Christopher Aaron Granillo
Archaeology 103
Professor Knell
April 24, 2015
Fighting For Evidence of the Practice of Cannibalism within the Fossil Record
The modern view on cannibalism mostly rejects evidence of cannibalism in the fossil record. Bio-archeologist Christy G. Turner ii has spent 30 years trying to improve the criteria for supporting signs of cannibalism and prove its practice. The main evidence in the article, Archaeologists Rediscover cannibals, is not based so much on the variety of the sites with possible signs of cannibalism but the similar patterns in which the sites show repetitive evidence of the practice compared to one another. The major debate between whether cannibalism was practice in the fossil record has to do with
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The Polacca Wash in Arizona, contain remains from thirty American Indians which when analyzed show evidence of burns and cut marks that shows resemblance to animals bones that had been stripped of there flesh and cooked (August 1, 1997, p. 74). Earlier generations saw this evidence of marks on the bones as affects from warfare, weathering, ancient rituals for burring, and Scavenging animals (p. 74). Bone weathering stages: cut marks, how long on the surface, longer bones sit on the landscape before buried, the more a bone is exposed the more signs will disappear (Knell, April 5, 2015, Chapter 8). Because of this debating of what caused the marks, Turner as well as other Bio Archaeologists have worked on distinguishing these marks with a stricter criteria of how to prove the markings are caused by other humans practicing cannibalism (p. 74). A lot of the bones in these sites were dumped along with animal bones in dumpsites and not in burial grounds. You can also term these as bonebeds which are classified as mass kills sites that are archaeological sites containing large number of animal bones that are of the same species (Kelly and Thomas, 2013, p. …show more content…
I was well aware of evidence of recent cannibalism within tribes as well as far back as the Neanderthals. I have watched multiple documentaries on this practice but I still can see that only a few researchers choose to discuss such topics because it might be immoral in modern times. What I did not know was how much criticism was given to cannibalism in the fossil record and that it was not taken so likely. I learned how they have tried to develop a criteria that differentiates human caused markings from bone de-fleshing versus animal gnawing and weathering. I was very intrigued to learn how many sites held evidence of the practice as well, and how dispersed the sites were not only in space but in time. Learning how the Bio Archaeologists also performed their experimental archaeology to test the hypothesis was
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.
In the events preceding the selected passage of Des Cannibales, Montaigne gives several situations of events in which man’s honour has been tested and proven, citing the example of the Hungarian’s merciful attitude towards their captured enemies, whom they released unharmed after having defeated them in battle. The classical reference to Seneca with the quote, “Si succiderit, de genu pugnat” foreshadows the passage in question, in which the captured Brazilians refuse to surrender or feel fear, but rather taunt their captors and remain defiant until their last breath. The passage then develops into an observation of the polygamous culture of the New World, which Montaigne praises and later goes onto defend as natural, arguing that it was customary in Biblical times and therefore should not be condemned by supposedly superior and cultured Europeans.
...lism is from the character of Shrimper when he enthusiastically tells Turner about “delicious long pork,” and closest portrayal of cannibalism is Jack Sparrows tentative nibble of toenail. It seems that while the filmmakers may not have offered an accurate portrayal of “Pelegostos” or Carib life, they may have inadvertently offered a relatively accurate portrayal of early European colonists’ misinterpretations of “Pelegostos” or Carib life. As stated previously, “Early chroniclers did not explore alternative interpretations of the circumstantial evidence for cannibalism. Bones might have been kept for religious reasons, or boiled and cleaned for use as tools, household items, or musical instruments” (Myers 177); however, a more accurate portrayal of the indigenous people would have been contrary to the implicit goal of the filmmakers: to entertain and make money.
At burial grounds such as Combe-Grenal and Abri Moula, France, archeologists found cut marks on the bones on the deceased which suggest that the Homo sapiens might have practiced defleshing (Wikipedia). Defleshing, or excarnation, is a burial practice where one removes the flesh and organs of the dead;
The Donner Party experienced harsh measures and had to come to extremely important decisions regarding survival. Many still deny the possibility that the party resorted to cannibalism in spite of a serious lack of proof and virtually no records of the events stating otherwise. On the other hand, many just “want to tell the story of their life over those final months, not just of cannibalism. [They] wasn’t to restore the humanity to the members of that party – and to their descendants” (Bailey, 1). Despite such controversy, the party has ultimately been linked to cannibalism, and based on the events, that is most obviously what occurred.
