Dispelling false claims of cannibalistic caribs--again [View all]

20-AUG-2021

Peer-Reviewed Publication
SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY

SFU archaeologist Christina Giovas and colleagues are formally denouncing what they call unsubstantiated and harmful claims of cannibalistic Caribs migrating to the Caribbean, in a paper published today in Nature’s Scientific Reports.

The story of Christopher Columbus and the colonization of Indigenous Peoples is a part of human history that is often told and retold with contradicting or false claims. According to the researchers, a paper published earlier in Scientific Reports (January 2020) is an example of these falsehoods.

The 2020 paper, which concluded Indigenous cannibals migrated into the Caribbean circa AD 800, was met with widespread concern from archaeologists, anthropologists and historians.

The problematic nature of the paper led the group of scholars to author a formal response, or rejoinder—published in the very same online, peer-reviewed journal.

Giovas and nine colleagues joined forces to challenge the paper’s findings, including Florida State University’s Tom Leppard, and University of Oregon’s Scott Fitzpatrick, a professor and associate director of research at the Museum of Natural and Cultural History.

More:
https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/926065