Herodotus and the cannibals

E.M. MURPHY& J.P. MALLORY

Herodotus 5th-century BC Histories provide us with one of the earliest written accounts
for the practice of cannibalism. This paper examines the references concerning
cannibalism contained in Herodotus, reviews the theories proposed to account for these
references, and suggests a n e w explanation for this cultural motif.

Key-words: Herodotus, Cannibalism, Aymyrlyg, Siheria, palaeopathology, funerary rites

In his 5th-century BC Histories, Herodotus pro-
vides us with one of the earliest written ac-
counts for the practice of cannibalism (White
1992: 7). Cannibalism or anthropophagy are
terms which imply the use of parts of the hu-
man body for food (Zivanovic 1982: 1 9 2 ) al-
though the definition may include anything from
consuming the ashes of a cremated relative to
devouring the barbecued limbs of ones enemies
(Myers 1984: 149). The objective of this paper
is to examine the references pertaining to can-
nibalism in Herodotus, review the various theo-
ries that have attempted to account for these
references, and propose a new explanation for
this cultural motif.
The accounts of Herodotus
In describing the behaviour of the Androphagoi
(man-eaters), Herodotus tells us that this tribe
dwelling north of the Black Sea are the most
savage (agridtata)of all those in the region since
they possess no laws. They are nomads who
dress like Scythians but speak their own lan-
guage. Most importantly, they are the only one
of the societies in the region to eat people
(anthropophageousi)(4.106).The critical ques-
tion of whom specifically these Androphagoi
dined upon is left unexplained. This is not so
in Herodotus other accounts.
Describing the mortuary practice of the
Issedones (FIGURE I), one of the peoples of the
steppe-lands commonly located either in the
southern Urals or more often immediately east
of the Urals on the Isset, a tributary of the Tobol,
Herodotus relates (4.26; Godley 1938):
It is said to be the custom of the Issedones, that
whenever a mans father dies, all the nearest of kin
bring beasts of the flock, and having killed these
and cut up the flesh they cut up also the dead father
of their host, and set out all the flesh mingled to-
gether for a feast.
In his description of the Massagetae of west-
ern Central Asia, he tells us (1.216;Godley 1938:
271) that:
When a man is very old all his kin meet together
and kill (thuousi) him, with beasts of the flock be-
sides, the boil the flesh and feast (kuteuokhkontai)
on it. This is held to be the happiest death; when a
man dies of a sickness they do not eat him, but bury
him in the earth, and lament that he would not live
to be killed.
While both the Issedones and Massagetae are
generally presumed to have been Iranian-speak-
ing, Herodotus also attributes cannibalism to
two tribes living immediately south of the In-
dus: the Kallatiai, who devour (katesthiousi)
their parents (3.38),and the Padaioi, described
as nomads who eat raw flesh, among whom
when one has come to old age, they sacrifice
(him) and feast (kateuokh4ontai)on his flesh
( 3.99).
That endocannibalism - the consumption
of ones own deceased -is a topos in Herodotus
is most clearly seen in his account of how Darius,
King of Persia, summoned the Greeks and asked
them what price would persuade them to eat
their fathers dead bodies; the Greeks replied
that there was no price that would entice them
to behave so (3.38). In short, the consumption

* School of Archaeology and Palaeoecology, Queens University of Belfast, Belfast BT7 1 N N Northern Ireland
Received 2 7 June 1999, accepted 21 August 1999, revised 7 December 1999.
ANTIQUITY
74 (2000): 388-94

