The taphonomy of cannibalism: a review of anthropogenic bone modification in the American Southwest

Abstract

Mass deposits of altered human bone have been found at more than 30 sites in the American Southwest affiliated with the Chaco Anasazi culture. Anasazi bone deposits include individuals of all ages and both sexes, sometimes left lying unburied on kiva or habitation room floors, and are rarely encountered in formal cemeteries. Human remains in these deposits are characterized by marked fragmentation and disarticulation, cut marks, percussion fracture, burning, and end‐polishing of bone fragments. A close resemblance to faunal remains from trash middens at Anasazi sites has led to an inference of cannibalism. The taphonomic signature of cannibalism identified from these deposits is compared with other forms of cultural alteration of human bone. Bone modifications associated with mortuary practices, warfare, mutilation, human sacrifice, and execution are reviewed using examples from around the world. Identical types of modification are linked with a variety of behaviours, but distinct combinations of taphonomic patterns differentiate between cannibalism, violence, and other cultural practices. The numbers of individuals involved, age and sex composition, and burial contexts also differ. Intentional, extensive fragmentation, scattering of disarticulated elements, loss of vertebrae, and pot polish are taphonomic characteristics which combine to set Anasazi human bone deposits apart from documented cases of warfare or interpersonal violence. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Death in the high mountains: Evidence of interpersonal violence during Late Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Age at Roc de les Orenetes (Eastern Pyrenees, Spain)

“…The same repetition of actions to disarticulate, remove the flesh, or to eviscerate, are observed in cannibalized skeletal remains (Andrews & Fernández‐Jalvo, 2003; Bello et al, 2015; Cáceres et al, 2007; Hurlbut, 2000; Saladié et al, 2012; Saladié & Rodríguez‐Hidalgo, 2017; Turner & Turner, 1999; White, 1992). In cannibalized remains, there is an even higher frequency of cut marks than in skeletons processed for funerary or ritual reasons (Hurlbut, 2000; Saladié & Rodríguez‐Hidalgo, 2017). In this case, we did not observe a pattern of butchery and processing typical of cannibalism neither in the quantity and distribution of the cut marks, fracture patterns indicative of disarticulation, negative evidence of cooking, or the presence of human tooth marks.…”

“…The same repetition of actions to disarticulate, remove the flesh, or to eviscerate, are observed in cannibalized skeletal remains (Andrews & Fernández-Jalvo, 2003;Bello et al, 2015;Cáceres et al, 2007;Hurlbut, 2000;Saladié et al, 2012;Saladié & Rodríguez-Hidalgo, 2017;Turner & Turner, 1999;White, 1992). In cannibalized remains, there is an even higher frequency of cut marks than in skeletons processed for funerary or ritual reasons (Hurlbut, 2000;Saladié & Rodríguez-Hidalgo, 2017).…”

Identification of the first reported Lapita cremation in the Pacific Islands using archaeological, forensic and contemporary burning evidence

“…Contrary to forensic evidence from modern house fires, which are not comparable to prehistoric structures (e.g. Holck, 2005), Hurlbut (2000) suggests that victims recovered from burned structures do not demonstrate excessive burning such as the type associated with Burial 26.…”

Deposition of modified human remains as evidence for complex mortuary treatment in East Africa during the first millenniumAD

“…Although the burials of children had been disturbed and some bones had been removed, there was no evidence for tool marks on any of the surviving elements (Haverkort & Lubell, 1999). This is in contrast to assemblages created through violent means where adults and children (and in some cases, animals) have all been subjected to the same types of processing (Hurlbut, 2000; Martin, 2016).…”