'Starving Time' Shows Jamestown Residents Resorted to Cannibalism

Archaeologists just released some shocking new information. Jamestown's colonists may have resorted to cannibalism during the "starving time" winter of 1609-10.

In a presentation at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History, archaeologist Doug Owsley presented the reconstructed skull of a 14-year-old English girl "Jane" discovered at the site of the fort bearing the marks of butchery.

Historians refer to the starving time as a period in which 80 percent of the colonists died and only 60 out of 300 survied the winter. 

Owsley, division head for physical anthropology at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History, reported on the forensic analysis of 17th century human remains, including part of a human skull and tibia (shin bone). They had been excavated by Jamestown archaeologists in 2012 as part of a 20-year excavation of James Fort.

According to a press release, the findings suggest that Owsley and his research team identified a number of features on the skull and tibia that indicated the individual was actually cannibalized. "Four shallow chops to the forehead represent a failed first attempt to open the skull. The back of the head was then struck by a series of deep, forceful chops from a small hatchet or cleaver. The final blow split the cranium open. Sharp cuts and punctures mark the sides and bottom of the mandible, reflecting efforts to remove tissue from the face and throat using a knife," the release says.

Poor colonists. This was certainly not a good time in history.