Forensic Science, Medicine and Pathology (2023) 19:281–287

https://doi.org/10.1007/s12024-023-00623-4

LESSONS FROM THE MUSEUM

Cannibalism—overview and medicolegal issues

Roger W. Byard1,2

Accepted: 28 March 2023 / Published online: 14 April 2023

© The Author(s) 2023

Abstract
Cannibalism, the consumption of another by an individual of the same species, is a widespread practice amongst many
animal groups. Human cannibalism or anthropophagy, however, is less common but has been found in many diverse groups
ranging from hominids to Crusaders and soldiers in World War II. Although the existence of human cannibalism has been
vigorously debated in recent times, it seems clear that well-described cases have occurred. The motivation for consuming
human tissues may be (1) nutritional, (2) ritual and (3) pathological. A case of alleged cannibalism involving one of the
victims of the so-called Snowtown serial killings in South Australia, Australia, is reported with an analysis of the history
and features of cannibalism. Forensic problems may occur in accurately identifying remains that have been cannibalized;
however, if ritualistic, serial and/or sadistic homicides are encountered, cannibalism should be considered, particularly if
body parts are missing.

Keywords Cannibalism · Serial murder · Sexual murder · Ritual · Sadism

Introduction hominids with respect to other food sources making them a

Cannibalism refers to the consumption of another by an
individual of the same species. The word cannibal derives
from Caníbales, the Spanish name for the Caribe Indians
of the Lesser Antilles who were believed to indulge in this
practice [1]. It is widespread in many animal groups, includ-
ing protozoa, insects, fish, birds and mammals, where it is
considered not aberrant behavior but a ‘normal response to
many environmental factors’ [2].
Human cannibalism or anthropophagy, however, is far
less common, although it has occurred for millennia in a
wide range of human societies and cultural groups. Anthro-
pological studies have identified cut marks on 780,000-year-
old hominid bones and on 100,000-year-old bones from
Neanderthal populations that existed in the Middle Paleo-
lithic era [1, 3, 4]. According to the optimal foraging the-
ory, it has been proposed that cannibalism in early hominid
populations was driven by the ready availability of fellow
* Roger W. Byard
roger.byard@sa.gov.au
1
Forensic Science SA, 5000 Adelaide, SA, Australia
2
School of Biomedicine, The University of Adelaide,
Level 2, Room N237, Helen Mayo North, Frome Road,
5005 Adelaide, SA, Australia
‘high-ranked prey type’ [5].
Similar remains (Fig. 1) from Goughs Cave in Somerset,
England, date from the Early Holocene to the Pleistocene
eras [6]. More recently, the finding of broken bones with
tooth marks and cuts, with signs of cooking, showed that
it was occurring in Early Bronze Age Europe, just 4000
years ago [7]. Crusaders allegedly cannibalized their dead
opponents during the Siege of Ma`arra in the First Crusade
(1095–99) and possibly on the march to Jerusalem [8].
Characteristic features of cannibalism in archeological
material include the finding of admixed fragments of human
and animal bones, all showing similar features with typical
signs of butchery, often alongside stone implements [1]. The
bones are generally fragmented with cut marks associated
with the removal of attached tendons and soft tissues, in
addition to peeling fractures from the bending of long bones
and percussion and chop marks from smashing of bones to
extract marrow [1]. The finding of complete ribs with only
fragmented limb bones is supportive evidence for this [9].
Features such as these may also be used in more contem-
porary skeletonized cases to indicate that cannibalism has
occurred (see below). Although it has been suggested that
similar bone trauma may be found in cases of second buri-
als where bones have been cleaned before reburial, this has
been disputed as the pattern of bone trauma is different [9].

