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 analyses and 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.

The special feature of this massively documented study is its multi-regional assessment of episodic human bone assemblages (scattered floor deposits or charnel pits) by taphonomic analysis, which considers what happens to bones from the time of death to the time of recovery. During the past thirty years, the authors and other analysts have identified a minimal perimortem taphonomic signature of burning, pot polishing, anvil abrasions, bone breakage, cut marks, and missing vertebrae that closely matches the signature of animal butchering and is frequently associated with additional evidence of violence. More than seventy-five archaeological sites containing several hundred individuals 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: starvation, social pathology, and institutionalized violence and cannibalism. In the latter case, they present evidence for a potential Mexican connection and demonstrate that most of the known cannibalized series are located temporally and spatially "near" Chaco great houses.

Amazon.com Review
"The primal command," writes anthropologist Christy Turner, "is, do not eat people." Historically, cultures across the world have violated this prime directive, some regularly and without apparent afterthought, some only under harshest duress. Turner has uncovered what he considers to be incontrovertible evidence of human sacrifice and cannibalism in a part of the world once thought to have been free of such horrors: the American Southwest. There, Turner maintains, thousands of burned and broken human bones, sometimes buried en masse, have been uncovered, most in sites ranging from a thousand to a few hundred years old. In one such site, the Arizona village of Awatovi, dozens of suspected witches were massacred by their fellow Hopis; in another, the great mountaintop city of Mesa Verde, Colorado, several pits containing the remains of cannibalized murder victims have been excavated. Turner suggests that the great Anasazi city of Chaco Canyon, New Mexico, may have been a center of violent ritual and cannibalism, which helps explain why modern Indian residents of the region shun it as a place of bad medicine.

Turner and his coauthor, the late Jacqueline Turner, are careful not to conjecture too widely on the whys of prehistoric Southwestern cannibalism, perhaps having guessed that the whats and hows would be controversial enough--and their book, challenging received wisdom as it does, is sure to generate significant controversy among archaeologists working in the region. --Gregory McNamee

CUSTOMER REVIEWS (Average Customer Rating: 4.0 based on 7 reviews)

Seems objective enough

At frist I thought the authors were probably blinded by anti-Mexican and anti-Indian attitudes. but after reading the Introduction, the conclusion, and the majority of chapter four, I am inclined to delve into chapter 3 (the heart of the study) with much more faith in the objectivity of the authors.

At times the evidence contradicts the hypothesis that the Anazazi were cannibals, and the authors clearly point this out. I think it too far fetched to presume that this was some intricate ploy to merely appear objective. Considerng the acepted concensus that cannibalism did take place in MesoAmerica, it is easy to imagine that parts of the American Southwest were indeed influenced by such practices, or at the least were capable of such behavior.

All in all, I give it 3 stars because I don't fel that I am qualified to give it more than that. I've tried to be objective in my review, as I believe the authors were in there compilation and interpretation of data.
December 30, 2007

Superbly written, strongly documented, provocative thesis

That violence and cannibalism were practiced during the Chaco/Mesa Verde Anasazi period should no longer be in serious doubt. Chapter 3, an extensive look at over seventy sites throughout the Southwest effectively silences any critics who might claim that Turner's assertion is not based on physical evidence. Turner chooses an interesting order of presentation, reviewing the sites in their chronlogical order of discovery. This is probably to underline that many archaeologists and anthropologists in the past came to similar conclusions. Claims of cannibalism are not new, and this is not a sensationalist theory created from a questionable interpretation of previous work in the field. It is a scientific reinforcement of previous observations and masterful overview that confirms that the early pioneers in Southwestern Archaeology were correct. Cannibalism did occur.

Had Turner stopped at a description of his methodology and the sites he reviewed, Man Corn would have been a valuable resource, but only half of what it could have been. Fortunately, Turner goes on to propose a theory explaining cannibalism and the extreme violence accompanying it. In 1993 he made a surprising discovery--the sites showing evidence of cannibalism had a strong correlation with the "Chaco Phenomenon." That is, the sites were from the same geographic area and within the same time period of the Great Houses. In fact, some sites are in fact inside the Great Houses themselves (Pueblo Bonito, Penasco Blanco).

Using this as a base, Turner devotes a chapter to body-processing in Mexico, where cannibalism had long been practiced, a fact well-known to archaeologists. He then makes the connection between Chaco's ties to Mesoamerica and the appearance of cannibalism in the American Southwest. He proposes that actual warrior/priests cultists from the Toltec culture arrived in Chaco, bringing their political system with them, a system built not on peaceful cooperation, but on ritutalistic terror. It's a convincing argument, especially when backed up by a skull found in a high-status burial at Pueblo Bonito--a skull showing dental modification characteristic of Mexican Indians; a modification unknown in the Southwest.

