Bibliograph

Cannibalism, a perfectly natural history, Bill Schutt

Type

Label

Cannibalism, a perfectly natural history, Bill Schutt

Language

eng

Bibliography note

Includes bibliographical references (pages 300-327)

Illustrations

illustrations

Index

no index present

Literary Form

non fiction

Main title

Cannibalism

Nature of contents

bibliography

Oclc number

933271956

Responsibility statement

Bill Schutt

Sub title

a perfectly natural history

Summary

Eating one's own kind is completely natural behavior in thousands of species, including humans. Throughout history we have engaged in cannibalism for reasons relating to famine, burial rites, and medicinal remedies. Cannibalism has been used as a form of terrorism but also as the ultimate expression of filial piety. Bill Schutt, a research associate at the American Museum of Natural History, takes us on a tour of the field, exploring new avenues of research and investigating questions like why so many fish eat their offspring and some amphibians consume their mother's skin; why sexual cannibalism is an evolutionary advantage for certain spiders; why, until the end of the eighteenth century, British royalty regularly ate human body parts; how cannibalism may be linked to the extinction of Neanderthals; why microbes on sacramental bread may have led to Catholics' to persecute European Jews in the Middle Ages. Today, the subject of humans consuming one another has been relegated to the realm of horror movies, fiction, and the occasional psychopath, but be forewarned: As climate change progresses and humans see more famine, disease, and overcrowding, biological and cultural constraints may well disappear. These are the very factors that lead to outbreaks of cannibalism

Table Of Contents

Animal the cannibal -- Go on, eat the kids -- Sexual cannibalism, or, size matters -- Quit crowding me -- Bear down -- Dinosaur cannibals? -- File under: Weird -- Neanderthals and the guys in the other valley -- Columbus, caribs, and cannibalism -- Bones of contention -- Cannibalism and the Bible -- The worst party ever -- Eating people is bad -- Eating people is good -- Chia skulls and mummy powder -- Placenta helper -- Cannibalism in the Pacific Islands -- Mad cows and Englishmen -- Acceptable risk -- Epilogue: One step beyond

Creator