Anthropology of Food: Essay on Medicinal Cannibalism

Anthropology of Food: Essay on Medicinal Cannibalism Abstract Cannibalism has been a topic of morbid fascination, condemnation, and strong subject of academic and moral argument. Medicinal cannibalism and corpse medicine became a pervasive occurrence in early modern Europe and America. Egyptian mummies pulverized into powder, human flesh of those recently executed and tragically died, fat, blood, skull and moss of the dead mans skull were in high demand by physicians and their patients. Paracelsian chemists and physicians (a notorious medical movement in the late 16th and 17th century based upon theories and therapies of Paracelsus) made very careful removal and use of the entire human corpse. Thomas Willis, Robert Boyle, Charles II of England and a host of affluent gentry and aristocrats actively participated in this practice, along with the lucrative underground world of executioners, merchants, and grave robbers. This essay delves into the facts of medicinal cannibalism, purposed body parts, and healing practices. Introduction In order to understand Medicinal Cannibalism, it is important we first understand what cannibalism is; Cannibalism is the intake or consumption of one’s own species. Medical Cannibalism or the proper term iatric cannibalism is the ritualistic eating of human flesh for purpose of healing the human body. The consumption of mummies and human tissue became a infamous pharmaceutical drug used widely all over the Europe, and were still sold at highly regarded German pharmacies as recent as 1908, and continued to be practiced in the Pacific Ocean islands as late as the second half of the 20th century. Medical Cannibalism was commonplace and hit the peak of popularity during the 16th and 17th centuries. Many European royals, scientists, and clergy commonly ingested medical potions containing human blood, fat, bodily secretions, and bones believed to cure everything from cuts and bruises to seizures. Method So Jesus said to them. Very truly, I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you†¦ -John 6:53 In order to gain an understanding about the history of medical cannibalism, we need to explore the Christian followers and their gruesome healing practices. In the Christian faith, the correlation between the deceased and the godly has been a elemental part of ceremony and worship. Very early on, flocks of faithful worshippers prayed over the dead martyred saints believing the saints physical remains provided a spiritual connection between man and God. Their decaying bodies and their bodily composition (such as blood, flesh, organs, bones, and secretions) believed to have holy powers to provide miracles of healing and the escape of spiritual and mortal death. These theft and vandalism of these bodies grew so widespread eventually, requiring relocation of the bodies to secure resting places. Stories of these healing miracles continued to be reported by those who prayed or touched these saints corpses: Saint Catherine of Sienas mummified head displayed at the Church of San Domenico in Siena, Italy and is believed to have healing powers. Catherine of Siena was believed to have had performed a healing ritual for a nun dying from breast cancer described as twice forced herself to overcome nausea by thrusting her mouth into the putrefying breast†¦ and drank her pus. (Sugg, 2012) In central Italy, the faithful would pour olive oil over the martyred Saint Felixs through holes in the tomb and collect the oil that had run over his decaying body to anoint the sick. (Sugg, 2012) By the Middle Ages, Christian Europe was no longer satisfied consumption of dead saints, but had grown to also hunger for human bodies. Blood For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it for you on the altar to make atonement for your souls, for it is the blood that makes atonement byt the atonement by the life. -Leviticus 17:11 Human blood believed to contain the essence of spirit and life and through consumption; the bloods life essence is transferred. Regarded as the greatest scientist of his time, Saint Albertus Magus (1206-1280), prescribed a most precious water containing the distilled blood from a healthy man. He declared any disease of the body, if it be anointed therewith, is made whole and all inward diseases by the drinking thereof. A small quantity thereof received, restoreth them that have lost all strength: it cureth the palsy effectuously, and preserveth the body from all sickness. (Sugg, 2012) In 1483, King Louis XI ailing and struggling to live, drank the blood of small children: Every day he grew worse, and the medicines profited him nothing, though of a strange character; for he vehemently hoped to recover by the human blood which he took and swallowed from certain children. (Himmelman, 1997) In 1492, Pope Innocent VIII near death after a violent stroke drank blood drained by his personal physician of three young boys causing their death as well as the unsuccessful healing of the pope resulting in death. The scientific approach to medical practice during the Renaissance triumphed over the faith-based healing of the past creating great advancements in chemistry. biology, and medicine. Oddly enough, medicinal cannibalism reached the peak of popularity and the art of alchemy. Decay is the beginning of all birth-and of all health -Paracelsus Alchemic philosophy of corpse medicine was uncomplicated: through decomposition, old matter transformed into raw material once again. Refinement of human organic matter is the base of the essence of life. Theophorastus Bombastus von Honenheim (1491-1541) Early literature is full of revelations pertaining to the potent medicinal power in the beneficial healing of an individuals ailments. The text and medical studies of medicinal cannibalism and corpse pharmacology, reveals the commonplace practice of ingesting human bodily matter and reveals a culture preoccupied. According to early literature (980-1037), the ingestion of mummies was the preparation that could cure epilepsy, nausea, colds, and the antidote of poison. By the late sixteenth century, the ingestion of mummies became a renowned pharmaceutical drug used widely all over the Europe, and were still sold at reputable German pharmacies as recent as 1908.