preview

Cannibalism Among Neanderthals

Decent Essays
Open Document

Cannibalism is the practice of humans eating the flesh of other humans. The word comes from the word Canibales. It is the Spanish name for Caribs, a tribe who practiced cannibalism in the Lesser Antilles. But why do groups practice this? Is it a religious or ritual tradition, a warfare custom, or simply done out of necessity? There is no one answer to this question, so in this paper I will try to analyze some different explanations for this. Cannibalism has been practiced all over the world and may have been practiced for tens of thousands of years. There are bones from Homo sapiens that have marks where flesh was cut off that go back 600,000 years. Cannibalism among Neanderthals is thought to have taken place because of food shortages and …show more content…

During the Siege of Leningrad, cannibalism occurred after survivors ate all of their pets, birds, and rats. Soviet POWs, starved in Nazi custody, resorted to cannibalism. German soldiers in Siberian POW camps were also underfed which led to this as well. Japanese soldiers in New Guinea were also forced to partake in cannibalism after their rations were cut down. The Japanese would supposedly select prisoners each day to be killed and eaten. Sometimes, flesh was cut off of them while they were still alive and then they were left in a ditch to …show more content…

The group got delayed and stranded by early snow when following a new route through Utah. Out of 87 members, 48 were finally able to make it to California after resorting to cannibalism for survival. This is one of the most well known examples of cannibalism being used out of necessity. Another example is the shipwreck of the Essex whaler. A sperm whale attacked and sunk the ship in 1820. Survivors were stranded for 95 days at sea and were forced to eat five of the dead crewmembers. Eventually, the men had to draw straws of who would sacrifice themselves and be eaten. Seven more crewmen were cannibalized until the remaining eight men were rescued. Tribal societies most commonly practice the act of cannibalism, and can sometimes be seen as a cultural norm. This is usually done for rituals. Some tribes eat the flesh of dead tribe members to help the dead person’s soul navigate into living offspring. This is an example of endo-cannibalism, where people are consumed within the tribe, usually part of a grieving process. During wartime, enemies might be eaten to glorify a victory. In Melanesia, enemies might have been eaten to insult their people. Some groups think eating the flesh of another person would give them that person’s characteristics. An example of a cannibalistic tribe is the Korowai

Get Access
Related
Get Access