Bizarre History of Medical Cannibalism: Why Europeans Once Consumed Human Remains

You must have heard or read about human cannibalism in novels, or seen it in horror movies. Cannibalism is the act of consuming an individual of the same species as food. If you were thinking that this is all fiction, then you are wrong. You may be shocked to know that human cannibalism was very much real in the ancient times. What’s more shocking is that there was a time when doctors used cannibalism as medical treatment. 

A 2016 study, published in the Lapham Quarterly journal, shares a brief history of medical cannibalism. Today, we will take a deeper dive into it.

The Ancient Origins of Early Blood Remedies

For hundreds of years, medical cannibalism (refers to the use of human body parts as medicine) was a widely accepted European healthcare practice. In ancient Rome, spectators regularly drank the fresh, warm blood of fallen gladiators to treat conditions such as epilepsy. 

By the first century, ancient physicians had the notion that consuming a dying person’s vital essence can pass on their health and strength directly to the sick consumer. Ancient texts served as the groundwork for this practice. They promoted the belief that ‘like cures like’ and that a person's life force lived inside their bodily fluids and bones. These early practices created a centuries-long medical tradition where the human body itself was treated as a powerful therapeutic drug.

How Misunderstandings Led To The ‘Mummy Trade’ 

During the 12th century, European demand for human remains increased massively due to a major translation mistake of Middle Eastern medical texts. The Arab physicians had originally recommended ‘mummia’, a naturally occurring bituminous asphalt pitch found in Persian mountains, to heal cuts and bruises. European translators incorrectly thought this refers to ‘mummia’ – as in the preserved Egyptian mummies. 

This led apothecaries to import thousands of ancient human corpses. By the 16th century, demand increased so much that dishonest merchants started creating fake mummies from the recently deceased to meet the market needs. From the 1500s through the 1600s, powdered mummy became a standard, expensive remedy that was sold in apothecaries across Europe for internal bleeding and stomach ulcers.

When Medical Cannibalism Peaked in Europe

Medical cannibalism reached its peak during the 16th and 17th centuries. It was supported by prominent doctors and royalty alike. Famous 16th-century Swiss physician Paracelsus strongly supported and preached using human flesh and moss harvested from human skulls (known as Usnea) to treat nosebleeds and head ailments. 

During the 1600s, King Charles II of England regularly drank ‘The King's Drops’. This referred to a costly mixture prepared using crushed human skulls dissolved in alcohol. Moreover, poor citizens who could not afford such rare remedies gathered at public execution sites in the 17th century. They collected fresh blood straight from the guillotine or gallows. Fat harvested from executed criminals was also transformed into soothing skin salves and joint ointments during this era.

How Medical Cannibalism Became Extinct 

By the 18th century, the practice of consuming human remains started to rapidly decline as modern science and anatomy progressed. Enlightened physicians started rejecting corpse medicine. They started viewing it as ineffective superstition, instead of real science. 

By the 1800s, popular belief in human body remedies had mostly faded from standard medical practice. It remained only in rare folklore remedies. The commercial sale of human body parts as medicine officially came to a halt when the last major pharmaceutical catalog, issued by Merck in 1912, offered mummy powder for sale. By the early 20th century, medical cannibalism was completely extinct, leaving behind a fascinating historical footprint.

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Conclusion

Many people think human cannibalism is pure fiction. But history holds proof that the consumption of human remains was a widely accepted medical treatment in Europe for centuries. This was driven by ancient beliefs and bizarre translation errors. Everyone, from commoners to royalty, depended on remedies such as powdered mummies and crushed skulls. Fortunately, the advancement of modern science eventually revealed that these practices are superstitions, bringing an end to this shocking chapter in medical history.