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Studies reveal that our predecessors exhibited cannibalistic behaviors as early as 800,000 years ago. Their reasoning was practical—an average adult human yields approximately 30 kilograms (66 lb) of sustenance, comprising fat, muscle, organs, and skin. While modern society universally condemns cannibalism, reports suggest the practice persists in certain regions even today.
10. The Flavor of Long Pig
Many cannibals describe human meat as having a pork-like, sweet, or veal-like flavor, though its appearance resembles beef. A notable figure to consult is Armin Meiwes, the infamous German cannibal who consumed up to 20 kilograms (44 lb) of a consenting victim's flesh. From his prison cell, he likened the taste to pork, noting it was “slightly more bitter and robust, yet quite pleasant.” Issei Sagawa, a Japanese cannibal who consumed a classmate in Paris, found human flesh odorless and lacking a “gamey” taste, while Polynesian cannibals often compare it to pork, coining the term “long pig.”
The taste of human flesh varies depending on factors such as age, the specific body part consumed, and the cooking method. Children are said to have flesh so delicate it compares to the texture of fish. Roasting or stewing with spices like hot peppers is a popular preparation method. Some tribes prefer to let the meat rot briefly before consumption, a technique believed to soften and enrich the flavor.
9. Kuru
Despite the glowing endorsements from cannibals, sampling human flesh comes with severe risks. Not only could it lead to a life sentence in prison—it could also result in contracting kuru.
Kuru is a fatal, degenerative disease akin to mad cow disease, but it is transmitted exclusively through consuming human flesh. First discovered in the 1950s among the Fore tribe in Papua New Guinea, the disease spread due to their ritualistic consumption of deceased relatives, particularly the brain, which contains high concentrations of infectious proteins known as prions.
Symptoms of kuru include uncontrollable tremors, bursts of hysterical laughter, slurred speech, and eventual paralysis. The disease can remain dormant for 10 to 13 years, though some cases have emerged 50 years or more after exposure. Most patients succumb to the illness within a year of symptom onset.
In 2009, researchers discovered a genetic variant that provides certain individuals with immunity to kuru, particularly in villages heavily affected by the disease. This variant is seen as a clear example of natural selection, as those with resistance survived to pass on their genes, while those without immunity perished.
8. Endo- and Exocannibalism
Cannibalism generally falls into two main types. The first, endocannibalism, involves consuming the flesh of deceased tribe or family members as a way to honor the dead. For instance, the Fore tribe believed that eating the flesh and brains of their dead allowed the deceased’s spirit to stay connected to their living relatives.
The second type, exocannibalism, involves consuming outsiders to absorb their life force or instill fear in others. While endocannibalism was largely eradicated by Christian missionaries and governments in the mid-20th century, exocannibalism persists in isolated incidents worldwide. One such case involved a Syrian rebel commander who consumed the organs of an enemy soldier.
A more recent instance of exocannibalism occurred in early 2014 when a man nicknamed “Mad Dog” in the Central African Republic devoured a victim’s raw leg. Mad Dog and a mob pulled a Muslim man from a bus, brutally assaulted him, and set him ablaze. Motivated by revenge after the unrelated killings of his sister-in-law, her baby, and his pregnant wife, Mad Dog resorted to cannibalism as an act of retribution.
Certain fighters in the Central African Republic hold the belief that consuming an enemy’s flesh grants them magical powers, making them invulnerable.
7. Auto-Cannibalism
While cannibalism is typically categorized as either endo- or exocannibalism, there is a third, lesser-known classification.
Auto-cannibalism, also referred to as self-cannibalism or autosarcophagy, involves the act of eating one’s own flesh. To some extent, everyone engages in this practice unintentionally, such as swallowing dead cells from the mouth or nose. However, voluntary auto-cannibalism can range from nail-biting to consuming one’s skin or muscle. Some individuals partake in this as an extreme form of body modification, while others drink their own blood in acts of auto-vampirism.
A darker form of auto-cannibalism involves coercing others to eat parts of their own bodies. In 2003, Congolese rebels were accused by the United Nations of forcing pygmies to consume their own flesh. One of the most infamous cases occurred in the US in 1934, when a mob of 2,000 white Southerners in Florida captured Claude Neal, a black man, and made him eat his own testicles before torturing and killing him.
6. Japanese Cannibals Nearly Consumed George Bush Sr.
The Japanese have been historically associated with consuming POWs and civilians, either out of desperation during food shortages or as acts of exocannibalism.
In 1944, a young George Bush Sr., who would later become a US president, narrowly avoided death when his plane was shot down over a small island 240 kilometers (150 mi) north of Iwo Jima. Bush survived because he had landed farther from the shore than his fellow pilots. According to James Bradley, who documented the Guam Japanese war crime trials, the captured pilots endured “torture, beatings, and execution by beheading or stabbing with bayonets and sharpened bamboo stakes.”
