Conflict, violence, and warfare among early farmers in Northwestern Europe
Fibiger, Linda ; Ahlström, Torbjörn LU
; Meyer, Christian
and Smith, Martin
(2023)
In Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
120(4).
p.1-9
- Abstract
- Bioarchaeological evidence of interpersonal violence and early warfare presents important insights into conflict in past societies. This evidence is critical for understanding the motivations for violence and its effects on opposing and competing individuals and groups across time and space. Selecting the Neolithic of northwestern Europe as an area for study, the present paper examines the variation and societal context for the violence recorded in the human skeletal remains from this region as one of the most important elements of human welfare. Compiling data from various sources, it becomes apparent that violence was endemic in Neolithic Europe, sometimes reaching levels of intergroup hostilities that ended in the utter destruction of... (More)
- Bioarchaeological evidence of interpersonal violence and early warfare presents important insights into conflict in past societies. This evidence is critical for understanding the motivations for violence and its effects on opposing and competing individuals and groups across time and space. Selecting the Neolithic of northwestern Europe as an area for study, the present paper examines the variation and societal context for the violence recorded in the human skeletal remains from this region as one of the most important elements of human welfare. Compiling data from various sources, it becomes apparent that violence was endemic in Neolithic Europe, sometimes reaching levels of intergroup hostilities that ended in the utter destruction of entire communities. While the precise comparative quantification of healed and unhealed trauma remains a fundamental problem, patterns emerge that see conflict likely fostered by increasing competition between settled and growing communities, e.g., for access to arable land for food production. The further development of contextual information is paramount in order to address hypotheses on the motivations, origins, and evolution of violence as based on the study of human remains, the most direct indicator for actual small- and large-scale violence. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/11f88547-65d5-4675-869d-ab8ece0f5d2f
- author
- Fibiger, Linda
; Ahlström, Torbjörn
LU
; Meyer, Christian
and Smith, Martin
- organization
- publishing date
- 2023-01-17
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- Neolithic Europe, violence and conflict, warfare, bioarchaeology
- in
- Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
- volume
- 120
- issue
- 4
- article number
- e2209481119
- pages
- 9 pages
- publisher
- National Academy of Sciences
- external identifiers
-
- pmid:36649427
- scopus:85146410745
- ISSN
- 1091-6490
- DOI
- 10.1073/pnas.2209481119
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- 11f88547-65d5-4675-869d-ab8ece0f5d2f
- alternative location
- https://pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2209481119
- date added to LUP
- 2023-03-19 11:32:16
- date last changed
- 2023-04-27 12:09:32
@article{11f88547-65d5-4675-869d-ab8ece0f5d2f,
abstract = {{Bioarchaeological evidence of interpersonal violence and early warfare presents important insights into conflict in past societies. This evidence is critical for understanding the motivations for violence and its effects on opposing and competing individuals and groups across time and space. Selecting the Neolithic of northwestern Europe as an area for study, the present paper examines the variation and societal context for the violence recorded in the human skeletal remains from this region as one of the most important elements of human welfare. Compiling data from various sources, it becomes apparent that violence was endemic in Neolithic Europe, sometimes reaching levels of intergroup hostilities that ended in the utter destruction of entire communities. While the precise comparative quantification of healed and unhealed trauma remains a fundamental problem, patterns emerge that see conflict likely fostered by increasing competition between settled and growing communities, e.g., for access to arable land for food production. The further development of contextual information is paramount in order to address hypotheses on the motivations, origins, and evolution of violence as based on the study of human remains, the most direct indicator for actual small- and large-scale violence.}},
author = {{Fibiger, Linda and Ahlström, Torbjörn and Meyer, Christian and Smith, Martin}},
issn = {{1091-6490}},
keywords = {{Neolithic Europe; violence and conflict; warfare; bioarchaeology}},
language = {{eng}},
month = {{01}},
number = {{4}},
pages = {{1--9}},
publisher = {{National Academy of Sciences}},
series = {{Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences}},
title = {{Conflict, violence, and warfare among early farmers in Northwestern Europe}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2209481119}},
doi = {{10.1073/pnas.2209481119}},
volume = {{120}},
year = {{2023}},
}