Picky Eaters Need Not Apply.

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I posed a question to the Cannibalism Crew in class today, "is eating the placenta considered cannibalism?". We all agreed it was because it is the consumption of human flesh. It was also noted that licking one's own blood is too a form of cannibalism. Move over, Hannibal Lecter!
The placenta is a great source of nutrients for mothers who have just given birth and celebrities, such as Vancouver Island's own Pamela Anderson has admitted to cooking it. Lasagna anyone?

If archaeologists were lucky enough to find a sample of ancient hair, tests could reveal the diet of the individual for the last year or so of the individual's life. Could we use this to determine if the person or culture was a cannibal? One would think an act of cannibalism is a rare occasion, perhaps in times of mourning like the mortuary ritual of the Wari' as described by A.C.G.M. Robben who wrote Death, mourning and burial: a cross-cultural reader.
Butchery marks on skeletal remains would indicate a dismemberment or dissection of a human, as would discolouration from heat or scrape marks from tools (to de-flesh or to access marrow). These all point towards cannibalism, but are not fully indicative. 
Isotope analysis of hair or teeth would give the consumption levels of meat versus vegetable and marine foods. Although, is it possible to resolve the level of Nitrogen-15 that would solely indicate a period of human flesh consumption? Could we use the cannibalistic trends of chimpanzees in Tanzania to test this question? Did I just find a masters thesis? Surely more Googling needs to be done on my end.

While writing this post, I began to wonder what other strange habits and cultural norms archaeologists will not experience when excavating and analyzing a site. There is so much we want to know and I fear we may never find out. We can only analyze and re-analyze until the weaker argument folds. Dang.


Extra Reading:
Nishida T, and Kenji Kawanaka.
     1985. Within-Group Cannibalism By Adult Male Chimpanzees. Primates, 26(3):274-284.