[i] Further, ingestion of human bodies was practiced in many of the islands in the Pacific Ocean until the second half of the twentieth century. The question necessarily occurs: what’s good about it? Ingestion of human bodies is not necessarily an appealing notion even to the people in the sixteenth century. When one is prescribed a half a pound of mummy dust by a doctor as a remedy for a cold, it sounds like the risk isn’t worth taking, for one could ask many questions such as, ‘For how long do I need to take it?’ or more obviously, ‘Does that work?’ and so on. Dwelling deeper, can one consume anot her being of the same species? What would its moral implication be? Apparently, these are types of questions that were asked and have been asked by those who promoted medicinal ingestion of flesh as well as the deliberate act of cannibalism. In this paper, I will examine the types of cannibalisms as well as ways to prepare human flesh, discuss the theoretical and practical implications of cannibalism and briefly touch upon the alleged relationship between cannibalism and witchcraft in early modern Europe. If you havent read much about ancient Egyptian mummies, you may be shocked to learn that in centuries past, they were ground up into a fine powder dispensed by pharmacists to be topically applied or orally ingested as a treatment for ailments as diverse as upset stomach, gout, and epilepsy. Mumia (or mummia) was 1st prepared in the 12th c., was in common use by the 15th c., and reached great popularity by the 17th c. Mummy is become merchandise, Mizraim cures wounds, and Pharaoh is sold for balsams, wrote Sir Thomas Browne in 1841. Mummy powder was in such demand that the supply of ancient Egyptians slowed and contemporary corpses were substituted. Mumia was still available as recently as the early 20th c. Fast forward to 2012, when scientists are again looking to mummy as a cure. They fear that our (over)use of antibiotics has ravaged our intestinal flora, which in turn has changed our metabolism, damaging our immune system and contributing to obesity. Cecil Lewis of the University of Oklahoma is comparing the bacteria in the poop of ancient mummies who lived before the age of antibiotics to our own gut bacteria so they can figure out what has changed. My first hypothesis would be that chlorinated water and antibiotics fundamentally changed human microbiomes, says Dr. Lewis, who adds, Its too early to tell if its a good idea to repopulate our guts with bacteria. But its certainly an important idea that requires investigation. And presumably a more sophisticated method than ingesting mumia 1st image) An apothecary vessel inscribed MUMIÆ once contained powdered mummy and is now a specimen in the pharmacy collection of the Museums fà ¼r Hamburgische Geschichte, 2nd image) Alisa Eagleston and Elizabeth Cornu, conservators from the San Francisco Fine Arts Museum, cover the 2,500-year-old mummy of an Egyptian man named Irethorrou after being scanned at the Stanford Medical Center. These are some of the many posts I have written about ancient Egypt, if you care to read on: Ancient Egyptian perfume, Rediscovery of ancient Egypt, Raiding ancient Egypt, Ancient Egyptian finds, The nurse and the sphinx, Mummy toes, Ramesses repatriation, Mummies guarded, The mummies in question, and Egyptian obelisks elsewhere. Noble’s new book,Medicinal Cannibalism in Early Modern English Literature and Culture, and another by Richard Sugg of England’s University of Durham,Mummies, Cannibals and Vampires: The History of Corpse Medicine from the Renaissance to the Victorians, reveal that for several hundred years, peaking in the 16th and 17th centuries, many Europeans, including royalty, priests and scientists, routinely ingested remedies containing human bones, blood and fat as medicine for everything from headaches to epilepsy. There were few vocal opponents of the practice, even though cannibalism in the newly explored Americas was reviled as a mark of savagery. Mummies were stolen from Egyptian tombs, and skulls were taken from Irish burial sites. Gravediggers robbed and sold body parts. Bibliography Dolan, M. (2012). The Gruesome History of Earing Corpses as Medicine History . Retrieved from Smithsonianmag.com: http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-gruesome-history-of-eating-corpses-as-medicine Gordon-Grube, K. (1993). Evidence of Medicinal Callnibalism in Puritan New England: Mummy and Related Remidies. Early American Literature , 28, p. 185. Himmelman, P. (1997). The Medicinal Body: An Analysis of Medicinal Cannibalism in Europe, 1300-1700. Dialectical Anthropology , 22, p. 183. Noble, L. (2011). Medicinal Cannibalism in Early Modern English Literature and Culture. New York: Palgrave Macmillian. Peters, H. (1899). Pictorial History of Ancient Pharmacy: With Sketches of Early Medical Practice. Chicago: G.T. Engelhart Company. Sugg, R. (2012). Mummies, Cannibals and Vampires: The History of Corpse Medicine From the Renaissance to the Victorians. Hoboken: Taylor Francis. The entries have these elements: author(s); year of publication; title; and source (publisher for books, and title of journal for reports or articles). Book titles are underlined; titles of articles are in quotation marks; journal titles are italicized. The journal title is followed by the volume number, then the number