Posted 11 years ago
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So I just read about this. I thought the "English" were supposed to be civilised atleast that's how they make themselves sound in all their history books, well look at it now, in the 1600's they were freaking CANNIBALS!!! - And they ate children...
Early settlers resorted to cannibalism at Jamestown, the first permanent English settlement in America, researchers said after unveiling forensic analysis on the bones of a 14-year-old girl.
Facing a period of starvation in the winter of 1609-1610 when about 80 percent of the colonists died, some apparently tried to dig into the brain of a child who had already died, said anthropologists at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History.
The girl's skull showed signs of awkward attempts to extract the brain matter, said Douglas Owsley, the Smithsonian forensic anthropologist who analyzed the skull and tibia of the girl who came to Virginia from England.
"The desperation and overwhelming circumstances faced by the James Fort colonists during the winter of 1609-1610 are reflected in the postmortem treatment of this girl's body," said Owsley.
"The recovered bone fragments have unusually patterned cuts and chops that reflect tentativeness, trial and complete lack of experience in butchering animal remains," he added.
"Nevertheless, the clear intent was to dismember the body, removing the brain and flesh from the face for consumption."
Early settlers resorted to cannibalism at Jamestown, the first permanent English settlement in America, researchers said after unveiling forensic analysis on the bones of a 14-year-old girl.
Facing a period of starvation in the winter of 1609-1610 when about 80 percent of the colonists died, some apparently tried to dig into the brain of a child who had already died, said anthropologists at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History.
The girl's skull showed signs of awkward attempts to extract the brain matter, said Douglas Owsley, the Smithsonian forensic anthropologist who analyzed the skull and tibia of the girl who came to Virginia from England.
"The desperation and overwhelming circumstances faced by the James Fort colonists during the winter of 1609-1610 are reflected in the postmortem treatment of this girl's body," said Owsley.
"The recovered bone fragments have unusually patterned cuts and chops that reflect tentativeness, trial and complete lack of experience in butchering animal remains," he added.
"Nevertheless, the clear intent was to dismember the body, removing the brain and flesh from the face for consumption."