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Cannibalism

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For other uses, see Cannibal (disambiguation).
This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. Please improve this article if you can. (September 2008)

Cannibalism in Brazil in 1557 as told by Hans Staden.
A Woman-Cannibal, by Leonhard Kern, 1650Cannibalism (from Spanish Caníbalis, the Caribs[1]) is the act or practice of humans eating the flesh of other humans.

The word can be extended into zoology to mean any species consuming members of its own kind, and used outside of biological fields in a metaphorical sense: "Cannibalization" refers to the reuse of parts or ideas, such as in aircraft maintenance when parts are cannibalized from an already broken airplane to fix another airplane, or to assets of a company eating into its other ones. This article is about human cannibalism.

Cannibalism has recently been practiced and fiercely condemned in several wars, especially in Liberia[2] and Congo.[3] It is also still known to be practiced as a ritual and in war in various Melanesian tribes.[4] Cannibalism was widespread in the past among humans throughout the world, and it continued into the 19th century in some isolated South Pacific cultures. Today, the Korowai are one of very few tribes still believed to eat human flesh.[5][6] Neanderthals are believed to have practiced cannibalism.[7][8] Among modern humans it has been practiced by various groups;[9] in the past in Europe,[10][11] South America,[12] India,[13] New Zealand,[14] North America,[15][dead link] Australia ,[16] Solomon Islands,[17] New Caledonia,[18] New Guinea,[19] Sumatra,[20] and Fiji,[21] usually in rituals connected to tribal warfare. Fiji was once known as the 'Cannibal Isles'. Evidence of cannibalism has been found in the Chaco Canyon ruins of the Anasazi culture.[22]

The closely related practice...