Cannibalism: From Dinosaurs to Modern Day Animal Participants
A cannibal is any animal that feeds on its own species (Lady Wild Life’s website). This characteristic is rarely spoken of because it has such a negative connotation. However, an estimate of 140 species from a large time scale, displayed cannibalistic tendencies (Lady Wild Life’s website).
Ranging from animals in the present time- lions, pigs, ants, otters, apes, poultry, mantis, spiders, scorpions, mice, etc., to approximately 100,000 years ago with the early humans, Neanderthals, to the beginning of the Mesozoic Era with possibly the first dinosaur, Coelophysis (Bossel et al 2001, Defleur et al 1999). The reasons for resorting to cannibalism vary according with their environment. Some animals resort to cannibalism for survival needs, ritual activities, or protecting their territory. This essay will look at animals that engaged in cannibalism across a large geological time scale.
Raymond Rogers, David Krause, and Kristina Curry Rogers found significant evidence that the carnivorous dinosaur, Majungatholus atopus, was also a cannibal (Krause et al 2003). The dinosaur remains of the Majungatholus atopus were dated in the late Cretaceous Period from 65 to 70 million years ago. The Majungatholus atopus inhabited the plains of the northwestern Madagascar and bones and teeth continue to be found throughout the Maevarno Formation and within the channel-belt deposits of the Anembalemba Member. The Majungatholus is commonly found, along with other vertebra taxa in ‘bonebeds’ in the Madagascar area, which is probably the reason this dinosaur is still preserved. The trio discovered teeth marks in many bones of the ribs, ilium, and precaudal axial skeleton co...
... middle of paper ...
... the behavior different animals do and don’t engage in over time.
References
Bossel. (2001, April 24). Cannibalism. BBC website. Retrieved March 16, 2004, from
http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/alabaster/A530687.
Defleur, A., Cregut-Bonnoure, E., Slimak, L., Valensi, P., & White, T.
(October, 1999).
Neanderthal Cannibalism at Moula-Guercy, Ardeche, France. Science 286, 128 v. 286, Issue 5437, 128-131.
http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/2865437/ 128.
Krause, D., Rogers, K., & Rogers, R. (03 April 2003). Cannibalism in the Madagascan
dinosaur Majungatholus atopus. Nature 442, 515-518.
http://www.nature.com/cgi -taf/DynaPage.taf?
file=/nature/journal/v422/n6931/full/nature01532_fs.html.
Ladywildlife’s Website. Cannibalism in Animals. Retrieved March 4, 2004 from
http://www.ladywildlife.com/animal/cannibalisminanimals.html.
Many families in America can’t decide what food chain to eat from. In the book, The Omnivore’s Dilemma, Michael Pollan lists four food chains: Industrial, Industrial Organic, Local Sustainable, and Hunter-Gatherer. The Industrial food chain is full of large farms that use chemicals and factories. Industrial Organic is close to it except it doesn’t use as many chemicals and the animals have more space. Local Sustainable is where food is grown without chemicals, the animals have freedom and they eat what they were born to eat. Lastly, Hunter-Gatherer is where you hunt and grow your own food. The omnivore's dilemma is trying to figure out what food chain to eat from. Local Sustainable is the best food chain to feed the United States because it is healthy and good for the environment.
Gardner, Christopher. Notes from the Doc Talks. Stanford University. Web. April 10, 2014. Pollan, Michael. The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals. New York:
Cannibalism is a long-standing taboo in our society; the thought of humans preying on other humans for a food source disgusts and astounds us. Though the practice is not common amongst modern day humans there is some evidence to suggest that ancient humans resorted to such measures, and a recent discovery in Madagascar attests to the possibility that some carnivorous dinosaurs fed on their own species (Perkins, 2003).
Foer, Jonathan Safran. Eating Animals. ebook ed. New York: Little, Brown and Company, 2009. PDF file.
The spectrum of logic behind cannibalism is wide in scope and varies in each tribe. In Africa there are a number of cannibalistic tribes, the two most notable being the Fang and Azande tribes. The Fang tribe occupied the Gabun district north of the Ogowh River in the French Congo. According to Mary Kingsley, “The Fang is not a cannibal for sacrificial motives” and is considered by many to be “morally superior to the Negro”. (encyclopedia.org) However, despite displaying higher moral standards, the Fang tribe has been purported to be “utterly indifferent to human life.” (encyclopedia.org) Yet, it was not indifference that served as the basis of practicing the acts of cannibalism but rather they simply found nothing wrong in doing so. In the Fang “a woman who bore ...
