Cannibalism

When cannibals ate human flesh, it was often for ritual reasons, for example, in connection with human sacrifices which were enjoined by some form of religion; or because it was thought that the virtues of dead relations or the martial abilities of dead enemies, or whatever, would be absorbed by the act. There have, however, been cultures in which human flesh was consumed, straightforwardly, as food, and evidence is available for the curious about which parts of the body were preferred, how the flesh was cooked, with what accompaniments it was eaten, and so forth. Although there is little doubt that cannibalism existed in many primitive societies (and in prehistorical societies if the evidence of butchered remains can be believed), its incidence was often exaggerated by explorers, missionaries, and other outsiders (for example, ancient Greeks describing the lifestyle of barbarians) anxious to talk up the ‘otherness’ or savagery of the people in question.