Cannibalism has been a long-debated and controversial topic, especially concerning the recent studies of ancient cannibalistic practices in North America. The consumption of human flesh by other humans seems to be extraordinarily barbaric and immoral from a modern perspective, but there were multiple reasons beyond a bloodlust for human flesh for those who engaged in cannibalism. Some scholars are so opposed to accepting the reality behind cannibalism that they see it as myth and disregard the indisputable evidence. However, after extensive research regarding cannibalism in some ancient North American cultures as well as cultures throughout the world, it is utterly undeniable that various populations did indeed practice anthropophagy in some form or another. Supporting evidence is provided through the use of specific archaeological techniques used to analyze site findings and throughout scholarly sources regarding the existence of cannibalism in ancient North America and other parts of the world. Through the examination of certain sites, evidence, and scholarly debates on the subject, it has become most probable to admit to the existence of cannibalism in America’s past. A site in Colorado known as Cowboy Wash is one of several archaeological excavations that provides overwhelming evidence of the practice of cannibalism in ancient North America. This site dates to between approximately 1150 and 1175 A.D. and is located on the south slopes of Ute Mountain, which is slightly west of Mesa Verde, the Ancient Pueblo cliff dwellings. Some archeologists believe that the site was settled by immigrants from Chaco Canyon, or the Chuska Mountains. The initial excavation of Cowboy Wash was supervised by University of North Carolina archaeologist Brian Billman and took place among three pit houses in a rural kind of homestead. There were five human skeletons uncovered that demonstrated traditional burial features, while the remaining seven skeletal remains showed no reverence of burial but displayed strong evidence of having been cannibalized. Over one thousand bones and bone fragments had marks which demonstrated that the bodies of at least four adults, two adolescents, and a child had been dismembered and systematically butchered here.1(trussel.com) The analysis of human coprolites also discovered at Cowboy Wash resulted in the presence of myoglobin, a protein found only in human skeletal and heart tissue. This myoglobin would only be present in human excrement if someone had actually consumed and digested human muscle tissue. Following this indicative analysis, it is not inaccurate to claim that the tissues from the butchered skeletons were probably cannibalized. In addition to the skeletons, a tool kit associated with the processing of human remains was uncovered including two flakes, a large chopping tool, a cobble tool, and two ground axes.2 (anthrojournal) A blood residue analysis conducted on these tools revealed human blood residue on two of the flakes, which would have been the only tools sharp enough to process meat. Most of this evidence has been interpreted as sufficient support for the existence of cannibalism among the ancient people of Cowboy Wash. Aside from Cowboy Wash, about thirty other sites in the American southwest provide similar skeletal and tool evidence associated with anthropophagy. Chaco Canyon is one of the most infamous sites with enough evidence found to demonstrate the existence of cannibalistic activity. Though the Ancient Pueblo inhabitants of Chaco Canyon were previously believed to be peaceful farmers, Professor Christy Turner has spent much of his research unearthing the darker truths about this significant site.3(pbs.org) Dating back to around 200 AD, this ancestral Pueblo society flourished for over one thousand years making scientific advances and living in social complexity. Turner has been one of few scientists willing to investigate the disturbing cannibalistic violence that forensic evidence has uncovered from Chaco Canyon. His personal research has presented patterns in decapitations and fire-roasted human skulls, which he pieced together with the scattered, crushed, and mangled human bones discovered throughout the site to support his claims that cannibalism occurred among this ancestral Pueblo society. He acknowledges that it becomes difficult to remain objective about the issue at hand when modern scholars hold views about the horror and primitiveness of our modern notion of cannibalism. Turner’s book Man Corn and a PBS interview demonstrate the criteria that this expert has deemed necessary for labeling bones as cannibalized. He claims that the victims’ heads were roasted from the top and back without burning the face, so the brain matter would be prepared for consumption. The cooked skulls were then cracked open, as evidence of fresh- rather than aged and dried out- bone fractures are present. Marks from anvil abrasion were made on bones after the heav