These details emerged after Bradley obtained classified transcripts from the war crime trials. Testimonies from Japanese veterans revealed that four of the eight captured men—Marve Mershon, Floyd Hall, Jimmy Dye, and Warren Earl Vaughn—were subjected to cannibalism.
Following his beheading, Mershon’s liver and a 2.5-kilogram (6 lb) portion of his thigh were excised by a surgeon and handed to Major Sueo Matoba. The major served the meat to his commander and fellow officers alongside sake. Matoba personally consumed the liver, reportedly skewering it with bamboo sticks and cooking it with soy sauce and vegetables.
Dye, who had worked as a translator for several weeks, was executed and cannibalized after Captain Shizuo Yoshii demanded his liver for a dinner party. Vaughn met the same fate shortly after. The remaining airmen were also executed, one of whom was beaten to death.
To protect the families of the airmen from emotional trauma, the US government initially concealed the details of the cannibalism. All Japanese soldiers implicated in these acts were later executed for war crimes.
5. Cannibalism As An Adaptive Trait
Evolutionary theorist Lewis Petrinovich suggests that humans turn to cannibalism in desperate situations as an adaptive survival mechanism. He describes this behavior, known as survival cannibalism, as a response to severe famine, where the primal urge to survive overrides the natural aversion to consuming human flesh.
One of the most well-known instances of survival cannibalism involves the Uruguayan rugby team, whose plane crashed in the Andes in 1972. To endure the freezing temperatures and lack of food for over two months, the survivors consumed the bodies of those who had died, an act that sustained their lives.
Anthropologists argue that cannibalism is detrimental to the long-term survival of humanity, as it undermines population sustainability. However, it can serve as a crucial short-term survival strategy for individuals facing starvation, explaining its repeated occurrence during famines throughout history.
4. Cannibalism In The Animal Kingdom
Numerous animals engage in cannibalism. The female black widow spider is famously (though often inaccurately) known for consuming the male after mating. However, species like the orb-web spider, Australian redback, and goldenrod crab spider do eat their mates, which enhances fertilization success and aids in producing healthy offspring.
Research shows that 68 percent of rattlesnake mothers eat their stillborn young, consuming an average of 11 percent of their body weight in baby snakes to recover strength post-birth. Young sharks often devour smaller siblings to conserve resources, while male lions kill and eat the cubs of rival males to ensure their own offspring dominate the pride.
3. Cannibalism And Mental Illness
Cannibalism that isn’t driven by survival or ritualistic purposes is frequently linked to mental illness. Many modern cannibals, such as Andrei Chikatilo, Issei Sagawa, Albert Fish, Ed Gein, Richard Chase, and Vince Li, have been diagnosed with schizophrenia, a condition that can trigger hallucinations and delusions. Others are classified as psychopaths, meaning they understand their actions but lack the empathy to recognize their moral implications.
Alarmingly, cannibalism can become addictive, as noted by California therapist Karen Hylen. The addiction often starts as a recurring fantasy in the mind of a psychopath. When they act on this fantasy by consuming human flesh, their brain releases dopamine, creating a euphoric sensation akin to a cocaine high. This compels them to seek the same thrill repeatedly, leading to an uncontrollable cycle.
Hylen states that no existing therapy or medication can cure a cannibal addicted to this behavior, as there is no known method to artificially induce empathy.
2. Medicinal Cannibalism In Europe
While Europeans criticized tribal cannibalism as savage, they themselves engaged in consuming human flesh during the Middle Ages for medicinal purposes. They used human-derived ingredients to treat various ailments, from headaches to gout. Human fat was believed to aid wound healing and alleviate arthritis and rheumatism, while blood was thought to cure epilepsy and other convulsive disorders. Epileptics often paid executioners for the blood of the recently deceased, referred to as a “bowl of red.”
Initially, Egyptian mummies were the primary source of these remedies, as stories claimed mummified flesh could cure diseases. However, the limited supply of mummies led Europeans to process the bodies of the recently deceased, preserving them by drying or smoking with salt and herbs, much like curing ham.
The bodies of young men killed in battle were collected, but those of hanged men and female virgins were deemed more valuable. The blood of female virgins, including menstrual blood, was used in medicinal concoctions, while hanged men were prized due to the frequent occurrence of posthumous erections. These erections resulted from the severing of neck nerves during hanging, causing blood to rush to the penis. Cultures associating erections with strength considered the flesh of men who died with a posthumous erection particularly valuable, commanding the highest prices.
1. Chimpanzee Cannibalism
Among animals, chimpanzees, which share 98 percent of our DNA, also exhibit cannibalistic behavior. While male chimps are known for their aggression, primatologist Jane Goodall observed a mother-daughter pair consuming three infant chimps in 1976. The pair would have devoured a fourth had Goodall not intervened by shouting and hurling sticks and stones.
In more recent observations, researchers documented six female chimps, five of whom were accompanied by their own offspring, chasing an injured mother to kill her baby with a head bite. This increasing aggression may stem from human encroachment on their habitats, compelling chimps to fiercely defend their shrinking resources.
