Eat Me! Exploring the Costs & Benefits of Eating Human Flesh

Cannibalism is a topic that continues to fascinate and intrigue people across the world.  Between Jeffrey Dahmer and the forsaken crew of the HMS Terror of the Franklin Expedition to the soccer players in the Andes and the doomed Donner Party expedition across the Sierra-Nevada Mountains there are several examples of cannibalistic events in recent human history.  Cannibalism is not a recent human phenomenon, however, as our hominid ancestors regularly participated in such actions for yet to be discovered reasons.  While cannibalism is largely taboo and banned across the globe it is still of central focus among many, taking center stage in horror films and television shows, scary stories, and even our language.  The most recent act of cannibalism where a man fed pieces of his amputated foot to his friends has in part reignited interest in this topic, as well as reopened a question commonly asked of cannibalism: can the act of eating human flesh cause irreparable harm to the consumer?  This blog post seeks to answer that question by exploring the potential consequences of consuming human flesh.

Figure 1: Fore man holding a skull

 

Cannibalism is the act of eating members of one’s own species.  Several animal species, including primates, have been known to participate in cannibalism, causing researchers to consider if there is an evolutionary cause for such practices.  While those questions continue to be investigated the health costs and benefits have been fully explored.  This line of research was taken up when a large number of Fore, an indigenous group from Papua New Guinea (Figure 1), were discovered to have a rare disease that was killing them off in droves.  Anthropologists and biologists teamed up to discover the origins of this disease, which the local Fore called “kuru” after the symptoms of the disease.  Initially the research team considered kuru a genetic disorder, but that was quickly ruled out when it was realized that women and children of all social groups and not directly related were suffering and dying from the disease.  It was later discovered that the Fore were dying due to the consumption of their dead, which was customary of their funerary rituals.  Men, women, and children would eat the dead, but it was the job of the women to consume the brains of the deceased.  They would share this delicacy with their children, as well, which narrowed down the culprit of the kuru disease.  Further investigation determined that kuru was a prion disease, much like Chronic Wasting Disease in deer, Mad Cow in cows, and Creutzfeld-Jacob disease in humans.  Prion diseases are caused by a twisted protein that causes degradation of the brain (Figure 2), leading to shivering, uncontrollably laughing, and loss of motor function.  While contraction of prion diseases is rare it is known that consumption of infected tissues, particularly brains, will lead to infection, although people can carry the prions for several years (and even decades) prior to contracting the disease. 

Kuru disappeared among the Fore once the custom of consuming the dead was banned, but the notion of consuming the dead leading to negative health outcomes continues.  While the Fore/kuru example is a very real consequence of eating the dead it only occurred when the Fore consumed infected brains, meaning the disease was passed on by consuming individuals who had previously died of or carried kuru (prions).  But is there evidence of this happening widespread?  The short answer is no, but that is because when incidences of cannibalism have occurred (e.g. the Franklin Expedition, the Donner Party, the soccer team of the Andes) no one has really stopped to consider the health consequences of such acts.  Typically, the horrors that led to such acts precluded the study of that aspect of the situation, or in the case of the Franklin Expedition there were too few survivors to ask about it.  So ultimately, we do not really know if consuming human flesh will cause any negative health outcomes if one consumes a healthy individual.

Figure 2: Normal (left) versus Kuru infected (right) brain cells

 

There are, however, other reasons why one should not consume human flesh.  In pursuit of the answers to why our hominid ancestors consumed each other scholars considered if there was a nutritional necessity to eat human flesh.  Ultimately, it was discovered that while eating human flesh does happen it is not a great idea because humans are nutritionally poor, meaning you are not getting enough calories.  If one were to consume only human flesh they run the risk of starving to death due to lack of caloric intake and nutritional values of the flesh. 

Now the purpose of this post is not to encourage readers to go out and Hannibal Lector (eat) the mail man or anyone else who may seem appetizing.  It does ultimately answer the question about whether or not it is a healthy idea, which it is not.  In this day and age when there are several fad diets and crazy ideas about staying healthy do not buy into the idea eating human flesh will make you healthier, younger, or stronger because there is not any evidence to support any of those notions.  Therefore, in the event of a zombie apocalypse our zombie brethren would ultimately die of starvation or a prion disease for eating human flesh or brains.

