Cannibalism in Aboriginal Society? By James Reed

There is an article, “The Incidence of Cannibalism in Aboriginal Society” by William D. Rubinstein Quadrant Online 30th August 2021, which is behind a pay wall, but I don’t have access, and did not find any other link. I would presume that it is a discussion of the 19^th century accounts of alleged Aboriginal cannibalism, as recorded by white explorers, and anthropologists of the time, but I can’t say what conclusions are reached. Some examples of the literature  I have seen from someone who emailed me material from just the front piece of the cited article: P. Foelsche, “Notes on the Aborigines of North Australia”, in Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia, vol. 5, 1882, and Rev. Louis Schulze, missionary, “The Aborigines of the Upper and Middle Finke River: Their Habits and Customs”, in Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia, vol. 14, 1891, which details the alleged cannibalism of some infants. There are many other depictions of this practice from 19^th century accounts.

While these accounts are numerous, are they true? What evidence is there apart from the testimony of the writers, usually based upon hear-say, and seldom direct observation? There is certainly a motive for the 19^th century writers depicting Aboriginal society as “barbaric” and in need of “civilisation.” However, most pre-modern societies were like this, and civilisation as we know it in the West is a recent event in human history. Thus, while I am not an anthologist, I would be cautious in endorsing the old accounts, any more that I would the accounts of Aboriginal society as depicted by the woke today, with all their manifest absurdities. The past is highly uncertain, and it is much too difficult to get at the truth now, as political correctness buries everything, and no free academic discussion can occur any more. It should, but it does not.

https://quadrant.org.au/magazine/2021/09/the-incidence-of-cannibalism-in-aboriginal-society/