Man corn

by Christy G. Turner

Until quite recently Southwest prehistory studies have largely missed or ignored evidence of violent competition. Christy and Jacqueline Turner's study of prehistoric violence, homicide, and cannibalism explodes the myth that the Anasazi and other Southwest Indians were simple, peaceful farmers. Using detailed osteological and forensic analyses, plus other lines of evidence, the Turners show that warfare, violence, and their concomitant horrors were as common in the ancient Southwest as anywhere else in the world. More than seventy-five archaeological sites containing several hundred individual remains are carefully examined for the cannibalism signature. Because this signature has not been reported for any sites north of Mexico, other than those in the Southwest, the authors also present detailed comparisons with Mesoamerican skeletal collections where human sacrifice and cannibalism were known to have been practiced. The authors review several hypotheses for Southwest cannibalism: st