Forensic AnthropologyCannibalism Research ReportCannibalism has long been a topic of interest to humans throughout history. There have been countless reports and evidence presented that indicate cannibalism has been occurring since the dawn of man. It just seems that, when faced with a very dire situation, people would turn to other people for a source of sustenance. Fortunately, few people have had to exert so much effort to survive; some people would say they would rather die than eat the flesh of another human being. This shows a big taboo in cannibalism. Until a few hundred years ago, cannibalism was considered a relatively normal phenomenon. People used to eat their fellow humans for both survival and ritual purposes. Only recently has cannibalism become taboo and has become synonymous only with primitive tribes, psychotic killers, and ultimately, desperate efforts to survive very dire situations. The goals of cannibalism can be divided into two basic subcategories. The first type of cannibalism is survival cannibalism in which the victim is consumed for its nutritional values. This is the most easily identifiable case and is what truly humanizes cannibalism. This is an example of cannibalism in which ordinary people find themselves thrust into bad situations and have a very strong will to live. It's interesting to see people who are supposed to lose their minds and do the unthinkable to survive. No one really knows what they would do in such a situation, and that's what makes the human mind so unpredictable. Some people say that if they were put in a situation where cannibalism was the only viable option for survival, they wouldn't eat anyone, but there's really no way to know. The kindest people can become ruthless... middle of paper ...... action, so their culture must be preserved, because humanity needs the diversity of cultures to thrive. Despite the mental and biological consequences of cannibalism on humans, people are still unaware of the consequences and participate in them. Then, every once in a while, the world encounters a Westernized person who decides to go against cultural norms (often illegally) and cannibalize someone. This is once again where cannibalism can go from an interesting cultural phenomenon to a sickening fantasy, and the place where the line can boldly be drawn. That being said, although cannibalism is strictly discouraged in almost all societies today, it is a part of human history and was one of the primitive means of intimidation and survival. Times have changed, but people's motivations have not changed and they still seek to conquer others, simply through different tactics..