognised (Chagnon 2012, 117).

These two types are exocannibalism involving the consumption of individuals outside the community

or group and endocannibalism which takes place within the group (ibid.). The latter is ritualistic in

nature, with body elements being ingested for the benefit of the soul rather than the body (Arens 1998,

46). In ritualistic anthropophagy a selected part of the body is eaten in order to perform religious

ceremonies, typically funerary rites (Chagnon 2012, 117). Hermann Helmuth's study of hunter-

gatherer and farming groups in South America found that exocannibalism was prevalent among

farmers while endocannibalism was practiced predominantly by hunter-gatherers (Petrinovich 2000,

134).

Ethnographically evidence of exocannibalism has been found in China during the cultural revolution

of the late 1960's, the South Pacific, the Americas and Africa (Lindenbaum 2004, 478). It is generally


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connected with aggression or warfare and one of the most recent accounts regarding exocannibalism

took place during the civil war in Congo (Bergner 2003). In 2003 United Nations investigators

reported 12 cases of cannibalism that occurred during a failed rebel advance in Beni, which is in north

eastern Congo (ibid.). The Orokaivia people of Papua New Guinea claimed that they ate the captives

they took during intertribal raids as compensation for the spirits of Orokaivia warriors killed during

such raids (Sanday 1999, 6). Conversely, for the Asabano tribes the practice of exocannibalism

ensured the destruction of their enemies souls, thus preventing their return as ghosts that would

torment them (Lohmann 2005, 192).

The Wari tribe who live in the Amazonian rainforest practiced both exocannibalism and

endocannibalism up until the 1960's (Salisbury 2001, 1). For the Wari (plate 1) eating their enemies,

was their way of showing their contempt for them (ibid.). By complete contrast, their

endocannibalistic practices were related to funerary ritual in which the deceased family members were

consumed as a way of demonstrating affection and respect (ibid.).

Plate 1: The Wari People of the Amazon photo by anthropologist Beth Conklin (whyfiles.org 2002).

Like the Wari, the Yanomamo also practiced endocannibalistic anthropophagy despite claiming to

have a fear of becoming cannibals (Chagnon 2012, 117). According to American anthropologist

Napoleon Chagnon, the Yanomamo cremated their dead and ground down any unburnt bone (ibid.).

The ashes, along with the crushed bone, would be mixed with ripe plantain to form a soup that would


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then be drunk by the deceased person's relatives and friends (ibid., 118). Only women drank the ashes

of men who have been killed by enemy raiders while the ashes of children were imbibed by their

parents (ibid.).

Up until the 1950's the women of the Gimi, a native tribe from New Guinea were expected to eat the

bodies of their men, so that their spirits could be released in order to join the collective body of the

ancestral forest spirits (Lewis 1996, 100). For the Bimin Kuskusmin, also of Papua New Guinea,

honouring the dead involved eating their bone marrow (ibid.). The consumption of the bone marrow

ensured the deceased family member's passage to the ancestral underworld and the continuation of

their patriarchal lineage (ibid.). For the people of Fiji cannibalism was described by them as simply a

part of their culture (Sanday 1999, 152.). They mainly practiced exocannibalism against rival tribal

warriors who would be eaten in order to gain mana, a substance that Fijians claimed was their life

force or status influence (ibid.).

Historical accounts of institutionalised cannibalism date back to the writings of Herodotus, an ancient

Greek philosopher who lived during the fifth century BC (Murphy and Mallory 2000, 388). He

describes the endocannibalistic mortuary practices of the Issedones who lived in the Steppe lands of

the Urals (ibid.). When a man died, his kin would bring beasts of the flock to be killed and cut up

(ibid.). The dead man would also be cut up and his flesh would be mingled with that of the

slaughtered animals to be consumed as part of a funerary feast (ibid.). The Greek geographer Strabo

also described endocannibalism in relation to the Irish and claimed that they considered it an

honourable thing for a man to devour his father when he died (ibid., 390). Accounts of the sacrificial

rituals of the 16th century Aztecs include a description of the living hearts of the victims being ripped

from their bodies in order to appease the gods (Sanday 1999, 171). The bodies were then thrown

down the side of the temple where they were collected by their captors (fig. 2) (ibid.). The captors

cooked the remains in a stew that was then fed to their families (ibid.).


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During his second voyage of exploration to islands in the Pacific, Captain Cook was sceptical of

reports of cannibalism among the Maoris and the Fijians (Taylor 2002, 67-68). As a product of the

18th century enlightenment he preferred instead to believe in the idea of the noble savage (ibid.).

Nonetheless, Maori people were observed, by his crew, cooking human flesh on the quarterdeck of his

ship the Resolution (ibid.). This was a demonstration by the Maoris that they did indeed consume

human remains and that they were proud of it (ibid.). Cook later apologised for the incident but

pointed out that it was the "state of their civilisation" and that they only ate their enemies (ibid.).

