Most human race of the present - day seek to rationalize the numerous instances of cannibalism among early humans and Neandtherals by thinking “ well , they must have been really , really thirsty . ”However , a novel study paint a picture a much stranger reality : perhaps they did n’t always   corrode each other out of nutritional necessity for food , but perhaps sometimes for reasons of aggression or ritual .

The study , put out in the journalScientific Reports , append up the calorific content of a human . In total , tucking into a dinner of whole human being ( served rare ) would be about 143,771 calories . Archaeologist James Cole from the University of Brighton even broke it down part by part ( below ) .

James Cole / Scientific Reports   ( CC BY 4.0 )

Numerous archaeological web site across Europe contain grounds that powerfully show   Neanderthals , out species of hominid , and homo ( homophile sapiens ) all employ in cannibalism , as shown by the burns , bite mark , and general slaughterhouse of human bones . In most example , they were   all construe as being force back by nutritional needs .

But compared to other beast that   were eaten around the time in relatively abundant numbers – such as mammoths , wooly-haired rhinos , horses , pigs , and cervid   – the body of a man contains notably fewer calories . Many of those brute are notably large than humans , and therefore have more marrow , but they ’re also more nourishing pound for pound . For a human radical of 60 , cannibalism would only be a viable mannikin if the   group is in a position to effectively consume itself each year .

Dr Cole concedes that there were undoubtedly some instances where hunger did get Neandertal man to eat one of their buddies for an opportunistic easy meal . However , the fact that we are so nutritiously puny hint at   social , cultural , or even spiritual factors that could   have been   at   play . On top of that , there ’s flock of evidence to suggest that early humans had the worked up complexity to understand the implications of use up a fellow appendage of their mintage .

The report concludes : " We know that modern humans have a range of complex motivations for cannibalism that extend from ritual , aggressive , and survival to dietary reasons . Why then would a hominin metal money such as the Neanderthals , who seem to have had depart attitudes to the burial and intervention of their all in , not have an as complex position towards cannibalism ? "