-
0 500km
FIGURE1. Map of peoples and sites mentioned in the text.
of ones own deceased was most definitely
unacceptable to the Greeks and a practice that
was to be associated with foreigners. Herodotus
description of cannibalism was adopted by later
authors to be reapplied to more distant peo-
ples. Strabo relates how the inhabitants of Ire-
land are even more savage (agribteroi)than those
of Britain since they are man-eaters
(anthropophagoi) . . . and since they count it
an honourable thing when their fathers die, to
devour (katesthiein)them (4.5.4). He provides
a further example of cannibalism in his descrip-
389
tion of the Derbikes of the Caucasus region
(11.11.8;Jones 1923):
When men become over 70 years of age they are
slaughtered and their flesh is consumed (analiskousi)
by their nearest of kin: but their old women are stran-
gled and then buried. However, the men who die
under 70 years of age are not eaten, but only buried.
A key element in all of Herodotus accounts of
cannibalism is that the consumed and the con-
sumers are closely related, at times specified
as the closest of relations. Moreover, the vic-
390
tims are either already dead (Issedones), and
hence their corpses are butchered like livestock,
or they are aged (Massagetae, Padaioi) and are
first dispatched as a preparation for consump-
tion. A number of theories can explain these
descriptions and in the remainder of this pa-
per we will discuss three possible approaches
before offering a fourth theory which we be-
lieve to be the most archaeologically plausible
to account for Herodotus descriptions of can-
nibalism.
Theory 1: The cannibalism motif is entirely
fictional
That Herodotus ascribed similar cannibalistic
practices to five different peoples suggests a
simple transference of a motif from one peo-
ple to the next, e.g. sacrificing the aged among
both the Massagetae and the Padaioi (and its
later reprise in Strabos accounts). Arens (1979)
has shown how the assignment of bestial prac-
tices to ones enemies or even neighbours, to
contrast their lack of culture with ones own,
is a near cultural universal, especially when it
also employs the usual disparagement of the
cannibal as sexually promiscuous. Herodotus
combines incest with cannibalism in his de-
scription of the Massagetae as Strabo does in
his description of the Irish.
It is difficult, however, to regard his refer-
ences to endocannibalism among the Kallatiai
and Issedones as mere attempts to render these
people savages. The context for his assignment
of cannibalism to the Kallatiai is a digression
to emphasise that if it were proposed to all
nations to choose which seemed best of all
customs, each, after examination made, would
place its own first; so well is each persuaded that
its own are by far the best (3.38; Godley 1938:
51). He then contrasts the Greeks abhorrence of
funerary endocannibalism with the Kallatiais
disgust at the Greek practice of cremation.
More important is Herodotus brief account
of the Issedones as this was most likely derived
from an earlier (7th century?) source such as
Aristeas of Proconnesus (Bolton 1962). After
describing the funerals of the Issedones, Hero-
dotus acknowledges that they are dikaioi ob-
servant of laws, which clearly suggests that
he is not attempting to disparage a distant people
with the stock epithets of savages. In short, there
are reasons to suggest that Herodotus inherited
an earlier description of the Issedones as can-
nibals and the description was not wilfully
inserted into his own account to emphasize the
savage behaviour of a distant people.
Theory 2: The cannibalism motif is an
accurate description of a cultural practice
Cannibalism has been widely discussed in an-
thropological literature, including both typo-
logical classification (White 1992: 13) and
cartographical representation of the various
types of cannibalism (Helmuth 1973). White
proposes a system in which starvation-induced
cannibalism is referred to as survival canni-
balism, cannibalism of the dead which may
involve an affectionate motivation is termed
funerary cannibalism, and non-funerary canni-
balism practiced under non-starvation conditions
is referred to as gastronomiccannibalism. Arens,
however, has been highly critical of the authen-
ticity of even the most oft-cited ethnographic
accounts and the questionable interpretation
applied to prehistoric remains led him to con-
clude that although the theoretical possibility
of customary cannibalism cannot be dismissed,
the available evidence does not permit the fac-
ile assumption that the act was or has ever been
a prevalent cultural feature (Arens 1979: 182).
Arens scepticism, however, is not univer-
sally held. Research undertaken during the
1980s into the incubation period of the disease
kuru among individuals of the Fore tribe of New
Guinea was able to identify which members of
the tribe had eaten parts of particular individuals
(Litz 1986: 926; contra Arens 1979: 101-16).
Eyewitness accounts recorded that the Dyaks
of Borneo decapitated, drank blood and ate the
hearts of their victims (Lloyd Parry 1997: I),
while Keesing (1975: 174) has affirmed canni-
bal feasts in Fiji and the Solomon Island. In
her study of cannibalism, Sanday (1986: 10)
cited 37 cases of cannibalisni in the ethnographic
record although admitted the problematic na-
ture of some of the accounts.
Osteoarchaeological evidence for cannibal-
ism has also become increasingly common.
When damage patterns indicate a functional
exploitation of the body and its elements con-
sistent with the extraction of nutrition, the in-
ference of cannibalism is warranted (White 1992:
339). Fragmentary human remains displaying
clear evidence of having been defleshed and
disarticulated have been recovered from nu-
merous 9th- to 13th-century AD sites in the