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282
Fig. 1   A portion of maxilla from Gough’s Cave showing cut marks
suggestive of defleshing. (Natural History Museum, London, Nicolas
Perrault III, made available under the Creative Commons CC0 1.0
Universal Public Domain Dedication)
While cannibalism may simply take place for nutritional
purposes, there are also cases that occur for ritual and patho-
logical reasons. During the investigation of a series of bodies
found stored in large plastic barrels in the vault of a disused
bank in the South Australian village of Snowtown (Fig. 2),
a description of cannibalism was given by one of the per-
petrators. This case of alleged cannibalism is described as
an introduction to an analysis of the types of cannibalism
that may be encountered in a forensic context, with specific
medicolegal issues that may arise.
Fig. 2  The front of the bank in Snowtown, South Australia, where six
barrels were found in May 1998 containing eight intact and partially
dismembered bodies
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Forensic Science, Medicine and Pathology (2023) 19:281–287
Case report
Following a detailed police investigation, six barrels that
were discovered in the vault of a bank in Snowtown, South
Australia, in May 1998 were transported to the Forensic
Science Centre in Adelaide where a team led by patholo-
gists John Gilbert and Roger Byard examined the con-
tents. The barrels contained eight intact and partially
dismembered adult bodies consisting of seven males and
one female, along with hand cuffs, thumb cuffs, dispos-
able gloves, duct tape, gags and rope. At the end of the
investigation, it transpired that there were 12 victims in
all, with 4 bodies being disposed of at other sites. The
causes of death were often difficult to determine given
the state of decomposition of the bodies, with a number of
pathological conclusions of ‘undetermined’ being made;
however, there was evidence of strangulation, choking and
drug ingestion in several of the victims. The killings had
taken place between 1992 and 1999 with John Bunting,
Robert Wagner and James Vlassakis subsequently being
convicted of multiple counts of murder [10].
During the trial, it was asserted by Vlassakis that Wag-
ner had removed flesh from the final victim, David Johnson
which was then cooked in a frying pan and eaten [10, 11].
He claimed that the tissue came from the right thigh of the
deceased and this was supported by the autopsy examination
which had revealed an 18 × 18 cm defect where a piece of
skin and muscle had been removed from the medial aspect
of the right lower thigh (although a fragment of skin and
muscle that could match the defect was also present with the
body in the barrel) (This illustrates difficulties that may arise
in relying upon pathological examinations to assess soft tis-
sue injuries in the presence of decomposition).
Discussion
Determining whether cannibalism has occurred may not be
possible based on autopsy findings, as was demonstrated
in the Snowtown case where only a tissue defect that could
correspond to a portion removed for consumption was found.
As the early stages of dismemberment consist of taking
slices of thigh and/or buttock muscle, this could be obscured
by subsequent putrefactive changes. This has been termed
‘survival cannibalism’. Later, more intensive searching for
nutritive material, ‘end stage cannibalism’, may leave detect-
able markings such as cut marks on the bone (Fig. 1) or the
breaking of long bones to access marrow with hammer stone
abrasions. Long bones that have been boiled may show char-
acteristic end polishing of their ends from rubbing against a
pot side during cooking [12, 13].
Forensic Science, Medicine and Pathology (2023) 19:281–287
Incidence
It has been suggested based on animal studies that the trans-
mission of pathogens from victims to consumers may account
for the rarity of cannibalism in human populations [14]; how-
ever, ethnographic and sociological factors are probably of
more importance. The presence of certain genetic polymor-
phisms in human populations has been proposed as evidence
of an evolutionary protective mechanism against kuru-type
diseases associated with cannibalism (see below) possibly
indicating that cannibalism may have been more common
during earlier stages of human evolution [15, 16].
Classifications
While the existence of cannibalism has been disputed, par-
ticularly in tribal societies, there appears no doubt from mul-
tiple historical records that there have been many reliably
reported cases. Cannibalism occurs for a wide variety of
reasons and may be separated into two broad categories of
exo- and endocannibalism [9]. With exocannibalism, the vic-
tim is selected from outside the social group or community
that is engaging in anthrophagy. The reasons for this may
simply be nutritional in that outsiders are being hunted as
a source of food, or tribal in that cannibalistic rituals form
part of victory celebrations in warfare. The purpose of the
latter is often to demonstrate complete dominance over a
fallen foe and also to subjugate or incorporate their spirit
into self [9]. Endocannibalism refers to cases where victims
derive from the same social group and may be subclassified
as ‘aggressive’ when the victim is an enemy or ‘affection-
ate’ when family or friends are involved. Again, the motive
