For scientists, cannibalism has been a bizarre phenomenon for many centuries, lacking significant biological importance, merely a random collection of natural curiosities. Even in our culture, cannibalism represents a repulsive taboo that simultaneously has a magical allure. However, the role of cannibalism in nature, human evolution, and history is much deeper and more interconnected. Zoologist Bill Schutt guides readers through treacherous waters filled with myths about cannibalism in biology, anthropology, and history: from tadpoles in the Chiricahua Mountains eating their siblings, through the Sierra Nevada, which witnessed the most famous historical case of cannibalism in America – the Donner Party – to today's experts on placenta eating (which, by the way, pairs excellently with Chianti). Schutt manages to abstract from a seemingly unrelated collection of curiosities disturbingly accurate rules that lead to cannibalism. Why do praying mantises (not) bite off the heads of males? Why did Europeans voluntarily eat pieces of dead human bodies until the 20th century? Is the extinction of Neanderthals related to cannibalism? And do we face a dark future full of cannibalism? You will find answers to this and much more in the book 'The Natural History of Cannibalism: On Cannibals, Placentas, Mummy Powder, and Other Things.'
