{"schema":"https://ver.cy/schemas/card/1.0.0","id":"vr.tr.cannibalism","code":"thing-q44595","url":"https://ver.cy/models/thing/q44595/","name":"cannibalism","alternateNames":["worm bagging","cannibalism in animals","adelphophagy","spider cannibalism","Homo antecessor cannibalism","endocannibalism","exocannibalism","cannibalism in poultry","child cannibalism","gastronomic cannibalism","self-cannibalism","filial cannibalism"],"kind":"thing","status":"published","version":"0.2.0-wave.4","language":"en","classifiers":{"family":"Thing Registry","category":"Activities and processes","entryKind":"thing","plane":"ACT","domain":["ACT.ACT"],"industry":[],"navPath":"","tags":[],"facets":{}},"whatItIs":"The act of an organism eating all or part of another individual of the same species, widespread in animals, including forms the registry aliases name such as sexual cannibalism in spiders and mantises, adelphophagy, where embryos eat siblings in the womb as in sand tiger sharks, and worm bagging, where nematode larvae hatch inside and consume the parent; in humans, cannibalism has occurred in survival situations, in some funerary practices such as endocannibalism among the Fore of Papua New Guinea, linked to the spread of kuru, and possibly in prehistory, as archaeologists interpret cut-marked Homo antecessor bones from Gran Dolina in Spain. Historical accusations of cannibalism were also used to dehumanise peoples and justify colonial violence, and scholars debate many reports, so claims are attributed. It is described here non-graphically; the legality of activities involving human remains depends on the jurisdiction and conduct, and many funerary, medical and research activities are lawful.","purpose":"Let an agent explain cannibalism non-graphically, relay animal ecology, archaeological evidence, anthropological and historical cases and ethical and legal context from biological, anthropological and historical sources with contested claims attributed, describe the named forms, and distinguish cannibalism from predation, necrophagy by other species, ritual symbolism and fictional depictions, without sensational detail.","scope":{"in":[],"out":[],"boundaries":[]},"distinguishingFeatures":["Same-species consumption","Common in animals","Rare and contested in humans","Used as a dehumanising accusation"],"structure":{"bundles":[{"id":"understand","name":"Understand","description":"What cannibalism is.","layers":[{"id":"definition","name":"Definition","description":"Definition.","findings":[{"id":"definition-finding","name":"Definition","description":"Definition.","questions":[{"text":"What is cannibalism, and how does it differ from predation, necrophagy, ritual symbolism and fiction?","kind":"definition"},{"text":"Does the question involve a crime or someone at risk, in which case contact police or emergency services, with no graphic detail given?","kind":"boundary"}]}]},{"id":"forms","name":"Forms","description":"Named forms.","findings":[{"id":"forms-finding","name":"Forms","description":"Forms.","questions":[{"text":"What are sexual cannibalism in spiders, adelphophagy, worm bagging, endocannibalism and the Homo antecessor evidence?","kind":"definition"},{"text":"Which entry fits the specific form?","kind":"action"}]}]}]},{"id":"biology","name":"Biology","description":"Animal cannibalism.","layers":[{"id":"ecology","name":"Ecology","description":"Ecological causes.","findings":[{"id":"ecology-finding","name":"Ecology","description":"Ecology.","questions":[{"text":"Why does cannibalism occur in animals under food stress or competition, as ecologists report?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which references are standard?","kind":"provenance"}]}]},{"id":"sexual","name":"Sexual cannibalism","description":"Sexual cannibalism.","findings":[{"id":"sexual-finding","name":"Sexual cannibalism","description":"Sexual cannibalism.","questions":[{"text":"What hypotheses explain sexual cannibalism in spiders and mantises?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which sources are cited?","kind":"provenance"}]}]}]},{"id":"anthropology","name":"Anthropology","description":"Human cases.","layers":[{"id":"kuru","name":"Kuru","description":"Fore and kuru.","findings":[{"id":"kuru-finding","name":"Kuru","description":"Kuru.","questions":[{"text":"How did research link Fore funerary practices to kuru, and how did the disease decline?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which entry fits kuru?","kind":"action"}]}]},{"id":"archaeology","name":"Archaeology","description":"Prehistoric evidence.","findings":[{"id":"archaeology-finding","name":"Archaeology","description":"Archaeology.","questions":[{"text":"How do archaeologists interpret cut marks as evidence, and what alternative explanations exist, with views attributed?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Is the presentation neutral and attributed?","kind":"boundary"}]}]}]},{"id":"context","name":"Context","description":"History and culture.","layers":[{"id":"colonial","name":"Colonial accusations","description":"Accusations as propaganda.","findings":[{"id":"colonial-finding","name":"Colonial accusations","description":"Colonial accusations.","questions":[{"text":"How were cannibalism accusations used to justify colonisation, and what do historians such as William Arens and critics argue, with positions attributed?