It has been thought that they were cannibals, and, though some have tried to challenge that claim, there is evidence that supports it. Thus, “the Iroquois practiced ritual cannibalism in the 17th century.” (Abler, 309) In 1967, archaeologist James Tuck discovered a roasting platform with fragments of human bones showing cut marks. This, though, was not the only find. There have been several archaeologists who have reported evidence of cannibalism dating about 1300 and forward. Of course, it is difficult to prove that the flesh was, in fact, eaten. Iroquois speeches have references of cannibalism, though it could have been metaphorical. There are accounts of cannibalism from supposed eye-witnesses. “Some confirmation is provided for this story [the story of a Christian Huron] by the careful examination of the bodies which confirmed the details of torture and mutilation, even though such an examination cannot prove that missing portions of the body were eaten.” (Abler, 313) In the end, French, Dutch, and English sources, both secular and religious, allege that the Iroquois were
Mandeville’s account of foreign cannibals attributes a newfound significance to the act in that it intends on limiting the suffering of an inevitable victim of sickness. Whereas most in Europe perceive cannibalism as an abhorrent act of carnal violence, others such as the island of Dondia view it as a charitable act of preventing one from unnecessa...
“Whoever sheds human blood, by humans shall their blood be shed; for in the image of God has God made mankind” (Genesis 9: 5-7). If God created man in his image, what does eating a fellow human being suggest? We would certainly agree that it is wrong to eat the image of God. Unlike vices like murder or lying, cannibalism is hard to justify even when you’re deserted on an island with a few others with no food in sight. However, to believe that cannibalism is wrong or unnatural in every case might make us ignorant of what it can tell us about the breadth of human culture or about the balance between revenge and justice. Either way, our stance on cannibalism depends on our understanding of what it represents and the role it plays, as reflected
Every society has it’s own cultural traditions and norms. Many of the traditions are passed down from generation to generation for so long that they become the norms of the culture. The Wari’ are no different than anyone else in that their traditions become cultural norms. In Consuming Grief: Compassionate Cannibalism in an Amazonian Society, Beth A. Conklin travels to the Wari’ people in order to study illness and death from both before and after they had foreign contact. While there she finds herself going into depth on the lifestyle of the Wari’ people and how their norm of cannibalism came about and how it was phased out by the outside world.
Dead Men Do Tell Tales is a complete engrossing journey into the world of Forensic Anthropology and the science of bones. The book is well organized and easy to follow. The story is not from some published medical work containing lengthy medical terminology. The book is best described as the story of Dr. Maples career and interesting encounters it entailed. The book is a total of 292 pages. The book is organized into 16 chapters, each appropriately titled for the subject and stories that it contains. One could only wish that all story tellers could be as good as Dr. Maples.
2. Brothwell, Don R., (1963) Digging up Bones, the Excavation, Treatment and Study of Human Skeletal Remain’s. London British Museum of Natural History.
...e. "A Hypothesis to Explain the Role of Meat-Eating in Human Evolution." Www.cnr.berkely.edu. 4 Feb. 2001. Web. .
Michel de Montaigne was a French essayist and “skeptic” who wrote several pieces through his lifetime including, “On Cannibals” in 1570. The discovery of people in the “New World” shocked Montaigne for learning that people live and think so differently in a society that doesn’t follow Christianity. The news coerced Montaigne to compare the native’s culture to European’s culture in order to gain a new perspective on his culture. By looking at the lives of the ‘cannibals’ in the “New World”, Montaigne was able to use them as a means of criticizing the practices of the Church and political leaders of his own time.
Montaigne states, “I am not sorry that we notice the barbarous horror of such acts, but I am heartily sorry that, judging their faults rightly, we should be so blind as to our own.” Men often call what is not common to them barbarous. “On Cannibals” constitutes Montaigne’s reflections upon meeting with a cannibal who had been brought to France by Villegaignon. The human mind corrupts the things that aren’t of common knowledge, therefore the Europeans believed the cannibals were out of the ordinary, or barbarous. The real problem lies within the opinion of what is considered barbarous and how people interpret its definition. Taking part in cannibalism may deem you different, but it does not mean you are more barbarous than others. Although
Is cannibalism moral or immoral? This the question that many people have asked themselves since the beginning of time. In many countries, cannibalism is not against the law, it is okay for a person to eat a person. Cannibalism is not moral and it is not okay for a human being to devour another human, it is just plain disgusting. This paper will explain why it is that cannibalism is immoral, why so many people do it and the history of when it began. People eating people is just plain wrong and there is no purpose for this to happen.