Ancient massacres and contemporary genocides: An analysis and comparison of prehistoric massacres and contemporary genocide in modern-day Poland.
(2026) ARKM34 20261Department of Archaeology and Ancient History
- Abstract
- The concept of 'genocide' is rarely employed by prehistoric archaeologists within their research. The hesitation of scholars to use the term is argued to be due to its overall complexity and its supposed existence as a recent phenomenon of modernity, as well as its rash use in popular science outlets when reporting on prehistoric migration. Examining and comparing prehistoric massacres with a modern genocidal event, and understanding where the cases range on a spectrum of violence, will present similarities and differences that can be brought to light. However similarities between contemporary genocide and prehistoric massacres have been noted, and their advantages for scholarly discussions surrounding reconstructions of prehistoric... (More)
- The concept of 'genocide' is rarely employed by prehistoric archaeologists within their research. The hesitation of scholars to use the term is argued to be due to its overall complexity and its supposed existence as a recent phenomenon of modernity, as well as its rash use in popular science outlets when reporting on prehistoric migration. Examining and comparing prehistoric massacres with a modern genocidal event, and understanding where the cases range on a spectrum of violence, will present similarities and differences that can be brought to light. However similarities between contemporary genocide and prehistoric massacres have been noted, and their advantages for scholarly discussions surrounding reconstructions of prehistoric violence will thus been emphasized. Furthermore, the similarities will be compared with definitions of genocide to determine whether the prehistoric case studies meet the criteria.
The assessment of whether or not violence may have contributed to the Steppe-related population turnover in Eneolithic/Early Bronze Age Europe which occurred in prehistoric Europe is analyzed by conducting a comparison between the prehistoric case studies - Koszyce and Sadowie - and a contemporary case study of a violent event - the Chojnice. The last case study falls within the present definitions of the term genocide. Deviant aspects from burial traditions as well as other abnormalities are analyzed to enable the detection of genocidal patterns. Additionally, the theoretical framework concerning emotions is applied to add further perspective regarding survivors and the care of the individuals who were killed during the mass killing as well as understanding the aggressive behavior that led up to the violent event.
The thesis concludes that different kinds of violence, as well as genocidal violence may be identified by archaeological data, material and contexts, and thus be a possible contribution to the rapid population turnover during the Late Neolithic and Early Bronze Age. A wide spectrum of violence has been identified within these examples, but similarities between the cases were detected. To complicate the analysis, it may be found that applying the present definition of genocide to the prehistoric case studies is challenging due to the lack of proven intent. The thesis concludes that some signs of deliberate execution by individuals were present in the case of Koszyce, thus arguing for intentional killing of targeted individuals. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9248836
- author
- Björk, Alicja LU
- supervisor
- organization
- course
- ARKM34 20261
- year
- 2026
- type
- H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
- subject
- keywords
- Emotion, Migration, Genocide, Mass graves, Corded ware culture, Globular Amphora culture, Massacre
- language
- English
- id
- 9248836
- date added to LUP
- 2026-10-01 13:21:54
- date last changed
- 2026-10-01 13:21:54
@misc{9248836,
abstract = {{The concept of 'genocide' is rarely employed by prehistoric archaeologists within their research. The hesitation of scholars to use the term is argued to be due to its overall complexity and its supposed existence as a recent phenomenon of modernity, as well as its rash use in popular science outlets when reporting on prehistoric migration. Examining and comparing prehistoric massacres with a modern genocidal event, and understanding where the cases range on a spectrum of violence, will present similarities and differences that can be brought to light. However similarities between contemporary genocide and prehistoric massacres have been noted, and their advantages for scholarly discussions surrounding reconstructions of prehistoric violence will thus been emphasized. Furthermore, the similarities will be compared with definitions of genocide to determine whether the prehistoric case studies meet the criteria.
The assessment of whether or not violence may have contributed to the Steppe-related population turnover in Eneolithic/Early Bronze Age Europe which occurred in prehistoric Europe is analyzed by conducting a comparison between the prehistoric case studies - Koszyce and Sadowie - and a contemporary case study of a violent event - the Chojnice. The last case study falls within the present definitions of the term genocide. Deviant aspects from burial traditions as well as other abnormalities are analyzed to enable the detection of genocidal patterns. Additionally, the theoretical framework concerning emotions is applied to add further perspective regarding survivors and the care of the individuals who were killed during the mass killing as well as understanding the aggressive behavior that led up to the violent event.
The thesis concludes that different kinds of violence, as well as genocidal violence may be identified by archaeological data, material and contexts, and thus be a possible contribution to the rapid population turnover during the Late Neolithic and Early Bronze Age. A wide spectrum of violence has been identified within these examples, but similarities between the cases were detected. To complicate the analysis, it may be found that applying the present definition of genocide to the prehistoric case studies is challenging due to the lack of proven intent. The thesis concludes that some signs of deliberate execution by individuals were present in the case of Koszyce, thus arguing for intentional killing of targeted individuals.}},
author = {{Björk, Alicja}},
language = {{eng}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{Ancient massacres and contemporary genocides: An analysis and comparison of prehistoric massacres and contemporary genocide in modern-day Poland.}},
year = {{2026}},
}