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from the turning-ploughshares-into-swords dept.
Violence and warfare were widespread in many Neolithic communities across Northwest Europe:
Of the skeletal remains of more than 2300 early farmers from 180 sites dating from around 8000 – 4000 years ago to, more than one in ten displayed weapon injuries, bioarchaeologists found.
Contrary to the view that the Neolithic era was marked by peaceful cooperation, the team of international researchers say that in some regions the period from 6000BC to 2000BC may be a high point in conflict and violence with the destruction of entire communities.
The findings also suggest the rise of growing crops and herding animals as a way of life, replacing hunting and gathering, may have laid the foundations for formalised warfare.
[...] More than ten per cent showed damage potentially caused by frequent blows to the head by blunt instruments or stone axes. Several examples of penetrative injuries, thought to be from arrows, were also found.
Some of the injuries were linked to mass burials, which could suggest the destruction of entire communities, the researchers say.
Journal Reference:
Linda Fibiger, Torbjörn Ahlström, Christian Meyer, and Martin Smith, Conflict, violence, and warfare among early farmers in Northwestern Europe [open], PNAS, 2022. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2209481119
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday March 17 2023, @10:57AM
Australian aboriginals have been doing this to each other for centuries, yet when others come along suddenly everything is changed and different. Respect our culture, they say. Most people have no idea what their culture is or what goes on.
A friend of mine has two broken bones courtesy of her husband. By dream time tribal law what he did was acceptable. The problem is that they live in a large city where such things are not allowed. This is where culture clashes.
Right now in Alice Springs there is a lot of violence and destruction. The truth is that the violence has been here all along. So much so it is ingrained in the culture. It is accepted, even today, that the way to educate people is through violence. Usually a spear through a limb or breaking bones for serious offenses.
There is nothing new under the sun.