This is a list of incidents of cannibalism, or anthropophagy, the consumption of human flesh or internal organs by other human beings. Evidence of human cannibalism dates back as far as prehistoric times, and some anthropologists suggest that cannibalism was common in human societies as early as the Paleolithic. Historically, various peoples and groups have engaged in cannibalism, although very few continue the practice to this day.
Occasionally, starving people have resorted to cannibalism for survival. Classical antiquity recorded numerous references to cannibalism during siege-related famines. More recent well-documented examples include the Essex sinking in 1820, the Donner Party in 1846 and 1847, and the Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 in 1972. Some murderers, such as Boone Helm, Albert Fish, Andrei Chikatilo, and Jeffrey Dahmer, are known to have eaten parts of their victims after killing them. Other individuals, such as journalist William Seabrook and artist Rick Gibson, have legally consumed human flesh out of curiosity or to attract attention to themselves.
Prehistory
The oldest archaeological evidence of hominid cannibalism comes from the Gran Dolina cave in northern Spain. The remains of several individuals who died about 800,000 years ago and may have belonged to the Homo antecessor species show unmistakable signs of having been butchered and consumed in the same way as animals whose bones were also found at the site. They belong to at least eleven individuals, all of which were young (ranging from infancy to late teenhood). Later finds include the remains of a young child (aged two to five) who was butchered about 850,000 years ago and "processed like any other prey", as cut marks show. A study explains the finds in the cave as due to "nutritional" cannibalism, where individuals belonging to hostile or unrelated groups were hunted, killed, and eaten much like animals. The 100,000-year-old bones of six Neanderthals found in the Moula-Guercy Cave, France, had been broken by other Neanderthals in such a way as to extract marrow and brains. Finds made in the Sidrón Cave in Spain also show evidence of exocannibalism. Genetic studies have revealed a "powerful episode" of natural selection concurrent with the extinction of the Neanderthals. Drawing on hundreds of studies in relation to the kuru disease which is only known to spread through cannibalism, researchers concluded that the 127V gene, which is known for resisting kuru-like diseases, indicates widespread cannibalism among early humans. If modern humans and Neanderthals, who co-existed at that time, both practised cannibalism, it is theorized this gene would have protected humans from such diseases, while Neanderthals, who might have lacked it, were more susceptible to them – a factor that might have contributed to their extinction. Human remains found in the Goyet Caves in Belgium from between 45,500 and 40,500 years ago show evidence of cannibalism. Bodies found at Goyet were skinned and fileted and bore cut marks on their bones, which had been cracked in order to extract the victim's bone marrow. They appeared to have been butchered for food in the same way as reindeer found at the same site. The victims were all women and children, with the presence of abundant other fauna at the site indicating that their consumption was not due to starvation. Researchers therefore interpret these acts as an element of inter-group aggression, in which weaker members of competing groups were deliberately targeted and eaten to weaken and drive off the group to which they belonged.
Human remains excavated from Gough's Cave in Somerset, England, indicate that people fashioned cranial bones into skull cups. Additionally, analysis of post-cranial bones shows signs of chewing (human tooth marks), defleshing, and cracking of bones for marrow extraction, suggesting that cannibalism was practised in Stone Age Britain. Similar evidence was found at other Magdalenian sites in central and western Europe.
Early history
About 1100 BCE in China, King Zhou of Shang imprisoned King Wen of Zhou. King Zhou cooked the son of King Wen and sent his flesh to King Wen as a test. King Wen did not know what it was and ate it. Believing this proved that King Wen was not a saint that could threaten his power, King Zhou released him. This proved fatal, as he was later dethroned by another son of King Wen.; Duke Huan of Qi of China, ruling from 685 to 643 BCE, said to his cook Yiya, "The only thing I have not tried is steamed baby." Yiya then killed and steamed his own son and served him to Duke Huan. Duke Huan thought this proved his complete loyalty and trusted him with great power. But when Duke Huan got old, Yiya conspired with others to starve him to death. ; Duke Wen of Jin of China, in exile between 656 BCE and 636 BCE, ran out of food. His servant Jie Zhitui cut a piece of meat from his own buttocks and served it to Duke Wen. They survived the difficult time. Years later, Duke Wen did not treat Jie Zhitui well and he left in anger.; The ancient Greek festival Lykaia, held at night at Mount Lykaion, was connected to the myth of Lycaon, who was said to have served the flesh of a slaughtered young boy – variously described as his son, grandson, an unrelated local child, or a hostage – to Zeus. Rumours of the festival that circulated among other Greeks likewise revolved around the themes of human sacrifice and cannibalism. According to Plato,Plato, Republic, 565d–e. Pausanias,Pausanias, Description of Greece, 6.8.2. and other sources, regular sacrifices to Zeus Lykaios were held at the mountain, during which the entrails of a human victim were mixed with those of animals. Whoever ate the human flesh was said to turn into