Atlantis...

[d2]

I got a question. I have read but not having been to college like you have, what do think the incidence of cannabilism was amongst the Caddoan people? I have read that there was, that if an enemy was captured and brought back to the village the chances were good that he would be eaten...d2

 

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[Johnny X]

Man, that's so strange... I was just wondering about cannibalism in midwestern paleo/archaic. I know it's a taboo issue but how will we ever really know?....

xstevenx

 

[fossis]

I don't know about the Caddo, but I have read that the Tonkawa in southern Texas were cannibals.


Fossis.......................

 

[d2]

I read that if the caddo captured an enemy they would eat him when they got him back home unless he got invited into someones house, then he was adopted into thte tribe. I aint got a clue why you would invite a captured enemy into your home either...d2

 

[Atlantis0077]

Hey D2

Sorry, I have been off for a couple of days and missed your post. Generally speaking there isn't much talk of cannibalism amongst the Indians or the archaeologists.. ...though it happened...probably more than we as "civilized" folks would like to think.

One of the Louisiana tribes...the Attakapas were known to be cannibalistic....even the name Attakapas was Choctaw for "eaters of men."

The Caddo...especially the later Caddo were highly ceremonial. They apparently liked rituals and were especially fond of the Natchez type or Southern Cult ceremonies. There are records among the French of cannibalism in these rituals especially when enemies were caught and brought back by raiding parties and such. Many would say that such stories were just to stir up anti-indian sentiment for the purposes of getting them off the land as savages. I would not argue the point. Even in ceremony today it is easy to see how emotion gets worked up and I can easily see cannibalism being part of such practices in times past. Also there is a central American influence on the Caddo...and you know what sort of bloody sacrifices they had.

In general the Caddo were not considered "warlike." Many were wiped out during the first contact with Europeans by disease. The remainder were shipped off or treatied off over a period of time and the majority reside in Oklahoma. Members of the Caddo Nation did cover a large geographic area in Louisiana, Texas, Arkansas and Oklahoma. A strange fact that remains...Caddo Parish in NW Louisiana was named for the Caddo...as was Caddo Lake. According to treaty the land on which sits Shreveport/Bossier technically still belongs to the Caddo Tribe. Of course they would play heck getting it, but they do have at least some legal ground for a claim, if what I am reading is true.

Http://www.caddonation-nsn.gov/Main.htm


Atlantis

 

[d2]

The reason I asked that question was this: years and years and years ago my BIL and I were digging a house site and we sifted up a large portion of skull. A piece about as big as your hand that according to a Dr. sat just up above your right ear. It was the only piece of bone that was found. No teeth, no pieces of small bone, nothing. We did find a cache of flint and some other points(daltons) and a .50 caliber round lead ball around the house site. Besides being stupified about the musket ball, it was a drop, not fired, we always wondered about the piece of skull. This place was used by several generations of inhabitants due to the depth of finds and type. Thaks for the answer...d2

 

[coalfire]

Cannibalism? Here is what My opinion is. (for what is worth...LOL)

In Wallace's Book "Indians of Pennsylvania", there is mention of Tuscarora tribe (lived in North Carolina then moved to PA under pressure from White's and other tribes.) as being witches and cannibals. I believe that when white Priests and white settlers met tribes they were told stories about other tribes. I also think these stories were told to keep white people from trading and associating with "enemies" and disliked tribes. Basically gossip. Something that the natives knew was taboo and frightening to whites. (and everyone)

Now there is also the flip side of the coin and the possibility that it is true. Parts of the Aztecs and Maya rituals supposedly show cannibalism and blood sacrifices. I say supposedly because scholars still can't translate those cultures languages and rely only on graphic drawings on ruins. One thing I always thought of as odd is that with all the killing of people in central and south America is that there are not millions of bones and skulls. Yes they found many large graves but if these peoples did as much killing for there gods then where are the mass graves?

Now if the Aztecs and Maya moved north after the Spanish and for other reasons. It is very likely they encountered North American Native tribes and brought their rituals of death and blood sacrifice. Personally I believe the Aztecs & Maya may have come to the Anasazi or became them and then even later maybe became the Hopi and Adena peoples. Now thinking logically if they did become Hopi & Anasazi other tribes may have witnessed odd rituals and got spooked and didn't understand them. There by giving other tribes ideas that certain tribes were cannibals.

Think about it like this: what would it look like for aliens (if there are some) from another planet that went to a Christian church service and saw people taking communion (the body and blood of Christ). What would they say about us? Would they call us cannibals?

Then again maybe some were cannibals!

Remember this is just food for thought and my opinion.
Hope it helps.
~Z~