Scholars find cannibalism at Jamestown

[Keel M.]

Okay they were cannibals, but where'd they go?

WASHINGTON (AP) — Scientists revealed Wednesday that they have found the first solid archaeological evidence that some of the earliest American colonists at Jamestown, Va., survived harsh conditions by turning to cannibalism.

For years, there have been tales of people in the first permanent English settlement in America eating dogs, cats, rats, mice, snakes and shoe leather to stave off starvation. There were also written accounts of settlers eating their own dead, but archaeologists had been skeptical of those stories.

But now, the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History and archaeologists from Jamestown are announcing the discovery of the bones of a 14-year-old girl that show clear signs that she was cannibalized. Evidence indicates clumsy chops to the body and head of the girl, who appears to have already been dead at the time.

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[regeneratia]

Well hey,

this is my body.

this is my blood

eat it in rememberance of me.

LOL

I never did quite understand the concept.

Edited May 1, 2013 by regeneratia

[Kowalski]

Okay they were cannibals, but where'd they go?

Full story

I thought the facial reconstruction was amazing.

Really cool how they can do that, and give someone their face back. It makes their story more real.

Edited May 1, 2013 by Kowalski

[Ashotep]

You know they were having a very difficult time trying to survive to resort to cannibalism. I would hate to be put in a position to have to do something like that. Don't know if I could but you never know what you will do until you are faced with it.

[No Censorship]

I thought the facial reconstruction was amazing.

Really cool how they can do that, and give someone their face back. It makes their story more real.

It was very good. Still, I thought that the girl looked older than 14. She looked like she was in her late twenties or early thirties. She looked like some college girls in the Midwest, women who returned to school to work on their master's degree.

[Clarakore]

When times are tought people always turn on their own.

Even if they did not turn on this person per se...

Edited May 2, 2013 by Leave Britney alone!

[Mr.United_Nations]

Good thing Human rights did not exist back then

[No Censorship]

Good thing Human rights did not exist back then

I guess it all came down to what kind of human you were. There were no advocacy groups for female corpses.

[WaknakiTohbi]

Then the "savages" showed up with the corn and they lived happily ever after. How soon they forget...

[Drayno]

Given the horrible winter conditions settlers faced cannibalism was always on their minds as a last resort, it seems.

[No Censorship]

It's easy to judge when you're not in that kind of dire situation. We have refrigerators and restaurants, so thoughts of cannibalism are in another galaxy. If we faced starvation in a brand new colony surrounded by unexplored wilderness, or if we ran out of food while traveling through an area of the desolate West, we might develop a peculiar appetite for all sorts of verboten nourishment. We might find soylent green on the menu.