Conflict, violence, and warfare among early farmers in Northwestern Europe

Bioarchaeological evidence of interpersonal violence and early warfare presents impor-tant 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.

Automated summary

Bioarchaeological evidence provides important insights into conflict in past societies, helping us understand the motivations for violence and its effects on individuals and groups. This study focuses on the Neolithic of northwestern Europe, examining the variation and societal context of violence recorded in human skeletal remains. The data compilation reveals that violence was endemic during this time, with intergroup hostilities leading to the destruction of entire communities. Further contextual information is needed to understand the motivations, origins, and evolution of violence based on the study of human remains.