In the winter of 1874, mining prospector Alferd Packer and five companions tried to cross the southern Rocky Mountains. Only Packer lived. The bodies of his companions were soon found and firestorm of controversy ensued. Packer told different accounts of their deaths and the press went wild over talk of betrayal, murder and cannibalism. Even after he was convicted and served 18 years the controversy persisted. Was Packer a cannibal? Was he a murderer? Did the political climate influence his trial? This is a 21st century take on Alferd Packer that will include an analysis of historical information and new archaeological data and experimental archaeology to the tell and re-tell story of the Colorado Cannibal.

Dr. Erin Baxter, is Curator of Archaeology at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science and likes steak.