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Social Studies 5: The Anasazi, Part II 11 Views
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Description:
Were the Anasazi cannibals? The question is just...eating us up inside.
Transcript
- 00:04
[Dino and Coop singing]
- 00:12
It’s theme day at the cafeteria, everybody! [Shmoop school sign]
- 00:16
Today the lunch ladies have fixed up a meal representing the cuisine of the Anasazi people. [Lunch queue]
- 00:21
Just in case you need a reminder, the Anasazi were a Native people that lived in what is [The southwest is highlighted]
- 00:26
now the American Southwest.
Full Transcript
- 00:27
And around the year 1300, they mysteriously disappeared. [Little people vanish off the map]
- 00:31
But Dolores has promised no “mystery meat” today.
- 00:35
Just some servings of corn, beans…
- 00:37
… and people?
- 00:38
Yup.
- 00:39
A group of archaeologists now believe that some of the Anasazi were cannibals. [Cafeteria lady brings over food and students look sick]
- 00:42
Other archaeologists say charging the Anasazi with cannibalism is pretty extreme. [Court gavel being used]
- 00:47
They’re asking, “Where’s the proof?” [Anasazi being taken away]
- 00:49
We wonder if they've checked the pudding…
- 00:51
Well, the Anasazi didn’t have a written language, so it’s not like they left behind
- 00:54
a menu for archaeologists to study. [Shovel digs up a menu]
- 00:56
What they did find was human bones and markings on them that seemed to show the meat
- 01:00
had been cut off of them… [Bones in the ground]
- 01:02
…stone tools with traces of human blood…
- 01:05
…evidence of charred bones and split skulls…
- 01:08
… pots that appeared to have been polished inside from the stirring of bones...
- 01:11
And, lastly, evidence of human tissue in fossilized remains of fecal matter.
- 01:16
Yeah, that means there were traces of people in their poop. [Scientist holding old poop saying "What a crappy job."]
- 01:20
So, could the ancient Anasazi restaurant reviews possibly have included praise for the local
- 01:24
rice and human brains? [Online review saying "the best rice and brain stew I have ever had"]
- 01:26
Before you order out for lunch, there’s a different, contradictory story to explore.
- 01:30
That’s because what looks like evidence of cannibalism may actually just be evidence
- 01:34
of killing and dismembering witches.
- 01:35
…Sure that's not that much better, but…at least the menu might be safe? [Man sat a table burps]
- 01:39
Alright, so what’s the evidence for the witch argument?
- 01:42
The so-called “cannibalized” bones were found with evidence like ashes and medicine
- 01:46
bundles that might indicate these were sites where witches were executed. [Gravestone that says [RIP Witches]
- 01:49
Today’s Pueblo Indians are descendants of the Anasazi.
- 01:53
And their folklore talks about the proper way to get rid of a witch. [Girl reading 'Anasazi Folklore for Dummies']
- 01:56
It includes capturing the witch, cutting him or her up into pieces until the “evil heart”
- 02:00
is found, then destroying the whole thing so the witch’s ghost can’t come back and [Flames]
- 02:03
haunt everyone.
- 02:04
And what’s one of the signs that someone is a witch?
- 02:06
Yup.
- 02:07
Cannibalism.
- 02:08
So just like with their disappearance, we may never know whether the Anasazi were cannibals, [Human bones burning]
- 02:12
or if they practiced gory witch executions.
- 02:14
It’s yet another mystery these people left behind.
- 02:16
But one thing is certain…
- 02:18
We're definitely bringing a brown bag lunch tomorrow. [A hand on the plate of food]
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