Human Meat Just Another Meal for Early Europeans

For some European cavemen, human meat wasn't a ritual delicacy or a food of last resort but an everyday meal, according to a new study of fossil bones found in Spain. The surrounding Sierra de Atapuerca region would have been a "fantastic" habitat for early humans, with plenty of food and water as well as a mild climate. And, it seems, everyone in the area was doing it, making the discovery "the oldest example of cultural cannibalism known to date," the study says.

The 800,000-year-old butchered bones from the cave, called Gran Dolina, indicate cannibalism was rife among members of Western Europe's first known human species, Homo antecessor.

The fossil bones, collected since 1994, reveal that "gastronomic cannibalism" was commonplace and habitual. The cannibalism findings are based on leftover bones bearing tell-tale cut and impact marks, apparently from stone tools used to prepare the cave meals. The butchered remains of at least 11 humans were found mixed up with those of bison, deer, wild sheep, and other animals. As well as de-fleshing marks and evidence of bone smashing to get at the marrow inside, there are signs the victims also had their brains eaten.

Cannibalism was widespread during much of human evolution, and it is likely that it may have been even more widespread than present evidence indicates, for some early work on human ancestor sites may have failed to identify the evidence for cannibalism. The evidence suggests that cannibalism was a common, functional activity and not directly related to food stress or ritualistic behaviour.