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Is the presentation neutral and attributed?","kind":"boundary"}]}]},{"id":"survival","name":"Survival","description":"Survival cases.","findings":[{"id":"survival-finding","name":"Survival","description":"Survival.","questions":[{"text":"How have survival cases such as the 1972 Andes flight disaster been discussed ethically, without graphic detail?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which entry fits Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571?","kind":"action"}]}]}]}]},"agentConduct":{"may":["Describe cannibalism in animals from zoological sources, such as in spiders or sharks.","Discuss human cannibalism in history, survival cases and anthropology with sources and care.","Note where historical accusations of cannibalism were used to justify conquest."],"mustNot":["Encourage, glorify or give any guidance on human cannibalism.","Accuse a people or culture of cannibalism without strong evidence.","Present sensational claims or rumours about cannibalism as fact.","Name living people as involved in cannibalism without a court finding."],"requiresHuman":["Publishing material about specific human cases that involve identifiable victims."]},"ethics":{"considerations":["Accusations of cannibalism have been used to dehumanise colonised and enemy peoples.","Victims and families in human cases deserve dignity rather than sensationalism."],"affectedParties":["Victims and their families","Peoples falsely accused","Researchers"]},"owners":{"steward":"Nobody owns the behaviour; it is a natural phenomenon and, in humans, a matter for criminal law.","roles":[],"masterSystems":[]},"relations":[{"target":"Q14819856","type":"parent","note":"registry parent class"},{"target":"Q170430","type":"parent","note":"registry parent class"},{"target":"feeding behavior","type":"related","note":"in registry terms"},{"target":"sexual cannibalism","type":"related"},{"target":"kuru","type":"related","note":"Fore funerary practices"},{"target":"predation","type":"related"}],"interaction":{"identity":{"applicability":"required","items":["Vercy registry: vr.tr.cannibalism","Wikidata: Q44595 (https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q44595)"]},"properties":{"applicability":"not-applicable","items":["Gran Dolina TD6 remains: about 800,000 years ago note - interpretation attributed","kuru and Fore funerary practices: studied from the 1950s note - Nobel 1976 to Gajdusek","registry parents: feeding behaviour, predation note"]},"recognition":{"applicability":"optional","items":["Eating members of the same species","Worm bagging, cannibalism in animals, adelphophagy, spider cannibalism, Homo antecessor cannibalism, endocannibalism","Predation targets other species; necrophagy is eating carrion; ritual symbolism may not involve eating; fiction depicts imagined acts","Not described graphically; observed in animal behaviour studies and inferred from archaeological remains."]},"capabilities":{"applicability":"required","items":["explain animal cannibalism","relay archaeological and anthropological evidence","describe named forms","present contested historical claims with attribution"]},"hazards":{"applicability":"required","items":["Graphic or sensational content","Repeating colonial stereotypes as fact","Prion disease risk from consuming human tissue"]},"interfaces":{"applicability":"required","items":["Laws on treatment of human remains","Ethics of research with Indigenous communities"]},"context":{"applicability":"required","items":["Not applicable; a behaviour studied in biology and anthropology.","sexual cannibalism","filial and sibling cannibalism","survival cannibalism","funerary endocannibalism","prehistoric cannibalism"]}},"sources":[{"title":"Wikidata item Q44595: cannibalism","url":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q44595","note":"identity and sense of the item"},{"title":"Wikipedia: Cannibalism","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cannibalism","note":"general description of the item"}],"openQuestions":["Should animal and human cannibalism be separate entries?","How should contested historical reports be attributed consistently?","Should worm bagging be moved to nematode biology entries?"],"resources":{"spec":"/models/things/publications/thing-q44595/spec.json"},"provenance":{"origin":"thing registry research (pass 2)","builtFrom":["models/things/publications/thing-q44595/spec.json"],"providers":["Claude"],"researchStatus":"unreviewed","generatedAt":"2026-09-14T01:19:28Z","builder":"tools/build_cards.py@1.0.0"},"completeness":{"sections":{"classifiers":"filled","whatItIs":"filled","purpose":"filled","distinguishingFeatures":"filled","structure":"filled","agentConduct":"filled","ethics":"filled","owners":"filled","relations":"filled","interaction.identity":"filled","interaction.properties":"not-applicable","interaction.recognition":"filled","interaction.capabilities":"filled","interaction.hazards":"filled","interaction.interfaces":"filled","interaction.context":"filled","sources":"filled"},"notes":{"_gate":"Published through the thing publication gate 1.0 on 2026-10-07T10:10:31+00:00: completeness 1.00; sense: Wikidata description; 2 live sources; review by codex: pass","interaction.properties":"Plane ACT: no invented physical properties."},"score":1.0}}