In our opinion cannibals have always lived in undeveloped tribes in the jungles of Brazil, on the islands Of Pacific Oceans or in New Guinea. Most Europeans are sure that the expansion of cannibalism is limited by these regions. Nevertheless it is not so.
Archeological findings of recent years allow to admit that cannibals lived almost everywhere in ancient times. Nowadays the proof have been found that cannibalism was not an unusual event for ancient people living on the modern territory of Scotland, Sweden and Austria but in most cases people took up cannibalism not because of the lack of food. The eating of kins was part of magical rituals.
If we take the civilized Europeans, they didn’t go far from our ancestors. In medieval centuries a skull of a human was considered an important part of many magical medicinal agents. For example in England the elixir called “The Spirit of Human Skull” was extremely popular (according to medieval views all the power of human being was concentrated in a human skull). It was made from skulls of executed offenders. An interesting fact: at that time to avoid the lack of “raw material” chemists even signed a special contract with executioners about its uninterrupted supply. Even an English king Karl II had no doubts in effectiveness of that elixir and used an alcoholic infusion made of bone chippings when he was ill.
Researchers admit that even in enlightened XIX century many people earned their living by riding tombs and selling skulls to witchdoctors. It is interesting that the most valuable skulls were old ones with tetter on the surface. People believed that chippings from those skulls had a very strong heeling effect. We can recall that that even wild tribe felt a great attraction to human skulls. According to the scientists’ opinion either medieval European magicians or consumers of “The Spirit of Human Skull” had a memory of their cannibal past in their genes.
The final Curious© Phrase:
“CANNIBAL, n. A gastronome of the old school who preserves the simple tastes and adheres to the natural diet of the pre-pork period.”
( Ambrose Bierce )