FIGURE 2 . A Sc,ythian-period log house tomb from Aymyrlyg which contained three articulated skeletons
and one disarticulated individual. (Photographic Archive of the Institute for the History ofMateria1
Culture, St Petersburg.)
American Southwest (White 1992; Turner &
Turner 1999).In addition, crania and long bone
shafts had been broken open by hammerstones
and anvil percussion and body segments had
been roasted. The modifications and represen-
tations of the human remains were practically
identical to those apparent in Southwestern
faunal assemblages and, subsequently, these
findings have been interpreted as evidence for
the occurrence of human cannibalism among
these Native American populations. Turner &
Turner (1999: 24) have presented six taphonomic
criteria which they believe are necessary for
the recognition of cannibalism in a human bone
assemblage. These characteristics include ex-
tensive peri-mortem cranial and post-cranial
bone breakage, the presence of cutmarks, the
occurrence of anvil-hammerstone abrasions,
burning, a large proportion of missing verte-
brae and fragment end-polishing.
That Herodotus was supplying an accurate
account of funerary cannibalism is theoretically
possible but it has not been verified archaeo-
391
logically among populations of the Eurasian
steppe. Sanday (1986: 59-101) provides sev-
eral accounts of funerary endocannibalism in
New Guinea among the Hua and Gimi who are
reported to have eaten deceased relatives (among
the Gimi males ate pork, females ate males) but
these occur under subsistence and cultural re-
gimes radically different to those we find among
the pastoral nomads of the Eurasian steppe.
Theory 3: The cannibalism motif is a
misunderstanding of a funerary belief
It might be proposed that Herodotus or Aristeas
encountered the beliefs of a distant people that
they misconstrued as funerary endocannibalism.
One need only consider the predicament that
a pagan anthropologist might face in confront-
ing the concept of transubstantiation in certain
Christian churches where bread and wine is
quite literally regarded as the body and blood
of Christ. Such beliefs are not restricted to Chris-
tian groups. In his classic study of the funeral
system of the LoDagga of West Africa, Goody
392

described the practice of the OrphansMeal where

a steer is sacrificed on the death of a man:

As the children are eating the food, the senior member

of the reciprocal funeral group says, Its your fa-
thers flesh youre eating. . . . The phrase your fa-
thers flesh is ambiguous in that flesh might refer
to the fathers body or to the body of an animal he
owned, since the word nen is applied to both hu-
mans and animals (Goody 1962: 198).

A practice where the same words are employed

to describe the flesh of the deceased and that
of the animal sacrificed on his behalf could easily
lead to confusion. Had the Issedones or other
distant steppe populations had a similar be-
lief, then a Greek recipient of such a story could
easily confuse the sacrifice of the cattle at the
funerary feast with the consumption of the
deceased. This theory can hardly be excluded
but it does require the long-distance transmis-
sion of an ideological system originally framed
in an alien language.

