Ancient Cannibals Smothered Their Meals in Bone-Staining Spices

We know that , over history , humans have deplete each other . Butwe now knowmore about how ancient cannibals like to dine : They spent batch of prison term prepping elaborate feasts with genuine recipes calling for alien ingredients .

Over 2,000 years ago , people living around Mexico City grilled or roil other humans , seasoning the cooked center with chilis and brilliantly colored spices that stain the victim ’ pearl .

The gastronomic revelation is outline in a new field , which was just published in the journalArchaeometry . The inquiry squad depend at the remains of 18 the great unwashed ( adult male , woman , and children ) at Tlatelcomila , an archaeological site near Mexico ’s capital . The lilliputian bone fragments date to around 700 to 500 B.C. , and left stinger mark and geological fault that hint at cannibalism . But they were also tinted red and yellowish . The team intend this was weird . So , they wanted to figure out how the adult male - feeder prepared their food . After a long ton of forensic probe , they found answers .

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First , shortly after the sentence of end , the sum juices congregated around some osseous tissue and slightly diffused into them . This gave the bones a red color , suggesting their meat was grill .

But why were some xanthous ? The team deduced that the meat on those bones moil in small heat with vibrant , colorful ingredients : spices like saffron - ish annatto and the mole sauce component pipián , as well as chili peppers . Those spices contain pigment that can not only dye wearable , but bone , too .

The study is a big deal because it fall in us a peek into an ancient cannibal ’s cookery book , suggesting the flesh - nibblers in the region used the same recipe to prepare humans as they did other food in Mesoamerica .

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