within the volume (or the month or season, depending upon the journals style) in parentheses, and then the page numbers. Citing Internet Sources There differing styles and no standard for citing Internet sources. Check with your instructor about whether your institution has a preferred style. In the absence of one, use the following style, which is adapted from the periodical reference mentioned earlier: [Author Last Name, First Name]. [Year]. [Web Page Title]. [Website title or owner]. [Website URL] (accessed [Date accessed]). [i] Shirley Lindenbaum, â€Å"Thinking about Cannibalism† Annual Reviews vol. 33 (2004): 475-498. http://www.jstor.org/stable/25064862 (accessed January 20, 2010). International Economics: Trade And Tariffs International Economics: Trade And Tariffs INTRODUCTION: International economics is becoming a major part of existing societies because of the rapid changes occurring in economic markets. As days are passing by, governments, consumers, business etc have started realizing that this economic change from their own group, society, city or country is not the only region its the effect of the dynamic world which is taking part as well. Consumers walk in the local shops and buy products grown in their own country as well as products grown in other countries. Local businesses have to compete with international markets and similarly they can bolster their fair share by selling their home grown products internationally as well in this Global time. Advancement of Telecommunications is becoming a key factor in this global world as it eases the cost of delivering products internationally. Internet is playing its part as it increases the wide view of markets even more. Easiest way to understand the rising of international economic growth is to consider the growth of exports in the past 50 years or so, assuming that one countrys export would definitely be another countrys import; one can easily tell the significant amount of rise in the exports and imports in the past 50 years. World Exports, 1948-2008 (in Billions of U.S. Dollars) On the other hand, growth in the value of exports, itself, doesnt show the importance of trade. A better method is to look at the share of traded goods in relation to the size of the world economy shows world exports as a percentage of the world gross domestic product (GDP) for the years 1970 to 2008. World exports which were just 10 percent in 1970 took its time till 2008 but the percentage grew from 10% to 30%. World Exports, 1970-2008 (Percentage of World GDP) However, as the growth in International trade and investment became more significant, trade barriers started moving steadily downwards. Just after the World War era, GATT (General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade) constantly tried to convince the member countries to reduce tariffs (import tax) on imported goods. Countries kept on reducing the tax on imports asking for concession in import tax for their products among the member countries until the final round of meeting which is known as Uruguay Round held recently in 1994 where Global Trade Liberalization extended its sphere even more. After that round countries would now not only lower their tariff rates but would liberalize agricultural and services sectors alongside setting up a quota system for the multifibre agreement in clothing sector which was one of the hottest issue in the earlier era. WTO (World Trade Organization) was established in order to keep these agreements improving on regular terms and to keep discussing on further development in Trade sector and to settle down the disputes among the countries on trade. By the end of 2009, there were 153 member countries of WTO Trade Liberalization Club, and many others are pushing to become a part of WTO. This willingness of other countries to join the liberalization club is only making Free Trade phenomena easier. Another good result has come from the regional free trade agreements. Neighbouring countries or close trade partners have taken a step further and started free trading which indicates a better future for WTO and even though it is done on the grounds of trade it still resembles the basic ideology of WTO. These changes in economic patterns and a new way towards free trading is becoming a fundamental bridge for Globalization. Globalization means social, economic, cultural and environmental changes which are connecting people all over the world. Since the growing economics aspects of globalization, it is really important to understand the affects of global market over business, consumers and governments. This leads us to study International Economics. LITERATURE REVIEW: What is International Economics? International Economics is the study that assesses the propositions of International Trade, International Finance and International Lending and Borrowing. It has two major subfields, International Trade and International Finance. Our main focus in this research is over International Trade. What is International Trade? International Trade is a field in economics which implements certain economic models in order to assess international economy. It basically works on understanding supply and demand breakdown of International Markets; firm and consumer relation; oligopolistic and monopolistic market structures; and the effects of market distortions. What is Tariff? Tariff is the tax on import that a government imposes on imported goods. It is the most common way to protect ones economy is to introduce tariffs on imports. Sometimes this term tariff is used in different contexts as well for example rail road tariffs but generally more significantly used in tax on imports. Tariffs are the most common way to generate revenue for the government for centuries. It is the case because it is relatively easy to put custom duty on