Human cannibalism is the act or practice of humans eating the flesh or internal organs of other human beings. A person who practices cannibalism is called a cannibal. The meaning of "cannibalism" has been extended into zoology to describe animals consuming parts of individuals of the same species as food.
Anatomically modern humans, Neanderthals, and Homo antecessor are known to have practised cannibalism to some extent in the Pleistocene.[1][2][3][4][5] Cannibalism was occasionally practised in Egypt during ancient and Roman times, as well as later during severe famines.[6][7] The Island Caribs of the Lesser Antilles, whose name is the origin of the word cannibal, acquired a long-standing reputation as eaters of human flesh, reconfirmed when their legends were recorded in the 17th century.[8] Some controversy exists over the accuracy of these legends and the prevalence of actual cannibalism in the culture. Depicting indigenous peoples as cannibals was a common fantasy and rationale for European colonialism and 'civilising missions'.[9]
Cannibalism has been well documented in much of the world, including Fiji (once nicknamed the "Cannibal Isles"),[10] the Amazon Basin, the Congo, and the Māori people of New Zealand.[11] Cannibalism was also practised in New Guinea and in parts of the Solomon Islands, and human flesh was sold at markets in some parts of Melanesia[12] and of the Congo Basin.[13][14] A form of cannibalism popular in early modern Europe was the consumption of body parts or blood for medical purposes. Reaching its height during the 17th century, this practice continued in some cases into the second half of the 19th century.[15]
Cannibalism has been said to test the bounds of cultural relativism because it challenges anthropologists "to define what is or is not beyond the pale of acceptable human behavior".[20] A few scholars argue that no firm evidence exists that cannibalism has ever been a socially acceptable practice anywhere in the world,[21] but such views have been largely rejected as irreconcilable with the actual evidence.[22][23]
^Carbonell, Eudald; Cáceres, Isabel; Lozano, Marina; Saladié, Palmira; Rosell, Jordi; Lorenzo, Carlos; Vallverdú, Josep; Huguet, Rosa; Canals, Antoni; Bermúdez de Castro, José Marı́a (2010). "Cultural Cannibalism as a Paleoeconomic System in the European Lower Pleistocene". Current Anthropology. 51 (4): 543. doi:10.1086/653807. JSTOR10.1086/653807. S2CID1311044.
^Sugg, Richard (2015). Mummies, Cannibals and Vampires: The History of Corpse Medicine from the Renaissance to the Victorians. Routledge. pp. 122–125 and passim.
^Conklin, Beth A. (2001). Consuming Grief: Compassionate Cannibalism in an Amazonian Society. Austin: University of Texas Press. p. 3. ISBN0-292-71232-4.