Theory 4: The cannibalism motif is a

misunderstanding of a funerary ritual
In this new explanation we wish to propose a
ritual that, if observed by a foreign informant,
might be easily misinterpreted as the butcher-
ing and consumption of ones deceased.
Until recently there has been no full
palaeopathological analysis of human skeletal
remains from south Siberian sites of the Scythian
period. One of the largest of the Iron Age cem-
eteries is Aymyrlyg in Tuva, a cemetery of over
1000 burials belonging to the Uyuk Culture (c.
3rd-2nd century BC). Mandelshtam (1983: 27;
1992: 181),the director of the Scythian period
excavations at Aymyrlyg, recorded the presence
of compact accumulations of bones which, in
some cases, were positioned in approximate
anatomical order in many of the tombs (FIG-
URE 2). He interpreted these groupings as the
burials of semi-decomposed corpses or defleshed
bodies, and stated that the remains of leather
bags or cloth sacks were associated with the
cadavers in some cases.
Recent analysis has now confirmed that a
number of individuals from Aymyrlyg display
defleshing or disarticulation cutmarks on one
or more bones of their skeleton (Murphy 1998;
FIGURE 3). The occurrence of cutmarks on bone
has long been accepted as evidence for human-
FIGURE 3 . Cutmarks on the anterior surface of the
right proximal femur of a Scythian period
individual from Aymyrlyg which are indicative of
disarticulation at the right hip.
induced modification (White 1992: 325). Al-
though it is impossible to determine with cer-
tainty the motivational factors behind any
particular cutmark, the characteristics of the
mark on the bone, such as its size, morphol-
ogy, location, frequency and orientation, can
help one deduce the activities which led to the
formation of each cutmark. If this information
is then combined with the evidence from the
archaeological context, the skeletal complete-
ness and the cultural affiliation one can attempt
to interpret the modifications (Olsen & Shipman
1994: 379).
A total of 29 individuals displayed post-
mortem cutmarks on one or more bones. It is
impossible to calculate the overall proportion
of individuals displaying cutmarks due to the
differential preservation of the remains. All of
the affected individuals were adults with 18%
having an age-at-death of 17-25 years, 36% at
25-35 years, 28% at 35-45 years, and 18%
having died at the age of 4% years. A total of
6 2 % of the individuals displaying defleshing

