Cannibalism in the Canyon

For 1000 years, the Anasazi — as the ancient Pueblo people are commonly called — flourished in what is now New Mexico. A democratic people with rich achievements in architecture, agriculture, astronomy and art, the Anasazi were, in the eyes of many anthropologists, a model society. Yet, around 1200 A.D., something brought their utopia to a sudden and mysterious end. Was it drought, disease, famine? Or was it something much more radical? Paleoanthropologist Christy Turner has found what he believes are clear signs of cannibalism among the Anasazi ruins. But American Indian groups and other archeologists are skeptical. And while the evidence is difficult to refute, the meaning of the findings is still open to debate. In the shadow of a debate that’s both scientific and political, huge questions remain: Did the Anasazi culture become cannibalistic, or did cannibals from afar stumble across the perfect victims?