Cannibalism

Cannibalism
The practice of humans eating the flesh
of other humans

The earliest evidence of cannibalism comes from
butchered bones found in the Grand Dolina Cave
in Spain, dating back to c. 800,000 BCE. These bones
suggest that the practice existed among members of
western Europe's first known human species, Homo
antecessor, and similar findings from later periods
show that it Continued with the emergence of
Homo sapiens and other hominid species. There are
several theories as to why cannibalism first arose: one
hypothesis suggests that it may have been a result of
food shortages; another that it may have functioned as
a form of predator control, by limiting predators' access
to (and therefore taste for) human bodies.
Cannibalism persisted into modern times in
West and Central Africa, the Pacific Islands, Australia,
"I ate his liver with some fava beans and
a nice chianti."
Thomas Harris, The Silence of the Lambs (1988)

Sumatra, North America, and South America. In some
Cultures, human flesh was regarded as just another
type of meat. In others, it was a delicacy for special
occasions: the Maoris of New Zealand would feast on
enemies slain in battle. In Africa, certain human organs
were cooked in rites of sorcery because witch doctors
believed that victims strengths and virtues could be
transferred to those who ate their flesh. In Central
America, the Aztecs are thought to have sacrificed
prisoners of war to their gods and then eaten their flesh
themselves. Australian Aborigines ate their deceased
relatives (endocannibalism) as a mark of respect.
The colonization of these regions between the
fifteenth and nineteenth centuries by European
Christians made cannibalism taboo. However, it
OCcasionally still occurs in extreme circumstances.