dinner with a cannibal dinner with a cannibal COMPLETE HIStory The Mankind’s Oldest Taboo of Carole A. Travis-Henikoff Foreword by Christy G. Turner II Copyright © 2008 by Carole A. Travis-Henikoff All rights reserved. This book may not be reproduced in whole or in part or in any form or format without the written permission of the publisher. Published by: Santa Monica Press LLC P.O. Box 1076 Santa Monica, CA 90406-1076 1-800-784-9553 www.santamonicapress.com [email protected] Printed in the United States Santa Monica Press books are available at special quantity discounts when purchased in bulk by corporations, organizations, or groups. Please call our Special Sales department at 1-800-784-9553. ISBN-13 978-1-59580-030-5 ISBN-10 1-59580-030-1 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Travis-Henikoff, Carole A. Dinner with a cannibal : the complete history of mankind’s oldest taboo/by Carole A. Travis-Henikoff ; foreword by Christy G. Turner II. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-1-59580-030-5 1. Cannibalism. 2. Taboo. I. Title. GN409.T73 2008 394’.9--dc22 2007041548 Cover and interior design and production by Future Studio Illustrations by Bryan Duddles CONTENTS Acknowledgments . . . 11 Foreword by Christy G. Turner II . . . 17 Introduction . . . 23 How We Got to Where We Are 1. The Incredible Foods We Eat . . . 31 2. Ubiquitous Food . . . 55 3. Inner Workings . . . 71 4. Feet to Meat . . . 81 5. Cannibalism, Disease and Genetics . . . 95 6. Dinner with a Cannibal . . . 107 As You Believe, So Shall It Be 7. Religious Acts . . . 121 8. Murder and Medicine . . . 131 9. Mesoamerica . . . 149 10. The Lost Culture of the Wari . . . 163 11. Through a Distant Window . . . 177 12. Infanticide . . . 191 13. Skeletons in Our Closets . . . 203 Cannibalism: Past and Present 14. Man the Warrior . . . 219 15. Keep the River on Your Right . . . 231 16. Coming to the Americas . . . 247 17. Politics and the Color Red . . . 265 18. Africa: Then and Now . . . 275 Finale: Looking Back to the Present 19. It’s a Wrap—Film at Eleven . . . 291 Notes . . . 307 Bibliography . . . 313 Index . . . 325