Cannibalism

Cannibalism is the act or practice of eating members of one's own species and usually refers to humans eating other humans (sometimes called anthropophagy). Cannibalism has been attributed to many different tribes and races in the past, but the degree to which it has actually occurred and been socially sanctioned is an extremely controversial topic in anthropology. Some anthropologists argue that cannibalism has been almost non-existent and view claims of cannibalism with extreme skepticism, while others argue that the practice was common in pre-state societies.

Historical cannibalism incidents

Cannibalism was documented in Egypt during a famine caused by the failure of the Nile to flood for eight years (AD 1064-1072).

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Crusaders resorted to cannibalism after their successful siege of Ma'arrat al-Numan in 1098.

Related Topics:
Crusaders - Ma'arrat al-Numan - 1098

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In Europe during the Great Famine of 1315-1317, at a time when Dante was writing one of the greatest pieces of literature in western history and the Renaissance was just beginning, there were widespread reports of cannibalism throughout Europe. Despite the documentary evidence from chroniclers of the time in every country from Russia to Ireland, many historians have since denied these reports as fanciful and ambiguous, perhaps saying more about the inability to attribute the acts usually associated with "the other" to our own history, than people doing whatever it took to survive.

Related Topics:
Great Famine of 1315-1317 - Dante

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In the Dutch rampjaar (disaster year) of 1672, when France and England during the Franco-Dutch War / Third Anglo-Dutch War attacked the Republic, Johan de Witt (a significant Dutch political figure) was killed by a shot in the neck; his naked body was hanged and mutilated and the heart was carved out to be exhibited. His brother was shot, stabbed, eviscerated alive, hanged naked, brained and partly eaten.

Related Topics:
Dutch - Rampjaar - 1672 - France - England - Franco-Dutch War - Third Anglo-Dutch War - Johan de Witt - Political figure

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In the 1800s, in the American state of Colorado, a man named Alferd Packer was accused of killing and eating his travelling companions. He was later released due to a legal technicality, and maintained that he was innocent of the murders throughout his life. However, modern forensic evidence, unavailable during Packer's lifetime, indicates that he did indeed murder and/or eat several of his companions. The story of Alferd Packer was satirically (and to some tastelessly) told in the Trey Parker comedy/horror/musical film, Cannibal! The Musical, released in 1996 by Troma Studios.

Related Topics:
1800s - Colorado - Alferd Packer - Trey Parker - Cannibal! The Musical - Troma

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After the sinking of the Whaleship Essex of Nantucket by a whale, on November 20, 1820, (an important source event for Herman Melville's Moby Dick) the survivors, in three small boats, resorted, by common consent, to cannibalism in order for some to survive http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/alabaster/A671492. See The Custom of the Sea.

Related Topics:
Whaleship ''Essex'' - Nantucket - November 20 - 1820 - Herman Melville - Moby Dick - The Custom of the Sea

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Sir John Franklin's lost polar expedition and the Donner Party are other examples of human cannibalism in the 19th century.

Related Topics:
John Franklin - Donner Party

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There are anecdotal accounts of cannibalism during a 1930s famine in the Ukraine. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/3229000.stm

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On October 13, 1972, an Uruguayan rugby team flew across the Andes to play a game in Chile. The plane crashed near the border between Chile and Argentina. After several weeks of starvation and struggle for survival, the numerous survivors decided to eat the frozen bodies of the deceased in order to survive. They were rescued over two months later. See Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571.

Related Topics:
1972 - Uruguay - Rugby - Andes - Chile - Argentina - Starvation - Survival - Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571

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In March of 2001, a German by the name of Armin Meiwes made an arrangement over the Internet with Bernd Jürgen Armando Brandes to kill and eat him, with Brandes' penis being severed and eaten together before he was killed.

Related Topics:
2001 - Armin Meiwes

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Meiwes was arrested in December 2002, after apparently posting new requests for victims on the Internet. Meiwes was convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to 8 and a half years in prison in 2004. In April 2005, the courts ordered a retrial upon appeal of the prosecution.

Related Topics:
Manslaughter - April 2005

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