Cannibalism is one of the biggest taboos throughout history. The idea of eating one of your own species tends to fill people with disgust and horror.

Yet, cannibalism has happened for many reasons, including warfare and religious rituals. Reports of cannibalism are particularly prevalent in times of scarcity, such as Jamestown in Virginia in the 17th century, where remains of at least one person who may have been butchered have been identified.

Looking at stories about cannibalism during famines can tell us about how people retell stories over the centuries and what people thought their fellow man was capable of.

The most famous Scottish cannibal was Sawney Bean, purportedly a 16th-century man who, with his wife and children, killed travellers and ate them on the Ayrshire coast. It was only after one traveller escaped and raised the alarm that the king sent an army to arrest and execute them.

The only problem with this story is that Sawney Bean is first mentioned in English stories from the 18th century. Despite the purported thousands who were eaten over many decades, no source mentions an epidemic of missing persons. The word “Sawney” was a derogatory term for a Scot at that time and the........

© The Conversation