Ancient people spiced up human flesh and archaeologists caught them red handed.

A pretty brutal recipe that would put Hannibal Lecter to shame was just discovered by researchers in Mexico City. The new discovery shed light on how cannibal’s two and a half millenniums ago prepared dinner after they killed their prey.

It’s now understood that the cannibals used heat to cook human meat and then topped the dinner of with a selection of chilies, along with ultra healthy saffron.

Saffron. Photo credit 

The only reason this has been discovered is due to the fact that the remains were permanently discolored by the delicious additives the cannibals used to flavor their dinner. They even found yellow skeletons, which were an indication of a mole sauce being used.

This finding was the result of a dual collaboration between two Universities which studied a total of a dozen and a half ancient remains close to the capital of Mexico.

 

 

Chilli peppers. Photo credit

The experts analyzed the smallest details of the bones to determine whether they had been boiled or grilled. Understanding the difference can be tricky at times, but it’s distinguishing microscopic shifts inside of the skeleton that provided the perfect evidence to help the scientists understand more about ancient cannibalistic traditions.

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The color of the skeletons changes depending on how long the bones were at a specific temperature, what spices were used and what type of liquid or sauce they were cooked in.

After analyzing the skeleton remains, it was understood that the people discovered with discoloration were sliced and had damage to the face before they were exposed to fire-like temperatures.

The combination of clues allows scientists to create a sure conclusion that the people responsible for the death of the skeletons were cannibals.

A further study supported that salt inside of skeletons tend to disappear when they were boiled in sea water; which is the case in the findings of the 18 bodies that were discovered.

Although shocking to modern man, Mexico has had its fair share of cannibalism throughout the ancient country’s history. A controversial theory purports that an ancient tribe called Xiximes harvested the souls of their opponents to bring good fortune for their yearly agriculture. Every harvest, their warriors set out on a mission to capture members of other tibes for sacrifice

Even though these theories have been met with much criticism, 2011 brought to light a scientifically backed discovery of cannibalism in the area. The newest discovery of bones suggests a long history of cannibalism over the course of about two millenniums in of Mexico.