Bibliography

Akpan, N. (2017, April 6). If you had to eat a human, which body part should you pick first? Retrieved from PBS: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/science/served-archaeologist-considers-nutritional-value-humans

Bichell, R. E. (2016, September 6). When People Ate People, A Strange Disease Emerged. Retrieved from NPR: https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2016/09/06/482952588/when-people-ate-people-a-strange-disease-emerged

Engelhaupt, E. (2017, April 6). Cannibalism Study Finds People Are Not That Nutritious. Retrieved from National Geographic: https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2017/04/human-cannibalism-nutrition-archaeology-science/

Hayes, J. (2012, July 26). Spotlight: Why Cannibalism is Bad for You. Retrieved from The Disease Daily: http://www.healthmap.org/site/diseasedaily/article/spotlight-why-cannibalism-bad-you-72612

Medline Plus. (2016, 11 14). Kuru. Retrieved from Medline Plus: https://medlineplus.gov/ency/article/001379.htm

Stern, V. (2008, January 21). Not that I’m thinking about trying it, but is cannibalism unhealthy? Retrieved from Science Line: http://scienceline.org/2008/01/ask-stern-cannibal/

Anthropologist Profile: Dell Hymes

Dell Hymes (during his employment at the University of Pennsylvannia)

Today’s blog post will cover the life and anthropological contributions of Dell Hymes, a pioneering linguistic anthropologist.  Hymes passed away in 2009, leaving behind an academic legacy that has since been mired in some controversy.  Despite this controversy he did make some important impacts on the field of anthropological linguistics, which will be covered herein.

Dell Hymes started his academic career at Reed College, but he was almost derailed from pursuing his goals by war.  He was drafted into the US Army and became a Decoder, and while this situation may have derailed some people it actually inspired Hymes to pursue his studies in linguistics and anthropology.  He returned to Reed College and studied under anthropologists David French and Kay Story French.  It was during this time that he began working with Native American groups in Oregon, including the Wasco, Wishram, and Sahaptin peoples, and he continued to work with them during his graduate work.  His dissertation, which he completed in a year, focused on the language of another Native American group, the Kiksht, and was eventually published by Franz Boas. 

Hymes went on to teach social anthropology at Harvard University, the University of California-Berkley, and the University of Pennsylvania.  He taught classes in folklore, linguistics, sociology, and education.  During this time he made several important contributions to the fields of anthropological linguistics.  The first part of his career focused on developing the field of sociolinguistics, while the second part of his career focused on ethnopoetics.  Hymes promoted the notion that one cannot truly understand a language until they understood the contexts of the language, which is a central tenant of sociolinguistics today.  He also put forward the need for sociolinguistic scholars to study how social class and cultural affect language, which helped direct anthropological study into social justice issues.  The second part of his career concentrated on oral traditions and how rhythms and metric rules of speech affect language and meaning, which is the foundation of ethnopoetics.

Hymes passed away in 2009.  He had previously written a public obituary that chronicled the personal aspects of his life and highlighted his humor.  He is left behind by his wife and their four children.  Since his death a series of accusations of sexual harassment have been lodged against him, tainting his professional career.  While it still unknown the extent of these accusations and how they will affect his overall legacy it is important to recognize his contributions to the field of sociolinguistics, while also acknowledging his potential improper actions.

Works Cited

No Author. (2010, March). Anthropologist revolutionized field of sociolinguistics. Reed magazine, p. 1.

PENN GRADUATE SCHOOL OF EDUCATION. (2009, November 30). Remembering Dell Hymes 1927-2009. Retrieved from University of Pennsylvania: https://www.gse.upenn.edu/node/1221

Tripathi, P., & Reyaz, A. (2016). How Cultures Talk: A Study of Dell Hymes' Ethnography of Communication. Journal of Humanities and Cultural Studies, 1-10.

