To determine if human remains show evidence of cannibalism, researchers use a procedure involving the following steps: (1) examine bones under a microscope to distinguish between animal teeth marks and tool-made cut marks; (2) assess the state of the bone when cut (fresh bone may indicate consumption or ritual defleshing, while old bone may indicate secondary burial); (3) check for the presence or absence of nutritionally valuable bones to see if they were selected for consumption; (4) determine if human and animal bones in the same assemblage were treated similarly; (5) examine bones for breakages that suggest marrow extraction; (6) determine if the bones show signs of burning or cooking.

Authors

• Person: Not available Organization: Australian Museum
  How do we know what they ate? - The Australian Museum

Sources

• How do we know what they ate? - The Australian Museum australian.museum Australian Museum via serper

Referenced by nodes (2)

• cooking concept
• Bones concept