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MAY 16, 2000

When Arizona State University professor Christy Turner published Man Corn: Cannibalism and Violence in the Prehistoric American Southwest last year, his book caused quite a stir in both scientific and Native American communities.

Now, his controversial theories are the subject of a PBS series called Secrets of the Dead. The episode "Cannibals of the Canyon" will air Wednesday night.

Along with his late wife Jacqueline A. Turner, Christy believes cannibalism contributed to the abandonment of historic Hopi and Pueblo sites in the Southwest. He claims particular markings on bones he uncovered point to one conclusion: that humans consumed one another.

Naturally, Turner is not without his critics. Hopi archaeologists and historians dispute his conclusions and allege he has mishandled bones of their ancestors.

Other scientists believe Turner has ignored alternate explanations for the curious appearance of the bones he studied. Witchcraft and ritual burial practices are logical explanations for the various markings, they say.

Turner's explanation for the introduction of cannibalism to the Southwest by Toltec invaders from Meso-America has also been criticized as a weak link in his theories. Turner believes these unfriendly neighbors instituted a a 200-year reign of terror in the region.

But for whatever reason the practice of cannibalism appeared in the region, if at all, study of the many cultures in the Southwest has attracted many to grand ruins such as Chaco Canyon in New Mexico and Mesa Verde in Colorado.

Archaeologists have long wondered about the identity of their inhabitants, not even knowing what to call them. Hopi prefer to use their own word Hisatsinom to describe their ancestors, rather than the Dine word commonly used, "Anasazi."

More importantly, scientists have tried to solve what they believe to be one of the greatest mysteries of the Southwest. Why were so many sites were abandoned beginning around 1200 AD?

For Turner, a theory of cannibalism helps explain why. But for the descendants of the great architects of the Southwest, the mystery Turner and others are hoping to solve might not be such a mystery after all.

Relevant Links:
From PBS: Secrets of the Dead
The Hisatsinom and the Hohokam - Links and resources.

From Amazon.Com:
Man Corn: Cannibalism and Violence in the Prehistoric American Southwest
Christy Turner, Jacqueline Turner
University of Utah Press