"

Cannibalism
http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/01/12/donner.party.ap/index.html
This article suggests cannibalism did not happen on the trip.

I'd vote that the new studies ( the CNN link doesn't work, http://dsc.discovery.com/news/briefs/20060109/donnerparty_his.html does) should be noted on the front page, given they are scientific studies and at the very least seem to note legitimate disagreement. -Nate

There is ample evidence that cannibalism occurred. The fact that the study did not find evidence of it is not evidence that cannibalism didn't occur. The only evidence they were looking for were cooked bones. If the cannibals simply sliced meat from a body there would be no lasting evidence. While we should mention the study, we shouldn't overplay it. - 

Further comment: The Alder Creek digs of 2003-2004 do not ""cast doubt"" on Donner Party cannibalism. The archaeologists did not find evidence of cannibalism at Alder Creek, but this is easily explainable. Further, the Alder Creek digs say nothing about other incidents of cannibalism by Donner Party members at the lake camp, among the ""Forlorn Hope"" snowshoers, or at Starved Camp. Survivors said they ate human flesh and rescuers saw the evidence. Donner Party cannibalism is not in doubt among anyone who is familiar with the incident; it's the general public who have misinterpreted the archaeological evidence as ""casting doubt"" on cannibalism. DPL, 6/28/2007

Cannibalism in the Donner Party is not in question. Ten survivors said they ate human flesh. At the Donner family camp at Alder Creek, the Donners told the First Relief that they were going to start eating the bodies of the dead; when the Second Relief arrived at Alder Creek they saw children eating human flesh and mutilated corpses. Three Alder Creek survivors (Georgia Donner, Mary Donner, and Jean-Baptiste Trudeau) said that cannibalism had occurred at the Donner camp. This is not a legend, but a matter of record. People who are unfamiliar with the historical sources are not competent to dismiss them as ""legends."" Kristin Johnson, author Unfortunate Emigrants: Narratives of the Donner Party (Logan: Utah State University Press, 1996).

As a little footnote I'd like to add that cannibalism WAS a big part of the story. The website that is footnoted on that sentence shows about 6 episodes of eating people. Some of them ate human flesh for a month! And even the site admits it's a ""brief"" section of their crazy feeding habits! Donner is forever known for eating others and the fact that it wasn't just 1 or 2 bodies, but like approx. 7-8+? really shows that these people had an appetite for homoerectus! 72.219.137.83  

As a little footnote, I'd like to add that you don't know what you're talking about. A year elapsed between the time the emigrants left home and the day the last survivor was rescued. With one exception, those who ate human flesh did so for about 2 weeks, some for as little as 2-3 days. Two weeks, out of 52 weeks in a year, IS minor. They did NOT ""develop an appetite for homo erectus"" or a ""crazy eating habit""  they put off eating human flesh for as long as they could, until finally there was absolutely nothing else left to eat. The reason why ""Donner is known forever for eating others"" is because the general public, like the commentator above, exults in its own ignorance.  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 144.35.8.13   

I would like to point out they weren't eating homo erectus, but homo sapien. lol.   

In all fairness, I would like to further point out that they were actually eating Homo Sapien's erectus. To my knowledge, this is the only story in American history where a group resorts to eating other members of the group to survive. Supposedly the first to die were murdered for their meat. That makes the cannibalism portion of their journey understandably popular.  I would have eaten maybe a shouldercock, but that's it.    16:06, 9 Feb 2010 (Pacific)  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.23.168.177   

==Numb