Zombiepedia
Register
Advertisement

Cannibalism (from Spanish caníbal, in connection with cannibalism among the Antillean Caribs) is the act or practice of humans eating other humans. The eating of human flesh is also known as anthropophagy, from Greek: ἄνθρωπος, anthropos, "human being"; and φαγειν, phagein, "to eat". While taken as a synonym for human cannibalism, this term also applies when a non-human life-form consumes human flesh. In zoology, the term "cannibalism" is extended to refer to any species consuming members of its own kind (see cannibalism (zoology). (The term is further extended outside of biological fields and used in a metaphorical sense, such as in aircraft maintenance when parts are "cannibalized" from an already broken plane in order to fix another plane.)

Neanderthals are believed to have practiced cannibalism. Among modern humans it has been practiced by various groups; in the past in Europe, Africa, South America, China, India, New Zealand, North America, Australia, Solomon Islands, New Caledonia, New Guinea, Sumatra, and Fiji, usually in rituals connected to tribal warfare. Fiji was once known as the 'Cannibal Isles'. Evidence of cannibalism has been found in the Chaco Canyon ruins of the Anasazi culture.

The reasons for cannibalism may be as follows:

  • As sanctioned by a cultural norm
  • By necessity in extreme situations of famine
  • Caused by insanity or social deviancy.

There is a few types of cannibalism that is recognised which are,

  • Auto-Cannibalism: The act of eating parts of your own body
  • Exo-Cannibalism: The act of eating strangers
  • Endo-Cannibalism: The act of eating someone that you know
  • Homicidal Cannibalism: The act of murdering others for consumption
  • Necro-Cannibalism: The act of eating a person who is already dead

Cannibalism can cause various neurodegenerative diseases, such as Kuru, which caused by an infectious protein known as "Prion" and it's usually found in contaminated brain tissues. Drinking blood on a daily basis can cause an overdose of iron which will develop into Haemocromotosis, a condition that damages the liver, build-up fluid in the lungs, dehydration, low blood pressure, cause nervous disorders, and cause death.

External links[]

Advertisement