In the 19th century a Polynesian missionary and native of the Cook Islands kept an eyewitness log of

his travels in which he described the consumption of human flesh by Canaque natives in New

Caledonia (plate 2) (Sanday 1999, 9-10). After intertribal warfare the slain were dismembered and

taken back to the village to be cooked, although only the arms and legs were eaten, the rest of the

body being discarded (ibid.).

Figure 2: Aztec sacrifice (www.latinamericanstudies.org 2014).


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Ethnographic and historical accounts of anthropophagy either as part of funerary ritual or acts of

sociopolitical aggression do seem to support the existence of culturally motivated forms of the

phenomenon. However, cannibalism is a very controversial subject among archaeologists because of

the difficulties in recognising it correctly (Cole 2006). It is even more difficult to establish which

form of cannibalism may be present archaeologically since the treatment of skeletal remains will be

similar if not identical regardless of motivation (ibid.). Prehistoric anthropophagy may be interpreted

as survival or dietary cannibalism (ibid.). Furthermore, secondary burial in prehistoric contexts can

mimic cannibalistic activity since it also involves the defleshing and dismemberment of the body

(Villa et al., 1986, 431).

However it is believed that excarnated human remains will have more cut marks in order to

completely remove the flesh from the bone (Cole 2006). There will also be an absence or splitting in

order to remove bone marrow (ibid.). Ethnographically the Bimin Kuskusmin of Papua New Guinea

Plate 2: Canaque Warriors of New Caledonia circa 1880. Photographer unknown (en.wikipedia.org 2010)


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consumed the bone marrow of their deceased relatives in order to send their souls to the other world

(Lewis 1996, 100). This form of endocannibalsitic anthropophagy as part of funerary ritual may well

have been practiced either parallel or in conjunction with excarnation for secondary burial in

prehistoric communities. Analogous occurrences can produce comparable indications and within

groups there may well be diverse practices that cannot be safely reproduced in the archaeological

record (Pickering 1989, 36).

For archaeologists a combination of telltale signatures need to be found on the bones in order to

identify cannibalistic practices that would otherwise be invisible (Cole 2006). These signatures

include such things as a lack of cranial base and absence of vertebrae, cut marks, chop marks,

scraping, long bone breakage, anvil abrasions, burnt bones due to cooking, percussion pitting, and

peeling (ibid.). As stated previously evidence of butchery can do nothing more than infer

dismemberment. The depositional patterns and modifications to the disarticulated remains must also

be observed particularly with regard to cannibalism that has ritual or religious aspects (ibid.).

Biological evidence that cannibalism was present in both prehistoric and ethnographic populations

comes from research into a neurodegenerative disorder known as Kuru or prion disease (Pennisi 2003,

227). In the early 1960's Kuru was responsible for the deaths of 10% of the Fore tribe from Papua

New Guinea (ibid.). Once cannibalism had been banned Kuru disappeared and no one born after

1950 has presented with the disease (ibid). Previously the Fore people had been practicing

endocannibalism in the form of funerary feasts which they believed released the souls of their dead

kinsmen (Whitfield et al. 2008, 3722). Analysis of the DNA of the Fore people along with 1000 other

samples from around the world revealed that two versions of the prion gene were present in all the

samples (Pennisi 2003, 227).

The gene for a malformed protein known as a prion which causes brain cells to die is also thought to

be responsible for CJD (Creutfeldt Jakob Disease) (ibid.). Those most susceptible to prion diseases

were found to be carrying two identical copies while those who carried two unmatched copies were


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less susceptible (Cole 2006). One of the two polymorphisms was present in the global population

indicating that prion diseases or TSE's had been present throughout human history (ibid.). The

scientists concluded that the polymorphisms were a result of natural selection due to protracted

exposure to cannibalism (ibid.). In the Fore people a cannibalistic diet containing prion contaminated

tissue may have been an important source and a trigger for the disease (Pennisi 2003, 228).

Paolo Villa has noted that "cannibalism is a phenomenon at the edge of detectability" (Villa 1992,

100). In her controversial study of the Neolithic cave site at Fontbrégoua, France she concluded that

dietary cannibalism had been practiced there (Villa et al. 1986, 431). The site dates to between the

5th and 4th millennium BC (Villa 1992, 99). Both faunal and human remains were found within the

cave, believed to be a temporary camp site for an early farming community (ibid.). The animal

remains included sheep and wild boar deposited in distinct separate clusters (ibid.). The human

remains consisted of three clusters of 134 fragments of post cranial bones amounting to a minimum of

six individuals (Villa 1986, 432). These included three adults, two children and one individual of

indeterminate age (ibid.).

