WEBVTT - Would Cannibalism Have Been Calorically Worthwhile?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brain Stuff from How Stuff Works. Hey, brain Stuff,

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<v Speaker 1>I'm more in voc obam and you've likely heard of

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<v Speaker 1>the Paleo diet. The trendy regimen's name is short for

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<v Speaker 1>Paleolithic and supposedly mimics the nutrition of ancient humans who

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<v Speaker 1>lived about ten thousand years ago. Cave people ate meats, seafoods, nuts,

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<v Speaker 1>and a few fruits and vegetables. Oh and one other

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<v Speaker 1>food source that doesn't show up on today's protein focused

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<v Speaker 1>food blogs other people. Archaeologists in Western Europe have evidence

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<v Speaker 1>that the precursors to modern humans ate their neighbors during

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<v Speaker 1>the Paleolithic era. Most experts, though, have debated whether cannibalism

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<v Speaker 1>was essential for the survival of these hominins or whether

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<v Speaker 1>it was part of ritualistic ceremonies. To be classified as

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<v Speaker 1>nutritional cannibalism, the people that Paleolithic clans eight needed to

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<v Speaker 1>be well nutritious. So just how many calories are in

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<v Speaker 1>a thigh or an ear? Archaeologist James Cole of the

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<v Speaker 1>University of Brighton and in And decided to find out.

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<v Speaker 1>Think of the diagrams of cattle and pigs that illustrate

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<v Speaker 1>different cuts of meat, coal mapped out the human body,

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<v Speaker 1>then determined the cloric count within each segment, showing how

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<v Speaker 1>much energy they would transfer if consumed. The results were

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<v Speaker 1>published in the journal Scientific Reports. A thigh, for instance,

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<v Speaker 1>contains a hefty thirteen thousand, three hundred and fifty calories,

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<v Speaker 1>while the spleen is a modest hundred and thirty. Overall,

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<v Speaker 1>the average human body has anywhere from one hundred and

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<v Speaker 1>twenty five thousand to one hundred and forty four thousand

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<v Speaker 1>consumable calories. Some parts may take longer to digest. You'll

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<v Speaker 1>wrap up ten thousand, two hundred and eighty calories from

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<v Speaker 1>human skin alone, while others are snack size like the

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<v Speaker 1>kidneys and contain about three hundred and eighty calories. The brain,

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<v Speaker 1>spinal cord, and nerves were thinking as stew would be

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<v Speaker 1>the most appropriate cooking method. Here will provide you with

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<v Speaker 1>two thousand, seven hundred calories, and the bones contain about

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<v Speaker 1>twenty five thousand bone broth is so on trend right now,

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<v Speaker 1>after all, Despite all this talk of ancient eating habits,

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<v Speaker 1>Coal concluded other humans were probably not a nutritive meal

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<v Speaker 1>of choice compared to competing available food sources. One single

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<v Speaker 1>wily mammoth, for example, containing a whopping three point six

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<v Speaker 1>million calories, would have given an entire tribe food for

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<v Speaker 1>about eight weeks. A human, on the other hand, would

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<v Speaker 1>have provided enough calories for a tribe to subside for

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<v Speaker 1>only half a day, leaving everyone to wonder what's for

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<v Speaker 1>dinner after just a few hours. Cole concludes that because

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<v Speaker 1>of the relatively meager calorie counts of the human body,

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<v Speaker 1>people eight other people for social or cultural reasons, not

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<v Speaker 1>for their health. So modern paleo dieters can breathe a

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<v Speaker 1>sigh of relief their recipe books should continue to skip

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<v Speaker 1>this particular ingredient to Day's episode was written by Laurie L.

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<v Speaker 1>Dove and produced by Tyler Clang. For more on this

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<v Speaker 1>and lots of other Food for Thought topics, visit our

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<v Speaker 1>home planet, hastaff works dot com. The