Applying Anthropology: Forensic Archaeology

Forensic archaeologists at work

 
One of the most common questions anthropologists and anthropology students get is in reference to what types of employment they can get.  While many anthropologists seek employment in academia there are actually many more who not only seek but get gainful employment in the private sector.  Today’s blog post will cover one such burgeoning area: forensic archaeology.  Not to be confused with forensic anthropology forensic archaeology is the application of archaeological methods and techniques to criminal investigations.  This blog post will cover what forensic archaeology is, the impacts the profession makes within the fields of criminal justice, and the requirements to become one.

Archaeology is the study of past cultures through their material culture evidence.  It requires systematic and scientific study and excavation to ensure the collection and analysis of data that can provide not only insights but quality information about the life ways, identities, and cultures of past societies.  These same methods can and have been successfully applied to forensic investigations over the past ten years, although the discipline of forensic archaeology has been in some ways used for the past thirty to forty years.  Forensic archaeologists are employed as within law enforcement agencies or as independent contractors, and they are employed either when there is a need to locate human remains/a suspected burial or when a body has been found.  Note, when the latter occurs the job of the forensic archaeologist is not to identify the remains but to collect any evidence related to them.  If a forensic archaeologist is also a forensic anthropologist (as many often are) then both tasks can be completed.

Archaeological survey and excavation methods are key to assisting in criminal investigations, particularly in the identification and the collection of evidence related to criminal activity.  Forensic archaeologists will start by surveying an area, typically with the assistance of a law enforcement officer or coroner who has witness testimony, to determine the scope or location of a specific crime scene.  The archaeological knowledge related to locating sites and artifacts is very useful, particularly if natural (e.g. water, wind, animal intrusions) or unnatural (e.g. construction, body dumps or relocations, human tampering) situations have impacted the site.  If it is deemed necessary the forensic archaeologist will also excavate the site, typically for body recovery.  This is where some knowledge of human remains is needed as a forensic archaeologist will need to collect any and all evidence that may be useful in the investigation of the crime.  This can include insects, clothing, hair and tissue samples, clothing, leaves, root intrusions, and changes to the bones.  The careful excavation techniques employed by archaeologists allow for careful removal of any potential evidence, increasing the likelihood of being able to test it later for other forensic purposes (e.g. DNA or finger prints).  As such forensic archaeologists must undertake their excavations wearing specialized suits and masks so as not to contaminate a scene.  Forensic archaeologists can and are also often employed in evidence interpretation.  They can use their knowledge of decomposition rates of artifacts and natural taphonomic processes to provide some insights into the age of the site and/or how long remains and evidence was interred in the ground.  They can also help discern between alterations to the artifacts and/or human remains that happened at versus after the crime and/or burial happened.  Forensic archaeologists will also be responsible for writing a final report outlining their findings, as well as may be called upon to testify in court and do so in a way that provides information in a clear and precise manner to a lay audience.

Forensic archaeology is becoming quite popular within law enforcement offices.  Many precincts that find a need for a forensic archaeologist will send their officers to specialized trainings, of which there are a few offered in Oklahoma, California, or through the Federal Bureau of Investigation.  But to be classified as a forensic archaeologist one must have specialized training and credentials.  These include having a graduate degree in anthropology (specialization archaeology) or archaeology (minimum Masters required, although PhD preferred), archaeological excavation experience, experience leading excavations, publications, knowledge of human remains (both in identification and general handling), training in evidence collection and handling, credentials from relevant professional organizations (not just forensic organizations), and preferably trial testimony experience.     

Works Cited

Chicora Foundation. (2008). Forensic Archaeology. Retrieved from Chicora Foundation, Inc.: http://www.chicora.org/forensic-archaeology.html

Elvidge, S. (2017, January 9). Forensic Archaeology. Retrieved from Explore Forensics: http://www.exploreforensics.co.uk/forensic-archaeology.html

Nawrocki, S. P. (2006). An Outline of Forensic Archaeology. University of Indianapolis Archeology & Forensics Laboratory.

SFU Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology. (2010). Forensic Archaeology. Retrieved from Investigating Forensics: http://www.sfu.museum/forensics/eng/pg_media-media_pg/archaeologie-archaeology/