1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910453066303321

Autore

Travis-Henikoff Carole A

Titolo

Dinner with a cannibal [[electronic resource] ] : the complete history of mankind's oldest taboo / / Carole A. Travis-Henikoff ; foreword by Christy G. Turner II

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Santa Monica, CA, : Santa Monica Press, c2008

ISBN

1-59580-971-6

1-59580-996-1

1-306-03703-4

Descrizione fisica

333 p. : ill

Disciplina

394.9

Soggetti

Cannibalism

Taboo

Electronic books.

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references (p. [307]-323) and index.

Nota di contenuto

Cover -- Contents -- Acknowledgments -- Foreword by Christy G. Turner II -- Introduction -- How We Got to Where We Are -- The Incredible Foods We Eat -- Ubiquitous Food -- Inner Workings -- Feet to Meat -- Cannibalism, Disease and Genetics -- Dinner with a Cannibal -- As You Believe, So it Shall Be -- Religious Acts -- Murder and Medicine -- Mesoamerica -- The Lost Culture of the Wari -- Through a Distant Window -- Infanticide -- Skeletons in our Closets -- Cannibalism: Past and Present -- Man the Warrior -- Keep the River on Your Right -- Coming to the Americas -- Politics and the Color Red -- Africa: Then and Now -- It's a Wrap-Film at Eleven -- Finale: Looking Back to the Present -- Notes -- Bibliography -- Index.

Sommario/riassunto

Presenting the history of cannibalism in concert with human evolution, this account takes readers on an astonishing trip around the world and throughout history, painting the incredible, multifaceted realities of cannibalism. Focusing on how cannibalism began with the human species and how it has become an unspeakable taboo today, this study answers questions such as Where, when, and how did shame and secrecy become connected with cannibalism? Why did some cannibals



consume their enemies while others consumed their dead relatives? Did the eating of human flesh make them crazy? and What does it taste like? With careful anthropological and archaeological analysis and the telling of fascinating stories from around the world, this remarkable resource also includes details on the most famous real-life instances of cannibalism—including the Alive! incident in the Andes and the German Butcher of Hannover—and facts on infamous fictional cannibals such as Hannibal Lecter.