TO GO WITH AFP STORY BY MARIETTE LE ROUX / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT "AFP PHOTO / Dartmouth College / Nathaniel Dominy" - NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS
A handout picture released on April 24, 2018 by Anthropology Professor Nathaniel Dominy at the Dartmouth College and co-authored of a paper published in the journal Royal Society Open Science about human thigh bone daggers shows a human bone dagger attributed to the Upper Sepik River (up) and cassowary bone dagger attributed to the Abelam people (down). New Guinea warriors harvested thigh bones from their dead fathers to fashion into ornamental but deadly daggers used to kill and maim enemies, sometimes to eat them. Experts have long hesitated between inherent bone ruggedness and symbolism as the reason for the proclivity. On April 25, 2018 an unusual study concluded that human thigh bone did not make for better dagger material, but was rather a symbol of prestige. / AFP PHOTO / Dartmouth College / Nathaniel DOMINY / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT "AFP PHOTO / Dartmouth College / Nathaniel Dominy" - NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS