Violent death in the prehistoric Atacama desert

[Duncan Head]

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/human-remains-chilean-desert-reveal-its-first-farmers-fought-death-180978460/

[Jim Webster]

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/human-remains-chilean-desert-reveal-its-first-farmers-fought-death-180978460/

somebody had a rough paper round!

[DBS]

It does sometimes surprise me that so many archaeologists are themselves surprised by the fact that ancient man had such a propensity to bash in his neighbour's skull for the sake of scarce resources.  The curse of modern liberal and social studies, I suppose...

[Jim Webster]

It does sometimes surprise me that so many archaeologists are themselves surprised by the fact that ancient man had such a propensity to bash in his neighbour's skull for the sake of scarce resources.  The curse of modern liberal and social studies, I suppose...

I suspect it says more about modern attitudes than that of the contemporaries of the victim.
But reading any court report from before 1600 in England shows that lethal violence was probably more common than it is now

[Ade G]

It does sometimes surprise me that so many archaeologists are themselves surprised by the fact that ancient man had such a propensity to bash in his neighbour's skull for the sake of scarce resources.  The curse of modern liberal and social studies, I suppose...

I suspect it says more about modern attitudes than that of the contemporaries of the victim.
But reading any court report from before 1600 in England shows that lethal violence was probably more common than it is now

Can I recommend "War Before Civilisation" Lawrence H Keeley. It does a decent job of nullifying the myth of the peaceful savage in history

[Erpingham]

I'd also recommend Mortal Wounds by Martin Smith, who has a lot on the archaeology of early violence.