a wolf, and only regain human form after nine years if he abstained from human flesh during this period. In 594 BCE in China, the inhabitants of the State of Song resorted to cannibalism after being under siege for five months. Considering it unbearable to eat their own children, families traded their children with each other so they could slaughter and consume the children of others. ; The same happened in 403 BCE in Jin Yang, nowadays Taiyuan, after one year of siege. ; Inhabitants of cities under siege also ate human flesh in 257 BCE in Handan ; and in 250 BCE in Liaocheng. ; Herodotus reports that King Astyages of the Median kingdom slew the teenage son of his general Harpagus in and served him to Harpagus in a banquet, to punish Harpagus for failing to kill the later Cyrus the Great (claimed to be Astyages's grandson). This subsequently motivated Harpagus to side with Cyrus in his rebellion against Astyages.Herodotus, Histories 1.117–119. The familial tie between Astyages and Cyrus is otherwise unconfirmed, and modern historians question the whole episode, suspecting that Herodotus or one of his sources invented it.W. W. Howe and J. Wells. A commentary on Herodotus with introduction and appendixes (1991). Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 107. Phalaris, who from to 554 BCE ruled Greek-settled Agrigento in Sicily as a tyrant, reportedly consumed suckling babies. During the Peloponnesian War (431–404 BCE), the Athenian siege of the Corinthian colony of Potidaea reduced its inhabitants to cannibalism, according to the Athenian historian Thucydides. In 409 BCE, Yue Yang, a general for the state of Wei (in China) led an invasion into the state of Zhongshan. The head of Zhongshan got hold of Le Yang's son, cooked him, and sent his flesh to Le Yang. Le Yang ate it in public, thinking this showed his loyalty to Wei. However for the head of Wei this showed his lack of mercy towards everyone. He awarded Le Yang but distrusted him. ; During Cassander's siege of Olympias at Pydna in 317–316 BCE, the inhabitants suffered from severe famine. According to Diodorus Siculus, the besieged fed sawdust to their elephants and slaughtered their pack animals and horses for food. The elephants eventually died from starvation, while many soldiers also perished. Diodorus further records that some of the non-Greeks in the city resorted to eating the bodies of the dead. In 260 BCE in China, cannibalism was practised in the army of the state of Zhao after it had been out of food for 46 days. ; About 200 BCE in China, at the beginning of Han dynasty, years of war wreaked havoc on the agricultural production. A horrible famine and cannibalism ensued, and half the population reportedly died. ; A great famine again led to cannibalism, this time in Pingyuan County, Shandong, when the Yellow River overflowed in 138 BCE. ; Famine-induced cannibalism is also reported for 135 BCE in Henan after flooding and drought ; and for 114 BCE in Shandong after flooding and several years of crop failure. ; In 134 BCE, during the Roman Republic's siege of Numantia, instances of cannibalism occurred.Appian, The Wars in Spain, chapter XV, section 96. . Translated by Horace White. Hosted at the Perseus Digital Library. During the First Mithridatic War (89–85 BCE), Roman general Sulla laid siege to Athens, which was loyal to Mithridates VI of Pontus at the time. Threatened by starvation, Athenians resorted to cannibalism both according to the classical writer Appian and modern archaeological efforts. The Greek writer Strabo stated in his Geographica that some Scythians and Sarmatians ate human flesh, while others were vegetarians and ate no meat at all. In 48 BCE in China, famine led once to cannibalism in eleven counties in Henan and Shandong. ; Thirty-three years later, years of flood caused famine and cannibalism in Liangguo County, Henan, and Pingyuan County, Shandong. ; After Caesar's assassination, during the period of the Second Triumvirate in 43 BCE, the relatives of the writer Cicero were persecuted. His brother Quintus Tullius Cicero was betrayed by his own freedman Philologus. In revenge, Quintus's wife Pomponia ordered that Philologus be punished by cruel torture, which included forcing him to cut off pieces of his own flesh, then roasting and eating them.Madejski, Paweł. "Breaking the Taboo: Cannibalism and Revenge in Ancient Greece and Rome (preliminary remarks)." Cvstos Fragilivm: cialo i jego potrzeby w staroźytności (2015): 121–128.
First millennium
During the siege of Jerusalem in 70 CE, a woman named Mary of Bethezuba was said to have cannibalized her infant son due to starvation.Flavius Josephus. The Wars of the Jews, Book VI, Chapter 3, Section 4. Translated by William Whiston. Hosted at the Perseus Digital Library. According to Tacitus in his Agricola, around 82 CE, a mutiny broke out among the Usipetes, a Germanic tribe that had been conscripted into the Roman army. They seized Roman ships and, after running out of provisions, resorted to cannibalism at sea by drawing lots to choose which crew members to eat.Lanting and Van Der Plicht (2010), "De 14C chronologie van de Nederlandse Pre- and Protohistorie VI: Romeinse tijd en Meronvingische periode, deel A: historische bronnen en chronologische thema's", Palaeohistoria, 51/52, . During the reign of Julian, the last pagan emperor of Rome, Christians were persecuted in Egypt. The Gazan Christian writer Sozomen, who had spoken with eyewitnesses, claimed that “the entrails of Christian priests and virgins, after they had been tasted by those bloody fanatics, were mixed with barley, and contemptuously thrown to the unclean animals of the city.”Gibbon, Edward. The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. Chapter 23.