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Article: Anthropophagy - Fine old cannibals.(evidence of 12th-century cannibalism found in Colorado)(Brief Article)
- Article from:
- The Economist (US)
- Article date:
- September 9, 2000
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2000 Economist Newspaper Ltd. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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THE merest whiff of cannibalism in a story is enough to whet most journalists' appetites, but archaeologists and anthropologists are far more restrained. Although tales of man-eating people are found from Mexico to Papua New Guinea, actual instances of cannibalism are far harder to prove, according to Tim White, a biologist at the University of California, Berkeley. Native folklore can be an unreliable source, since such stories often refer to the dim and distant past and may have been put about by those with an interest in undermining the putative cannibals in the first place. There are established physical hallmarks, such as the condition of human bones discovered at ...