may be simply nutritional or ritual with domination and/or
incorporation of the victim into the perpetrators [1].
A more functional classification is based on motivations for
consuming human tissues and has the following subgroups:
(1) nutritional or gastronomic, (2) ritual and (3) pathological
[1]. Nutritional cannibalism has a long history and it has been
hypothesized that early hominids engaged in cannibalism as
fellow group members were readily available for consumption
[5] and also that it served to dispose of corpses thus decreas-
ing the attention of animal predators around camps. The basis
of nutritional cannibalism is simply the use of human tissues
or organs for their calorific value. It most often occurs in situ-
ations of acute starvation when groups are deprived of food or
become isolated from their usual food resources.
Historical examples
Historical examples of nutritional cannibalism have included
survivors of shipwrecks who either fed on the bodies of
those who had died, so-called necro-cannibalism, or who
killed other survivors for food (homicidal cannibalism). A
283
well-known example is the French frigate Méduse that sank
off Mauritania in 1816. Of the 147 passengers and crew who
were on a raft, only 15 survived. The Donner party of settlers
trying to cross the Sierra Nevada mountains in the 1840s are
another example of cannibalism in extremis [9].
The fate of the members of the Franklin expedition trying
to discover the North-West passage in 1845 has been argued,
with a number of proposed theories ranging from lead poi-
soning from soldered tins of preserved food to botulism and
scurvy [17]. There appears no doubt, however, that the men
engaged in nutritional cannibalism in the face of dwindling
food supplies with recovered bones showing cuts and ‘pot
polishing’ [13] (Figs. 3 and 4).
Nutritional cannibalism by necessity may progress to can-
nibalism by choice as was demonstrated by the nineteenth-
century convict, Alexander Pearce who was imprisoned on
Sarah Island on the west coast of the colony of Van Die-
men’s Land. He survived during his escape with a group of
fellow convicts in 1821 by resorting to killing and eating the
others. Following his return to the island, he again escaped
and murdered and consumed parts of his fellow escapee
prior to recapture, putting him into the rare category of a
serial opportunistic cannibal [18].
Medicinal cannibalism
On occasion, the consumption of human tissues and blood
has been promoted for medical purposes. In Europe, particu-
larly in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, remedies
were dispensed that contained human, blood, fat and bones
derived from recent graves or from Egyptian mummies [19].
The ‘Kings Drops’ taken by Charles II contained human
skull bones in alcohol, and moss growing over a buried skull
was used to treat epilepsy and nosebleeds. Paracelsus con-
sidered that drinking blood was therapeutic [20].
Fig. 3  The departure of the “Erebus” and “Terror” in 1845 on the ill-fated
Franklin Arctic Expedition (Illustrated London News -Public domain)
13
284
Fig. 4  Skulls of sailors from the Franklin expedition found on King
William Island (Library and Archives Canada)
The Encyclopaedia Brittannica of 1797 specified that ‘We
have two different fubftances preferved for medicinal ufe
under the name of mummy. . . The one is the dried and prefer-
ved flefh of human bodies, embalmed with myrrh and fpices;
the other is the liquor running from fuch mummies’ [21].
Ethnographic examples
Although cannibalism was documented amongst a wide
range of tribal groups such as the Hurons and Iroquois of
North America, the Ashanti of West Africa and the Maori
of New Zealand [22], it was suggested by Arens in 1979
that this was based on misrepresentations by early Western
observers who consisted of biased missionaries and explor-
ers striving to marginalize conquered peoples and assert
cultural superiority [23]. This position has, however, been
criticized with examples from Fiji used to refute it. Specifi-
cally, human skeletal remains from Viti Levu in Fiji have
shown characteristic features of burning and crushing with
cut marks. These findings were also corroborated by direct
observations documenting this activity in the early part of
13
Forensic Science, Medicine and Pathology (2023) 19:281–287
Fig. 5  Traditional cannibal forks, or bulutoko, that were used by
priests and chieftains in Fiji for eating human flesh so that they did not
have to touch it
the nineteenth century [24]. So-called cannibal forks, or
bulutoko, were used by priests and chieftains in Fiji for eat-
ing human flesh (Fig. 5).
Certainly, a well-documented culture of endocannibal-
ism occurred amongst the South Fore people of the East-
ern Highlands of Papua New Guinea which resulted in the
spread of Kuru a prion-based spongiform encephalopathy
which led to fatal dementia [16, 25]. Between 1957 and
1961, there were approximately 1000 kuru-related deaths
in the area [26].
Recent examples
The crash of Uruguayan Air Force flight 571 in the Andes
in 1972 left a group of passengers including members of a
school football team stranded at high altitude without food.
They were rescued after 72 days but had only been able to
survive by resorting to feeding on the dead. The story has
been the subject of a book, film and documentary [22, 27].
Famine‑induced cannibalism
Although sometimes disputed, a number of major famines in
