Human cannibalism

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.

Reports describing cannibal practices were most often recorded by outsiders and were especially during the colonialist epoch commonly used to justify the subjugation and exploitation of non-European peoples. Therefore, such sources need to be particularly critically examined before being accepted. A few scholars argue that no firm evidence exists that cannibalism has ever been a socially acceptable practice anywhere in the world,^[9] but such views have been largely rejected as irreconcilable with the actual evidence.^[10][11]

Cannibalism has been well documented in much of the world, including Fiji (once nicknamed the "Cannibal Isles"),^[12] the Amazon Basin, the Congo, and the Māori people of New Zealand.^[13] 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^[14] and the Congo Basin.^[15][16] 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.^[17]

Cannibalism has occasionally been practised as a last resort by people suffering from famine. Well-known examples include the ill-fated Donner Party (1846–1847), the Holodomor (1932–1933), and the crash of Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 (1972), after which the survivors ate the bodies of the dead. Additionally, there are cases of people engaging in cannibalism for sexual pleasure, such as Albert Fish, Issei Sagawa, Jeffrey Dahmer, and Armin Meiwes. Cannibalism has been both practised and fiercely condemned in several recent wars, especially in Liberia^[18] and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.^[19] It was still practised in Papua New Guinea as of 2012, for cultural reasons.^[20][21]

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".^[22]