1 / 38

Cannibalism

Cannibalism. Universal taboo? Myth vs. reality Different types and history. Motives to call Indians cannibals. 1503 - Queen Isabella ruled that only cannibals could be legally taken as slaves. Arawak (Taino chiefdoms). Island Carib caribal “ more aggressive”.

jed
Download Presentation

Cannibalism

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Cannibalism Universal taboo? Myth vs. reality Different types and history

  2. Motives to call Indians cannibals 1503 - Queen Isabella ruled that only cannibals could be legally taken as slaves

  3. Arawak (Taino chiefdoms) Island Carib caribal “more aggressive”

  4. HANS STADEN – European taken captive in coastal Brazil, 16th c Ethnohistoric account that Tipu wanted to eat him

  5. Returned to Europe, told tale and published a book Hans Staden: The true story of his captivity 1557

  6. Staden’s account Fueled other Europeans to stereotype all Amerindians as cannibals

  7. Theodore de Bry – Belgian engraver never traveled to the Americas

  8. Images as truth Must be real Very inflammatory “reified” concept

  9. Reality of Cannibalism How do you evaluate the evidence?

  10. Types of Cannibalism • Survival cannibalism • Andean plane crash • Donner Party – Sierra Nevada Mountains, 1846 • Mortuary Cannibalism (own group) • with burial “affectionate” cannibalism • Conquest/Power cannibalism • New Guinea, Iroquois (perhaps) • Sustenance or Gastronomic • Aztec?? • Not common in ethnographic nor archaeological record

  11. Aztec Human Sacrifice Protein scarcity or Ruling Elite intimidation?

  12. Aztec Human Sacrifice Restricted to Elites Consumed some limbs

  13. Aztec deity Aztec Knife

  14. The Victim

  15. Aztec capital = Tenochtitlan

  16. Skull Rack

  17. How can you evaluate cannibalism? History and Ethnohistory- Have to consider the motives of the writers

  18. Aztec Diet Very diverse plants, hunted animals, and insects NO dietary deficiency

  19. Archaeology and Biological Anthropology Human remains and archaeological contexts

  20. What would be good archaeological evidence for cannibalism? Treatment is same as animals

  21. Evidence • Similar butchering in humans and animals • Similar long bone fractures (for marrow) • Same patterns of discard for humans and animals • Evidence of cooking is similar

  22. Human treatment of the dead • What might look like cannibalism? • Defleshing for burial • Cremation and discard • Display of skeletal elements (flesh is removed)

  23. Explaining why cannibalism occurred vs. documenting its occurrence Is easier to document than to explain why it happened

  24. SW U.S. Prehistoric Anasazi Archaeological evidence of cannibalism

  25. Mancos site, Co A.D. 1100-1150 >19 fragmented individuals Butchering Pot polish Fecal remains

  26. Why did it occur?? Is abhorrent to Anasazi today Witches consume flesh Maybe related to drought, climate change, starvation, instability

  27. The Pacific Islands Oceania20,000+ islands

  28. Fiji island group

  29. FIJI “Eat Me” greeting by commoners

  30. Fijian warriors

  31. Practice ends in 1867 • Documents • Skeletal evidence • Forensic techniques

More Related