Skull marks offer evidence of cannibalism at Jamestown
Skull marks offer evidence of cannibalism at Jamestown
By Mark St. John Erickson
Daily News (Newport News, Va.) Thursday May 2, 2013 6:16 AM
NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — Archaeologists and forensic scientists working with human remains recovered at Jamestown last summer reported yesterday that their follow-up studies have turned up gruesome evidence of cannibalism that took place during the Starving Time of 1609-10.
Analyzing the skull of a 14-year-old girl found in a refuse pit filled with butchered horse and dog bones, they discovered evidence of sharp cuts and chopping blows aimed at the cranium, cheeks and mandible. The location and number of the marks are consistent with the flesh and brain being removed, probably for consumption.
“This person did not know how to butcher an animal. What we see is hesitancy and lack of experience,” said forensic anthropologist Douglas Owsley of the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural History.
“But they were clearly interested in the cheek meat, the muscles of the throat and tongue and the brain, ” he said.
More:
http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/national_world/2013/05/02/skull-marks-offer-evidence-of-cannibalism-at-jamestown.html
