The Biology and Evolution of Cannibalism
..., they can even tell you which hand the processor favoured by analysing the direction and shapes of the abrasions left on the bone. Many of the larger bones were also smashed to extract the bone marrow. Dr Fernandez - Jalvo (Journal of Human Evolution, 1997) has shown how bones have different shatter patterns depending on how long after death the smashing occurred. These patterns can be observed using electron microscopy; he says that at Gran Dolina, in northern Spain, the smashing of bones was very common. Another important step in proving that cannibalism took place was discovered by Dr Shannon Novak (International Journal of Osteoarchaeology, 2000). He found that some bones found in Utah, showed flaking. This is known as exfoliation and is the result of them being exposed to heat. It doesn’t happen when the heat is of cremation level, but more of a roasting temperature. Other reasons for exocannibalism include intimidation tactics as part of warfare, in ancient cultures, such as the Aztecs, it was believed that consuming your enemy meant that you would gain his strengths. Just the knowledge that your enemy would devour you, would put many off engaging in combat. The first named cannibals were the Beanes. Sawney Beane and his wife lived in Scotland in the 16th century. They made their living by ambushing passing travellers robbing them and then killing them. After sometime, the Beanes realized that they were not doing well enough to sustain themselves, so they took a considerable step. They already had large supplies of meat on hand, so they set off on a journey of cannibalism that would eventually get them caught by Scotland Yard, but not before they bore fourteen children and these fourteen children incestuously gave them twenty-two grandchildren. Their exploits continued for twenty-five years until one of their intended victims escaped and the family was caught. By this time the estimates of casualties were around the thousand mark. After they were caught the whole family was taken to Glasgow and executed without trial, bringing an end to their saga. Other examples of cannibalism born out of necessity took place around the time of World War One in Germany. Shortly after WWI there were massive food shortages in the major cities. This gave rise to a breed of killers that actually sold the harvested meat to the unsuspecting public, often passing it off as horse meat. Karl Denke, Fritz Haarman and Georg Karl Grossmann, were three of the most prolific peddlers of human meat during this time, however there were probably many others around at the same time but were just lucky enough to evade capture. Ed Gein started his cannibalism after his mother died in 1945. He initially started by robbing graves in the dead of night to fulfil his necrophiliac and cannibalistic desires, but this could only satisfy him for so long and he took to murder shortly afterwards. The bizarre aspect of the case that was to make Gein the basis for the character Buffalo Bill (Silence of the Lambs, 1991), was that he made a suit out of skin collected from his victims. He was caught soon after he committed the second murder that he was charged for, and although the police could only pin two 187's on him, they suspected that he was responsible for many more. A jury found him guilty on the two counts and sentenced him to a psychiatric hospital where he died in 1984. Edmund Emil Kemper was another man with a taste for necrophilia. He operated in the 1970's when the philosophy of peace was popular. It was the era that made it so easy for him to murder the six college girls hitchhiking, his mother and his mothers’ friend. He is currently serving eight consecutive life sentences in California. In October 1972, a plane departed from Montevido bound for Santiago, Chile. This plane was carrying forty-five passengers, which were mainly men in an amateur rugby team. The plane lost radio contact at 15:30 on Oc...