Edible People

Christian Siefkes is an independent scholar whose research interests include the history of trade and economic relations, including their darker aspects, as well as the reality of climate change and what is means for the future of humanity.

• List of IllustrationsIntroductionChapter 1. A Taxonomy of Cannibal PracticesChapter 2. Slave Eating in New ZealandChapter 3. Slave Eating in the Bismarck Archipelago and SumatraChapter 4. Ivory, Slavery, and Slave Eating in the Congo BasinChapter 5. The Roles of Arab-Swahili Merchants and the Congo Free StateChapter 6. Understanding Congolese Slave EatingChapter 7. Commercial and Economic Aspects of Congolese CannibalismChapter 8. Exploitation and Patriarchy in the CongoChapter 9. The Jameson AffairChapter 10. The Question of European Influences and the Obeyesekere ConjectureChapter 11. Foreigner Poaching in New Guinea and the Bismarck ArchipelagoChapter 12. Foreigner Poaching in Fiji and Central AfricaChapter 13. The Trade in Human Flesh and in “Edible” CorpsesChapter 14. Famine and Commercial Cannibalism in ChinaChapter 15. Warfare and Culinary Cannibalism in ChinaConclusionBibliographyIndex

“I thought I knew a lot about cannibalism until I read ‘Edible People’ by Christian Siefkes. The sheer volume of references is a gift. It is a remarkable book.” • Shirley Lindenbaum, City University of New York“This is a terrific piece of eye-opening research which illuminates a horrible but true part of human nature. It is wide ranging – covering many different cultures, peoples and places – and will fascinate any historian or anthropologist. For the general reader, it offers many vivid accounts of what seems inexplicable behaviour which was once far more common than anyone would have thought.” • Jasper Becker, author of Hungry Ghosts: Mao's Secret Famine“This is a remarkable book. As a historical archive detailing the extent of cannibalism in various parts of the world at different periods of history, it is largely unmatched and breaks new ground in the sheer volume of material presented.” • Paul Collinson, Oxford Brookes University“Christian Siefkes' work on cannibalism explores areas of the phenomenon that are still little understood, and makes an important and significant addition to the existing literature on the topic. His research is broad-ranging, and his perspectives are particularly insightful.” • Paul Moon, Auckland University of Technology