As part of the analysis careful refitting of the bones and taphonomic studies were carried out. It was

concluded that the bone breakages were the result of human agency and that both human and animals

had been butchered in an identical fashion (Villla 1992, 100). All the human long bones had been

broken presumably to extract marrow indicating the processing of human remains for nutritional

purposes (ibid.). Secondary burial was ruled out by Villa and her team because of the mode of

dismemberment and also because the traditional form of burial practice in South West France during

that period was primary inhumation (ibid.). She also proposed that since there was no evidence of

starvation the main reason for cannibalistic activity may have been intertribal aggression (ibid.).

Villa's conclusions were hotly contested by Australian archaeologist Dr Michael Pickering and

English archaeologist Dr Paul Bahn. Pickering proposed that the treatment of the Fontbregoura

remains could be replicated using anthropological data related to the secondary burial practices of


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Australian aborigines (Pickering 1989, 38). Bahn's argument was that the human bones had been

deposited separately from the animal bones and that because of this the cannibalism theory was not a

viable one (Villa 1992, 100). In her reply Villa pointed out that both the sheep and the boar had also

been found in their own distinct clusters (ibid.). Furthermore ethnographic examples of cannibalism

could just as equally be used to interpret butchered human remains as those cited by Pickering to

explain secondary burial practices ((ibid.). David Degusta has shown that the style and method of

butchery discovered at the Fijian site of Navatu are consistent with Fijian folklore and ethnography

(Taylor 2002, 70)

Interpreting the presence of cannibalism among ancient human remains can also anger modern tribal

people (Taylor 2002, 70). In the American south-west the 1000 year old human remains from

Anasazi and Fremont Indian sites in Colorado have revealed distinctive patterns of systematic

butchery (plate 3) (ibid.).

This discovery enraged the Hopi and Pueblo Indians who are the descendents of the Anasazi Indians

(ibid.). Their perception of their ancestors was that of peaceful farmers (ibid.). However, the evidence

of anthropophagy was further supported by the finding of cooking vessel shards that showed traces of

Plate 3: Disarticulated, defleshed and cooked human remains found on pithouse floors (Marlar et al. 2000, 76).


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the human form of the iron and oxygen binding protein myoglobin (Marlar et al. 2000, 76). This

protein is only found in skeletal and cardiac muscle, it was concluded that human muscle tissue had

been cooked in the vessel (ibid.). Fossilised human faeces found close to where the human tissue had

been cooked also showed microscopic traces of myoglobin which is not found normally in human

excrement (ibid.).

A more recent excavation at the upper Palaeolithic cave site of Gough's Cave, Cheddar Gorge in

Somerset, England has produced evidence of cannibalism together with ritualistic activity in the form

of human and animal remains from the same archaeological context (Bello et al. 2011, 1). The human

remains included two adults, two adolescents and one infant dating to 14,700 BP (ibid., 2). Post

excavational analysis revealed that the human mandibles had been severed from their skulls in a

manner commonly found in animal butchery in order to extract bone marrow (plate 4) (ibid., 9).

Despite having many more cut marks than the animal remains careful attention had been paid to the

cranial vaults and two of the skulls were complete (ibid.). Furthermore, the distribution of the cut and

percussion marks along with the painstaking way in which the skulls had been shaped suggested to

the archaeologists that the bodies had been butchered and modified for ritual as well as nutritional

purposes (ibid., 10).

Plate 4: Cut and percussion marks on mandibles from Gough's Cave (after Bello et al. 2011, 7)


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In conclusion there is certainly ample ethnographic and historic evidence to suppose that

anthropophagy has been very much a part of human existence. In Europe cannibalism was demonised

by Greek and Roman societies and it is a practice that has always been very much dictated by social

and cultural perceptions (Villa 1992, 93). In the 19th and early 20th century social evolutionary

theory portrayed cannibalism as a characteristic of primitive societies (ibid., 94). More recent

ethnographic studies have shown that the phenomenon is a highly complicated one, often intrinsically

connected to religious, cultural and sociopolitical belief systems.

The archaeological record relies on the physical traces of human behaviour and for this reason

something as ephemeral and socially complex as cannibalism can be extremely difficult to detect

(ibid., 94). For this reason archaeologists are often overly cautious in their assessment of human bone

assemblages and prehistoric cannibalism in particular must be proven beyond all question (ibid.).

However scientifically driven examination of human remains including more stringent excavation,

post excavational treatment, imaging techniques and DNA analysis are providing biological proof that

cannibalism existed in prehistoric populations. The reasons why cannibalism was practiced still rely

on theory and interpretation. Ethnographic studies and historical accounts can go some way to

supporting these interpretations but only if they are used with caution.

Bibliography

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Chagnon, N. A. (2012) The Yanomamo (Case Studies in Cultural Anthropology). California:

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