the twentieth century have been associated with cannibalism
including Russia from 1921 to 1922 (Fig. 6) and in Ukraine
after Stalin’s collectivisation from 1929 to 1933 (22) where
over 2000 people were subsequently sentenced for engaging
in the practice. German prisoners of war resorted to can-
nibalism after the fall of Stalingrad in World War II, where
human tissue was referred to as ‘camel meat’ [28], and it
was documented to have occurred in German concentration
camps [29]. Japanese troops after World War II were found
guilty of eating both prisoners of war and civilians [30].
Forensic Science, Medicine and Pathology (2023) 19:281–287
Fig. 6  Cannibals with portions of their victims in the Samara prov-
ince of the Volga region during the Russian famine of 1921–1922
(Public domain)
There was evidence of cannibalism in records from famines
in Moldova in the 1940s and in China during the Great Leap
Forward of 1959–1961 [30].
Ritual cannibalism
Ritual cannibalism occurs in tribal groups where belief sys-
tems or religions may require the sacrifice and ingestion
of a victim, or the consumption of the already dead. While
the early Spanish accounts of Aztec sacrifices followed by
cannibalism have been criticized for ethnocentric bias, it
appears clear that human sacrifice with distribution of flesh
for eating occurred. In fact, these activities involved a spe-
cial group of old men who were called Quaquaquilti [9].
Serial killers and pathological cannibalism
Consumption of their victims by killers is a recognised,
although rare, occurrence with one of the most widely pub-
licized being Jeffery Dahmer a serial killer in the USA who
committed 17 murders between 1978 and 1991. He was
found to have engaged in necrophilia, consuming parts of
his victims and keeping skulls and body parts as souvenirs
285
[9, 31]. A slightly different case was that of Armin Meiwes
in Germany who advertised on the internet for a victim to
kill and consume [32]. Although unproven, the possibility
of cannibalism occurring in the setting of the sadistic Snow-
town murders would not, therefore, be surprising [33, 34].
Individuals who engage in such practices are usually
either severely mentally ill or suffering from a significant
paraphilia [35, 36]. The same applies to those who suffer
from clinical vampirism where they drink human blood,
usually from a deceased or dying victim [37]. A review of
cannibalistic homicides showed that the offenders were older
and the victims younger than in other homicides, that deaths
were inflicted manually (beating, strangling and stabbing)
rather than by gunshots and that kin-avoidance occurred
with more victims being strangers. When family members
were victims, the perpetrators were usually suffering from
more serious psychiatric illnesses [38].
Self cannibalism (autosarcophagy)
While cases of self-consumption are very rare and are asso-
ciated with psychosis [39], it has been documented in the
absence of severe psychiatric disease and substance abuse
[40–42]. As the placenta is actually part of the infant, pla-
centophagy (postpartum eating of the placenta) [43] is more
correctly classified as cannibalism and not autosarcophagy.
This is a practice that is becoming increasingly common
particularly in the USA where placentas may be eaten raw or
roasted, dehydrated or consumed in smoothies [43].
Medicolegal issues
The identification of cannibal activity from contemporary
skeletonized remains relies upon finding similar features to
those found in archaeological sites of cuts to the bone and
trauma to long bones, in addition to signs of cooking such
as pot polishing. Soft tissue defects such as the one identi-
fied in the reported Snowtown case may be more difficult to
assess if there has been putrefaction and decomposition with
loss of tissue morphology. In cases such as Jeffrey Dahmer,
the preservation of organs for consumption in a freezer may
simplify the evaluation [9]. In cases where corpse dismem-
berment has occurred, it may be again difficult to determine
the precise fate of the missing/limbs/organs.
A legal issue may be whether cannibalism occurred after
death (necrocannibalism) or whether instead the victim
was killed prior to consumption (homicidal cannibalism).
Removal of tissues or limbs prior to death may be associated
with bruising and hemorrhage. Harvesting flesh from pris-
oners while they were alive by Japanese soldiers in World
War II led to convictions in trials after the war [44].
The ‘rule of the sea’ was sometimes evoked to excuse
shipwrecked sailors who had decided to sacrifice victims
13
286
and resort to cannibalism. In 1884 when the yacht Mignon-
ette sank off the Cape of Good Hope, two of the four sur-
vivors in a life raft decided to kill a cabin boy [45]. After
rescue, they were charged with murder with the conclusion
of the court being that ‘necessity is no defence to a charge
of murder at law even where the murder was committed to
enable the survival of others’ [46].
Conclusion
Thus, although cannibalism is now rare in most Western
societies, it has had an extensive history occurring in many
communities and cultures over millennia. Its association with
sexual serial murders [32], however, means that it may be
something to consider if ritualistic, serial and/or sadistic hom-
icides are encountered, particularly if body parts are missing.
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