or disarticulation cutmarks were male and 38%
were female. It is probable that the cutmarks
were produced during the defleshing and dis-
articulation of the cadavers, and it has been
possible to differentiate between cutmarks made
for defleshing purposes and those which were
attained during the disarticulation process.
During defleshing the cutmarks are generally
represented by the occurrence of fine, short
marks or the presence of broader scraping marks
over the bone surface. The evidence for disar-
ticulation comprises fine cutmarks located on,
or adjacent to, the articular surfaces of bones.
These cutmarks are indicative of the use of a
sharp tool to sever the skin, tendons and liga-
ments at a joint thus enabling the division of
the body into smaller segments (Olsen &
Shipman 1994: 380-81).
The majority of cutmarks were indicative of
disarticulation, i.e., the detachment of the lower
extremities from the trunk and the severing of
the lower legs from the upper legs. In addition,
the upper arms were detached from the trunk
and the forearms were separated from the up-
per arms. Although observed infrequently, some
of the cadavers had also been defleshed, with
the femora, the bones of the pelvic girdle and
the scapulae displaying the greatest prevalence
of defleshing cutmarks. It is probable that these
cutmarks were related to the removal of the
heavy musculature of the thighs and shoulders,
while those present on the pelvic bones had
been sustained during disembowelling and the
removal of abdominal muscles.
The post-mortem treatment of the skeletons
at Aymyrlyg do not correspond to the suite of
characteristics that identify cannibalism among
archaeological populations. In the majority of
cases the generally complete remains of each
disarticulated individual were maintained sepa-
rately from those of other skeletons (see FIG-
URE 2). In addition, none of the remains from
Aymyrlyg displayed evidence that the bones
had been deliberately smashed open, roasted
or boiled. Overall, the majority of cutmarks were
indicative of the disarticulation, rather than the
defleshing, of the body, i.e. butchery but not
cannibalism.
Naturally, we cannot exclude the possibil-
ity that the flesh removed from a number of
the bodies was consumed as part of a funerary
ritual since such activities are archaeologically
invisible. In the female mummy from Kurgan
393
2 at Pazyryk cuts on the buttocks, thighs and
calves had been used to enable the removal of
body tissue from these areas of the body. Once
the flesh had been detached from the corpse it
was replaced with a sedge-like grass and the
slits in the skin were sewn up with horsehair.
Body tissue also appears to have been removed
from the bodies in Kurgan 5 at Pazyryk [Rudenko
1970: 280-82).
The occasion of dismemberment
What occasioned dismemberment of the corpse?
In terms of grave goods or funerary architec-
ture, no major distinction could be made be-
tween defleshed secondary and intact primary
burials. Both Mandelshtam and Rudenko sug-
gested that the dismembered burials belonged
to those who died during the winter or spring
before the frozen ground had thawed sufficiently
to gain access to a tomb.
The archaeological, ethnographical and his-
torical sources all indicate that the populations
buried at Aymyrlyg would have practised a semi-
nomadic form of economy. It has been suggested
that the distribution of large tribal burial grounds
in Tuva, including that of Aymyrlyg, indicates
cyclic migration with fixed routes and set winter
camp sites (Vainshtein 1980: 96). Presumably,
herds would have been pastured in the moun-
tains during the summer and in the more low-
lying land during the winter (Bokovenko 1995:
255). Consequently, since Aymyrlyg is located
in the valley of the Ulug-Khemski River, it is
probable that the populations would have been
living in relatively close proximity to the cem-
etery during the winter months, the season when
burial would have been most difficult because
the ground was frozen.
If we apply Rudenkos (1970) model of sea-
sonal interment to the Aymyrlyg cemetery then
the majority of the burials would have occurred
in autumn immediately before the ground be-
came frozen, or in spring as soon as the ground
had sufficiently thawed. The corpses of those
who had died during the winter may have been
temporarily preserved in the snow without need
of artificial processing until the spring, when
they would have been buried in a relatively
undecomposed and intact condition. The ca-
davers of those who died in the later spring to
early autumn months in the mountain areas
would, however, have required some form of
processing. Although it is possible that the tribes
394
repeatedly moved between the mountains and
river valleys throughout the year to bury their
dead this seems improbable and does not sat-
isfactorily account for the burial of bodies in
different states of decomposition. It would have