goods coming from other countries and administratively it is one of the easiest ways to collect tax. Countries simply place their officials at their borders and apply custom duty over the trading goods. High value of tariffs may give birth to smuggling and people finding ways to get their goods without paying taxes but even ignoring the fact that smuggling does take place, countries generate enough revenue for their governments through tariffs. Every business man wants the trade to be liberalized, by this trade liberalization they mean to reduce the tariffs which will make them bring international goods in a cheaper price. Governments resist reducing the tariffs to protect their home grown goods, if international products would come cheap, businesses would have option to get imported products resulting in deduction in home grown products which leads to job hazard or unemployment. Protectionism? Protectionism simply means protecting home grown goods against imported goods. High tariffs indicates the protection towards home grown products as if the tariffs would be low, businesses would be encouraged to get more goods from international markets rather than home grown goods. There was a time in mid 20th century when countries used to generate funds for governments by keeping high tariffs on imports. However as trade liberalization took place, other types of non-tariff barriers came into existence as well. RECENT TRADE CONTROVERSIES: In the middle of 2009, world was down to the biggest economic down pull since the early 1980s. Economic growth was going down and the unemployment all over was rising. International trade fell down all over the world and the investment both domestically and internationally took a downturn. As the economic condition unfolded, there was a similarity between this recession and the Great Depression of 1930s. One of the biggest concerns was that countries might turn back to protectionism to raise job opportunities for domestic workers. That is exactly what countries did during the period of Great Depression and it came up as a negative effect for many of them. This amplitude of negative feeling is nothing new in this current era as it has been coming since the Great Depression between the supporters and opponents of the trade liberalization on Policymaking. Even though trade advocates have successfully opened free trade markets, trade opponents have also been successful in shutting down t rade markets. Its like going three steps forward and coming back 2 steps. AMBIVILENCE ABOUT GLOBALIZATION: Realistically speaking, ambivalence about trade and globalization occurred in decade of 1990s and 2000s. Even though in this period there was a buzz of protests and opposition about free trade theories and going global, this was the time when remarkable movements of freer trade occurred. Trade Liberalization was at its peak in 1980s. Major success of some of the countries that had outward-economies like South Korea, Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan etcà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ linked with the countries which were having inward-economies such as Latin America, Africa, India, and elsewhere led to a resurgence of support for trade. Future of trade liberalization is in the hands of time for now, it seems like if this crises is to be ended soon then we might see trade liberalization going to its peak again, but if it continued for a longer period of time, then countries might adopt protectionism in order to raise work for domestic worker which would be a killer for trade liberalization for some time to come. Economic crises have led in favor of protectionism in the past but that protectionism didnt bolster the economies, it rather did little good and worst the effect of depression as can be understood by the period of Great Depression. Current scenario may have little hopes for trade liberalization as history is opting to repeat itself. DISCUSSION: The Great Depression, Smoot-Hawley, and the Reciprocal Trade Agreements Act (RTAA): The greatest historical motivator for trade liberalization since the World War II was the period of Great Depression. The disaster apparently began with crash of US Stock Market in late 1929. It imminently pulled the world economy in an extremely rapid pace. By 1930, the US economy had shrink by 8.6 percent and the unemployment rate jumped to 8.9 percent. With this contraction, came an alarming call for protectionism for domestic goods against the internationally bought imported goods. In May 1930, almost 1028 economists signed a petition against the rising tariff and marched a campaign towards President Hoover of that time. Despite of this petition signed by so many economists, in June 1930 came the Smooth-Hawley Act (tariff Act of 1930) which almost rose up to 60 percent of import duties. Due to the fact that not only US was suffering from the economic crises, international exporters who were doing business with US were also suffering from economic crises chose to introduced their own increase in tariffs to save their own domestic economy in retaliation. It effected in a dramatic drop in trade among the countries and added even worst effect to the ongoing depression. In following years, economic crises grew even worst. The US economy continued to contract at double digits and by the year 1933 the unemployment rate raised up to 24.9 percent. In 1932, Franklyn Roosevelt ran for the President and spoke against the high tariffs. By the year 1934 a new scheme accepting the advantages of trade liberalization was introduced. It was Congress that passed the Reciprocal Trade Agreement Acts (RTAA) which allowed the president to negotiate bilateral tariff reduction agreements over different products. It worked as President of US would send his agents to say Mexico and introduce