There is evidence of cannibalism among Jamestown settlers.
Evidence shows that the first English settlers in Jamestown were driven to cannibalism.
The remains of a teenage girl from around 4 hundred years ago were found, which have cut marks indicating that she was butchered for her meat.
Forensic anthropologists from the Smithsonian believe the young woman’s remains are the first scientific proof of this activity that had been hinted at previously in written documents. The winter between 1609 and 1610 was a very difficult time for the settlers, with insufficient supplies and constant conflict with the local tribes.
A ship bringing food and more people saved the English colony, but the girl is probably not the only victim that was eaten.
Only 60 of the original 300 settlers survived the winter, known historically as the Starving Time.
The colony grew after the harsh winter, and the settlers became successful by growing tobacco.
Jim Horn, Colonial Williamsburg's vice president of research and historical interpretation said: “Survival cannibalism was a last resort; a desperate means of prolonging life at a time when the settlement teetered on the brink of extinction.”
