Cannibalism at Jamestown, or, Taking Evidence Seriously

The Jamestown crew have announced good evidence that cannibalism took place in the fort during the "starving time" of 1609-1610. Forensic anthropologist Doug Owsley of the Smithsonian presented their findings at a press conference today:

The proof comes in the form of fragments of a skeleton of a girl, about age 14, found in a cellar full of debris in the fort on the James River that sheltered the starving colonists. The skull, lower jaw and leg bone — all that remain — have the telltale marks of an ax or cleaver and a knife. “Historians have to decide whether this type of thing happened,” said Owsley, who has examined thousands of skeletal remains, both archaeological and forensic. “I think that it did. We didn’t see anybody eat this flesh. But it’s very strong evidence.”

This is a terrific find, but in only confirms what witnesses to the starving winter said happened. Here is John Smith's account:

As for corne, provision and contribution from the Salvages, we had nothing but mortall wounds, with clubs and arrowes; as for our Hogs, Hens, Goats, Sheepe, Horse, or what lived, our commanders, officers & Salvages daily consumed them, some small proportions sometimes we tasted, till all was devoured; then swords, armes, pieces, or any thing, wee traded with the Salvages, whose cruell fingers were so oft imbrewed in our blouds, that what by their crueltie, our Governours indiscretion, and the losse of our ships, of five hundred within six moneths after Captaine Smiths departure, there remained not past sixtie men, women and children, most miserable and poore creatures; and those were preserved for the most part, by roots, herbes, acornes, walnuts, berries, now and then a little fish: they that had startch in these extremities, made no small use of it; yea, even the very skinnes of our horses. Nay, so great was our famine, that a Salvage we slew, and buried, the poorer sort tooke him up againe and eat him, and so did divers one another boyled and stewed with roots and herbs: And one amongst the rest did kill his wife, powdered her, and had eaten part of her before it was knowne, for which hee was executed, as hee well deserved; now whether shee was better roasted, boyled or carbonado’d, I know not, but of such a dish as powdered wife I never heard of. This was that time, which still to this day we called the starving time; it were too vile to say, and scarce to be beleeved, what we endured: but the occasion was our owne, for want of providence, industrie and government, and not the barrennesse and defect of the Countrie.

A certain sort of historian enjoys dismissing these accounts as so much excited hyperbole, dreamed up by famehounds like Smith to increase his book sales. Oh, pishposh, people always talk about cannibalism when they want to impress you with how bad a famine was.

But those are knife cuts on the jaw of "Jane," just the sort of marks you see on a pig jaw from which the muscles have been cut free. Gruesome, terrible, exciting things happen with great regularity in the world; so do heroic deeds, acts of evil, and extraordinary coincidences. When it comes to interpreting firsthand accounts, you shouldn't believe every word you read, but you should never forget that they were there and you were not.