Turner theorizes that they might have been refugees from the collapsing Toltec Empire. My guess would be that they were imperial colonizers intent on taking over the turquoise trade and building it up to be a high-capacity monopoly. But whichever the case, they seem to have brought more than architectural ideas with them. And if, as many have suspected, Mexican religious beliefs influenced the Anasazi, then it's very likely that rituals associated with those religious beliefs were also present.

The book generated a storm of controversy. Not surprisingly, many critics mistakenly assumed that Turner was claiming that all Anasazi at all times were cannibals. This certainly wasn't the case and Turner of course proposes no such thing. But just as Darwin's pioneering work was reduced by misinformed critics to some kind of proof that man was descended from apes, so many critics have assumed Turner's book is somehow racist or culturally insensitive. In fact, just like some of Darwin's more vocal opponents, one gets the impression that some critics haven't even read "Man Corn."

Too bad. Unlike so many other books on the Anasazi, it's not as dry as dust. It's presented in an intriguing way, a survey of the past and a voyage of discovery. It has tons of data, but for each section of data, there is an interesting discussion of what it means.

I cannot recommend this book highly enough. Especialy for those who've tired of the "peaceful stargazers" school of Anasazi research. "Man Corn" makes the Anasazi appear more real, a people who had a dark side as well.

January 09, 2005

Professional

(I'm just a lifetime Arizona resident/spectator) This book is a scholastic report from years of intensive work about a sensitive subject. One that most of us seem to automatically stay away from and think is not PC to even mention. Just read it for what it is: facts collected and reported on by professionals and add it to your data base. Its amazing the number of people in the field an average Arizonan like me has bumped into that seem to want to think there's another agenda here. I don't sense one; they seem to have done a fine job and one that is long past due. Now we need more information...from 4Corners, Hohokam, Mogollon and Mexico, and about the Mesoamerica connections at all these areas.
August 22, 2000

NPR Interview

Actually....I havent read the book.

However, I did listen to the interview last night (2/1/00) on NPR. It was one of the more remarkably clear descriptions of the complicated logical and reasonings used to determine what happened. Given the blurred interpretations of reality and undisciplined reasoning that predominates today's society (Monica scandal to NASA's estimating probability of failure on shuttle missions) it was refreshing to listen to a mind that didnt mince logic nor dumb down his reasoning. But what made the interview extraordinary was the eloquence with which the argument was made. It made following the deductions and reasonings a pleasant and even exciting experience.

PS. Just picking: I have to disagree with his assertion that there is no such thing as proof in science. Proofs exist in the realm of mathematics and logic but no where else; e.g. if A=B and B=C then A=C. However, this point is irrelevant to his arguments.
February 03, 2000

A controversial topic

Many readers find this and Tim White's book to be controversial, equating any references to cannibaliam as racism; cannibalism is not politically correct.

Some feel this book should be removed from press for that reason.

Having read both books, I feel that Turner & Turner make some convincing arguments for cannibalistic activity during periods of the southwestern US. If one reads this book with an open mind as to the culture and the difficulty of life during periods of stress in one of the world's most rugged landscapes, it can be a valuble reference.

The butchering, defleshing, cooking and disposal of human bones with other faunal remains is strongly suggestive of cannibalism--for ritual, subsistence or both. I find some of Turner's conclusions to be based on some rather scant evidence, but time will tell if he is correct.

Like the Maya, the Anasazi have long been viewed as peaceful; the myth of the platonic Amerind living in harmony with nature. But over time the dwellings of the Anasazi became increasingly defensive structures, suggesting there was some sort of conflict. And as with the Mayans, the myth is slowly melting away to show the Anasazi as a far more warlike people. Just like the rest of us.

After this book was written and I first reviewed it over five years ago, more evidence of cannibalism has surfaced, including a human coprolite (preserved fecal material) containing digested human myoglobin (from heart or striated muscle tissue) at Cowboy Wash. This is fairly conclusive evidence that some cannibalsim has occured, though we still don't know why. I suggest readers draw their own conclusions from all the evidence.

Remember that some extant cultures like the peoples of New Guinea have practiced cannibalism within the last twenty years, and that does not make them any less wonderful of people; it's always dangerous to project one's own views of right-and-wrong upon another culture. In particular if that culture crashed 800 years ago.

A previous writer's comment that this book will lead to an increase in looting is without merit; sites have been described in thousands of publications over the years (including USGS topographic maps), and a book is hardly likely to be a guide to looters who usually live nearby.
December 17, 1999

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Prehistoric Warfare in the American Southwest
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The Chaco Meridian: Centers of Political Power in the Ancient Southwest
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Deadly Landscapes: Case Studies in Prehistoric Southwestern Warfare
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House of Rain: Tracking a Vanished Civilization Across the American Southwest
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Sandstone Spine: Seeking the Anasazi on the First Traverse of the Comb Ridge
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