Early Jamestown colonists were cannibals, apparently

The mangled remains of a 14-year-old girl shed some light on the less savory elements of America's roots

The recreation of "Jane" and the 14-year-old colonialist's skull (left).
(Image credit: AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

The first English settlements in the so-called New World were far from glamorous. Indeed, early settlers in Jamestown, Va., were often starving, and forced to eat dogs, mice, and shoe leather to survive devastating winters. A few written accounts take things one gruesome step farther and suggest that some colonists even ate their own dead.

Those cannibal rumors, it turns out, are true. A group of archaeologists have found proof of our ancestors' stomach-turning eating habits, in the form of a mangled skull that is "absolutely consistent with dismemberment and de-fleshing."

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Lauren Hansen

Lauren Hansen produces The Week’s podcasts and videos and edits the photo blog, Captured. She also manages the production of the magazine's iPad app. A graduate of Kenyon College and Northwestern University, she previously worked at the BBC and Frontline. She knows a thing or two about pretty pictures and cute puppies, both of which she tweets about @mylaurenhansen.