Research Catalog

Title

Cannibalism : a perfectly natural history / Bill Schutt.

Author

Schutt, Bill

Publication

Chapel Hill, North Carolina : Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill, 2017.

Items in the Library & Off-site

Details

Description

xviii, 332 pages : illustrations; 24 cm

Summary

"Eating one's own kind is completely natural behavior in thousands of species, including humans. Throughout history we have engaged in cannibalism for reasons relating to famine, burial rites, and medicinal remedies. Cannibalism has been used as a form of terrorism but also as the ultimate expression of filial piety. With unexpected wit and a wealth of knowledge, Bill Schutt, a research associate at the American Museum of Natural History, takes us on a tour of the field, exploring exciting new avenues of research and investigating questions like why so many fish eat their offspring and some amphibians consume their mother's skin; why sexual cannibalism is an evolutionary advantage for certain spiders; why, until the end of the eighteenth century, British royalty regularly ate human body parts; how cannibalism may be linked to the extinction of Neanderthals; why microbes on sacramental bread may have led to Catholics' to persecute European Jews in the Middle Ages. Today, the subject of humans consuming one another has been relegated to the realm of horror movies, fiction, and the occasional psychopath, but be forewarned: As climate change progresses and humans see more famine, disease, and overcrowding, biological and cultural constraints may well disappear. These are the very factors that lead to outbreaks of cannibalism. As he examines these close encounters of the cannibal kind, Bill Schutt makes the ick-factor fascinating"--

Subjects

• Cannibalism
• Cannibalism > Cross-cultural studies

Note

• "Published simultaneously in Canada by Thomas Allen & Son Limited"--Title page verso.

Bibliography (note)

• Includes bibliographical references (pages 300-332).

Contents

Animal the cannibal -- Go on, eat the kids -- Sexual cannibalism or size matters -- Quit crowding me -- Bear down -- Dinosaur cannibals? -- File under: weird -- Neanderthals and the guys in the other valley -- Columbus, Caribs and cannibalism -- Bones of contention -- Cannibalism and the Bible -- The worst party ever -- Eating people is bad -- Eating people is good -- Chia skulls and mummy powder -- Placenta helper -- Cannibalism in the Pacific Islands -- Mad cows and Englishmen -- Acceptable risk.

Call Number

JFE 17-3168

ISBN

• 9781616204624
• 1616204621

LCCN

2016023112

OCLC

2016023112

Author

Schutt, Bill, author.

Title

Cannibalism : a perfectly natural history / Bill Schutt.

Publisher

Chapel Hill, North Carolina : Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill, 2017.

Edition

First edition.

Type of Content

text

Type of Medium

unmediated

Type of Carrier

volume

Bibliography

Includes bibliographical references (pages 300-332).

Research Call Number

JFE 17-3168