been both unhygienic and unpleasant for the
remainder of the population if the corpses had
been allowed to decompose naturally in the
summer heat. It would, therefore, have been
extremely practical for the bodies to have been
defleshed and disarticulated and stored safely
in a cloth sack or leather bag until the group
returned to the main tribal cemetery at Aymyrlyg
in the autumn. It would seem more likely, there-
fore, that it was the seasonality of tribal move-
ment rather than the conditions of the ground
that determined secondary burial.
Conclusion
The palaeopathological analysis of the remains
from Aymyrlyg have revealed that, in at least a
proportion of cases, the bodies of Iron Age steppe
nomads, presumed to be Iranian-speakers, were
References
ARENS, W. 1979. The man-eating myth: Anthropology and an-
thropophagy. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
BOKOVFNKO,N.A. 1995. History of studies and the main prob-
lems in the archaeology of Southern Siberia during the
Scythian Period, in J. Davis-Kimball, V.A. Bashilov & L.T.
Yabloiisky (ed.), Nomads of the Eurasiat? steppes in the
Early Iron Age: 255-61. Berkeley (CA): Zinat Press.
BCJIXON,J.D.P.1962. Aristeas ofProconnesi1.s. Oxford: Clarendon
Press.
GODLEY,A.D. 1938. Herodotus. Lmdon: Heinemann.
GOODY. J. 1962. Death, property and the ancestors. London:
Tavistock.
HELMVI'H, H. 1973. Cannibalism in paleoanthro~~ology and eth-
nology, in A. Montagu (ed.),Man and aggression: 229-
5 3 . New York (NY): Oxford University Press. 2nd edition.
JONES, H.L. 1923. Geography of Strabo. London: Heinemann.
KBESINC,R.M. 1975. Cultural anthropology. London: Holt,
Rhinehard & Winston.
LIT7., T. 1986. Existence of cannibalism, Science 233: 926.
LLOYDPAI:RY,K. 1997. The return of the cannibals, The Inde-
pendent 9 June 1997: 1 & 8-9.
MANDELSIITAM,A.M. 1983. Issledovaniye na mogilnom polye
Aymyrlyg: Nrekntoriye itovi i perspektiri [Research at the
Aymyrlyg burial ground: some rcsults and perspectives],
in Drevniye kulturi Euraziiskih stepei: 25-33. Leningrad:
Institute for the History of Material Culture.
1992. Ranniyc kochevniki Skifskova perioda na territorii Tuvi
[Early nomads o f the Scythian period i n the territory of
deliberately defleshed and disarticulated rather
than left to decay naturally. This process, which
would have replicated many of the same pro-
cedures as one would have applied in the butch-
ering of livestock, could easily have been
mistaken for evidence of cannibalistic practices
by an uninformed foreign onlooker. It would
have required very little embellishment by
Aristeas or Herodotus to render a genuine
funerary ritual into one of our earliest descrip-
tions of cannibalism.
A c k n o w f e d g e m s n t s ,We w o u l d like to thank Professor Ilia
Gokhinan a n d Dr Yuri Chistov of t h e Department of Physi-
cal Anthropology, t h e Museum of Anthropology and Eth-
nography (Kunstkammer), St Petersburg, for permitting the
s t u d y of the skeletons from Aymyrlyg. We are also grateful
to t h e staff of t h e Photographic Archive of t h e Institute for
t h e History of Material Culture, St Petersburg, for provid-
ing us w i t h Figure 2 , a n d to M r Barrie Hartwell a n d Ms
Libby M u l q u e c n y of t h e S c h o o l of Archaeology a n d
Palaeoecology, t h e Queen's University of Belfast, for re-
producing t h e illustrations. We would also like to thank
Professor Mike Baillie and Dr Colm Donnelly of t h e afore-
mentioned school for their comments on t h e text.
Tuva], in M.G. Moshkova (ed.), Stepnayu polosa Aziatskoi
chasti S S S R Y Skifo-Sarmotskoye vreniya: 178-96. Mos-
cow: Nauka.
MLIRPliY, E.M. 1998. An osteological and palaeopathological
study of the Scythian a n d Hunno-Sarmatian period
populations from thc cemetery complex of Aymyrlyg,Tuva,
South Siberia. Unpublished Ph.D thesis, School of Ar-
chaeology and Palaeoecology, the Queen's University of
Belfast.
MYERS,R.A. 1984. Island Carib cannibalism, Nieuwe West-
Indische Gids 58: 147-271.
OLSEN, S.L. &P. SHIPMAN. 1994. Cutmarks and perimortem treat-
ment of skeletal remains on the Northern Plains, in D.W.
Owsley & R.L. Jantz (ed.), Skeletal biology of the Great
Ploins. Migration, warJare, health and subsistence: 377-
87. Washington (DC): Smithsonian Institution Press.
RUDENKO,S.I. 1970. Frozen tomhs oJSiberia: ThePazyryk burials
oflron Age horsemen. London: J.M. Dent.
SANDAY, P.R. 1986. Divine hunger: Canniboiism n s a cuttural
system. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
TURNER, C.G.11& J.A. TURNER. 3 999. Man corn - Cunnibalism
anti violence in the prehistoric American Southwest. Salt
Lake City [UT): 'The IJniversity of Utah Press.
VAINSHTEIN, S.I. 1980. Nonfods of south Siberia: The pastoral
economies of Tuva. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
WHrrs, T.D. 1992. Prehistoric cannibalism at Mancos 5MTUMl<-
2346. Princeton (NJ): Princeton University Press.
ZIVANOVIC, S. 1982. Ancient diseases. London: Methuen.