Jane was an unidentified 14 year old girl found in 2012 by Jamestown Rediscovery archaeologists working at a 1608 James Fort cellar. They believe that she was consumed during what is known as the “Starving Time” in the winter of 1609-1610. Marks on her skull and severed leg bone suggest that she was eaten by another person, also known as cannibalism. The Starving Time at Jamestown in the Colony of Virginia was a period where food was so scarce to the point that colonists ate everything that did not eat them. This included horses, cats, rats, and even shoe leather. Eventually, as winter raged on and the famine showed no signs of stopping, some colonists turned to cannibalism. Jane was the first physical evidence of cannibalism.