a reduced tariff rates to the products brought in US and in place ask them to reduce tariffs on different set of products that could be taken from US. Once the agreement is done by the government trade could get started. Thats exactly what happened, and it pushed the wheel for trade again. Over 60 bilateral deals were placed and accepted among different countries under RTAA which set the platform for trade liberalization for decades to come. SIGNIFICANCE OF RTAA: RTAA is considered significant for two reasons. First one has to be that it was the first time US Congress granted access of Trade Authorities directly to the President for the Trade Policymaking. Secondly it served as the basis for the foundation of GATT (General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade). Under GATT countries would also discuss about getting concession in tariffs rather than only doing bilateral trade among the members of GATT. That was the main difference in GATT and RTAA that RTAA only worked in a bilateral Trade form while GATT worked in a multilateral trade form. GENERAL AGREEMENT ON TARIFFS AND TRADE (GATT): What is GATT? General Agreement for Tariffs and Trade (GATT) provided the basic trade rules and solution in dispute over trades among the members from 1948 to 1994. It was one of the three Breton Woods Organizations came into existence after the World War II. Its goal was to promote trade liberalization by reducing high tariffs. In reality, General Agreement for Tariffs and Trade (GATT) wasnt meant to be organized as a standalone body. It was a part of a much wider agreement to establish International Trade Organization (ITO). Intentions of ITO were to assign trade rules and supportive guidelines that would help member countries to do trade. The ITO was conceived during the Breton Woods conference attended by the main allied countries in New Hampshire in 1944 and was seen as complementary to two other organizations also conceived there: the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank. The IMF would monitor and regulate the international fixed exchange rate system, the World Bank would assist with loans for reconstruction and development, and the ITO would regulate international trade. What was the Goal of GATT? General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) as the name suggests consists of the clauses which makes members agree on a similar set of trade policies that suits the trading parties. Basic goal was to introduce some set of rules for trade, that would be helpful in bringing up trade liberalization and thus end up in reducing trade barriers. Countries that make these commitments and sign on to the agreement are called signatory countries. All the discussions that take place before the agreement are referred to as rounds. Each round is given a name according to the location it takes place or to a prominent figure taking place in that round. There were eight rounds of negotiation under the GATT: Geneva Round (1948), Annecy Round (1950), Torque Round (1951), Geneva II Round (1956), Dillon Round (1962), Kennedy Round (1967), Tokyo Round (1979), and Uruguay Round (1994) The most important note was that agreements were made by mutual consent. A round finishes only when every negotiating country is satisfied with the promises it and all of its negotiating partners are making. The slogan sometimes used is Nothing Is Agreed until Everything Is Agreed. WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION (WTO): World Trade Organization (WTO) was established to Liberalize International Trade and supervises some set rules. It actually replaced the work done by General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). WTO was established in January 1 1995 under the Marrakech Agreement. Its goals are exactly the same as of (GATT) to promote trade liberalization. It is relatively a small body based in Geneva having a director general and a small staff of economists, lawyers and others. WTO is sometimes taken as a Trade Law making body, and that is wrong, because it doesnt make any trade laws. It follows the set of rules described in Uruguay Round and each country has to decide their own trade rules. What it does is, it settles down the negotiations between the member countries and solves the disputes as it may require. Besides monitoring each member countrys trade policies, which the WTO fulfils by conducting periodic trade policy reviews of the member countries, the WTO club was also created to deal with disputes. This is surely the most important power of the WTO. CONCLUSION: Since the WTO began in 1995 there have been over four hundred disputes brought to the DSB. Large number countries have been complainants and defendants although the two countries most often on one side or the other are the United States and the EU. Some of the most well-known disputes have involved bananas, steel, hormone-treated beef, and commercial aircraft. Lesser-known cases have involved narrow product groups such as Circular Welded Carbon Quality Line Pipe, Canned Tuna with Soybean Oil, Combed Cotton Yarn, and Retreaded Tires. Traders know better what to expect from their trading partners because their partners have committed themselves to particular trade policies and to a resolution mechanism in the event of noncompliance. In a sense, then, it is true that the WTO agreements restrict the freedom of a country to set whatever trade policy it deems appropriate for the moment. That loss of sovereignty, though, is designed to prevent countries from choosing more destructive protectionist policiesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬ policies that are very seductive to voters, especially in an economic crisis. If successful, the WTO could prevent a reoccurrence of Smoot-Hawley and its aftermath both now and in the future.