Before we had agriculture to plant crops and care for animals, people were hunter-gatherers. They ate meat that they could catch and kill and they gathered whatever vegetation they could safely eat.
Novak, Mary H. (1998, July 24). Kyoto Treaty A Giant Leap into the Economic Abyss. Houston Business Journal, 29 (10), p. 27A. [Online]. Available: http://insite.palni.edu/WebZ/Authorize:sessionid=0.
Colb, Sherry. "A Response to the Claim That Eating Animals Is Natural." Free From Harm. N.p., 25 July 2013. Web. 16 Sept. 2015.
Cannibalism as a Sexual Disorder Cannibalism occurs prevalently in both Tarzan and Heart of Darkness, and is a controversial topic with which the public is largely unfamiliar. Although cannibalism is generally thought of in a primitive animal sense, experts have revealed that cannibalism can be identified as a sexual disorder (O’Connor). A cannibal is scientifically classified as an anthropophagus (“Anthropophagus”), which falls under the category of Anthropophagy. Anthropophagy by definition is the sexual gratification caused by consumption of human flesh or blood. Although rather disturbing, sexual cannibalism is now accepted as the more common variety of cannibalism (O’Connor).
...e. "A Hypothesis to Explain the Role of Meat-Eating in Human Evolution." Www.cnr.berkely.edu. 4 Feb. 2001. Web. .
Cannibalism, also known as anthropophagi, is defined as the act or practice of eating members of the same species. The word anthropophagi comes from the Arawakan language name for the Carib Indians of the West Indies. The Caribs are well known for their practice of cannibalism. Among humans, this practice has been attributed to people in the past all over the world, including rituals connected to tribal warfare. There are two kinds of cannibalism -- sociological and pathological. Sociological means living and eating in a culture where cannibalism is accepted, and the pathological means practicing cannibalism within a culture where it's not accepted. Much controversy exists over the idea of sociological cannibalism. Reports of social cannibalism are mostly pointed at the Americas and Africa, since these were the primary continents subjected to European killing and conquest sprees from the Middle Ages through modern times. Despite what anyone says, there are documented examples of cannibalistic cultures and practices. It was usually a spiritual ritual. In some cases, the bodies of enemies were consumed in order to abso...
This research paper will delve into the topic of cannibalism in native tribes of Brazil during the Portuguese colonization of the South American country. My research only the topic yielded very interesting results. Some scholars suggest that cannibalism (in the instances involving the Tupinamba tribe and their ritualistic practices) didn't even occur. This isn't to say, however, that cannibalism was completely nonexistent in Brazil, but arguing that it did not occur in the “savage” ways often described. I could easily sum up the accounts of various witnesses of cannibalism, but I will focus on the material that will mostly discuss the effect that cannibalism had on colonization in Brazil.
Cannibalism has been around since the beginning of time. Mainly as an act of defense or as an alternate, last resort, for food. Cannibalism is also used as an act of violence among animals to preserve their genetics. Human cannibalism however, was not used as an act of violence to cause pain and anguish amongst other human beings. Cannibalism within the human race is widely known throughout the world, though you may not know it. From New Guinea to the high deserts of Arizona the practice of cannibalism has been used. Why cannibalism was practiced is still a mystery to many. Some think it actually was an act of violence, to torture the souls of others as revenge for invading the other person’s territory. Cannibalism, however, has much more meaning than most people actually think. As a religious practice cannibalism is very important to many tribes around the world. Great consequences await those who do not cannibalize their dead. As a source of food, the people who resorted to this were in situations of life or death. They did not kill people around them to survive, but ate the already deceased. However, there are some cases of cannibalism that are not necessary, and have yet to be determined what would provoke someone to eat another person just because they wanted too. For the most part though, cannibalism throughout the world has been questioned but none have really ventured out to find the true answers to it. A very curious subject indeed, cannibalism is not as grim a subject as most people have thought it to be. Although cannibalism is thought to be heatless and cruel, under dire circumstances and for religious purposes, it is not an act of malice.
Climate change has been a big issue since the 1800s and still continues to grow today. On December 1997, countries set up an international treaty , the United Nation Framework Convention on climate change (UNFCCC) that set up a plan for how to reduce climate change.the plan was called Kyoto Protocol was set up in Kyoto, Japan.
Coleridge's poem The Rime of the Ancient Mariner can be interpreted in many different ways regarding the question of the relationship between the man and the nature. According to Geoffrey H. Hartman "Coleridge's poem traces the 'dim and perilous way' of a soul that has broken with nature and feels the burdenous guilt of selfhood" (48). Robert Penn Warren explains his perception and “the primary theme in this poem as the theme of sacramental vision, or the