A 2023 study of several hundred skeletons from South America's Atacama Desert coast stretches the violence time series from 10,000 years ago through AD 1450. Earlier work on 136 skeletons found trauma tied to interpersonal violence in 25% of cases, but lethal in only 2%. Growth in population after about 1000 BC didn't start the violence — it made it steadily more lethal. Lawrence Keeley's War Before Civilization connects this to how total war functioned at low population densities. 🦴📉
Atacama Desert skeletons show violence becoming lethal from c. 1000 BC to AD 1450
Key facts
- A 2023 study examined several hundred skeletons from the Atacama Desert coast of South America, extending the time series to 10,000 years before present through AD 1450
- An earlier study of 136 skeletons from roughly 10,000 to 3,000 years BP found 25% with trauma linked to interpersonal violence, generally to the skull or upper body, but only 2% with lethal trauma
- Between about 1000 BC and AD 500 population growth did not trigger violence, because violence was already a feature of life in preceding millennia
- From about 1000 BC to the end of the series in AD 1450, skeletal trauma becomes progressively more lethal, suggesting population growth increased the rate of fatal conflict
- Lawrence Keeley's War Before Civilization (1990s) argues that any intergroup conflict was effectively total war when population densities were low
Sources
Violence among the first horticulturists in the atacama ...sciencedirect.com
by VG Standen · 2021 · Cited by 16 — Skeletal and soft tissues presented the most direct evidence for violence. About 21% (n = 40) of adult individuals, particularly men, showed trauma compatible ...
Physical Violence and Social Tension in the Atacama Desertresearchgate.net
Skeletal and soft tissues presented the most direct evidence for violence. About 21% (n = 40) of adult individuals, particularly men, showed ...
How the Atacama Skeleton Might Advance Discussion of ...hero.epa.gov
How the Atacama Skeleton Might Advance Discussion of Responsible Conduct of Research Responsibilities ... Controversies resulting from genetic testing on skeletal ...
Long-term history of violence in hunter-gatherer societies ...popular-archaeology.com
In this study, Standen and colleagues examined signs of violent trauma on the remains of 288 adult individuals from funerary sites across the ...
Atacama skeletonen.wikipedia.org
The remains attracted international attention because of their unusually small size and elongated skull, leading to widespread but unsupported claims that they ...
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