“The intentional use of physical violence, threats against others.” […]against a group or community that results in or poses a high risk of trauma, psychological harm, developmental disabilities or death.” This is defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) as violence that has plagued humanity for thousands of years.
Anthropologists have long wondered about the evolution of this development, which is thought to have increased with the advent of agriculture and the founding of the first states. Historically, it has been difficult to measure the level of violence among ancient peoples, particularly in prehistoric societies where there are no written sources documenting potential conflicts.
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Instead of relying on historical documents, researchers are now studying skeletons directly. However, recent reanalysis of more than 300 human bones found in Spain, with radiocarbon dates ranging from 5,400 to 5,000 years ago, suggests that the first large-scale conflict on the Old Continent may have occurred more than a millennium before estimates the European Neolithic period (around 9,000 to 4,000 years ago).
Traces of trauma related to violence
To achieve these results, published on November 2, 2023 in Scientific Reports, the skeletal remains of 338 individuals discovered in a single collective burial of the flat rock shelter of the Rioja Alavesa region (Alava, north of Spain) were re-examined.
The team of Dr. Teresa Fernández-Crespo set out to look for traces on the bones of healed or unhealed weapon-related wounds (e.g. perforations, parade fractures in the arm).
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To distinguish intentional from accidental injuries, scientists can also focus on skulls. This was the case with the study recently published in Nature Behavior, which shows that human violence in the Middle East has been increasing since 12,000 B.C. BC fluctuates. BC and reached its peak during the emergence of protostates – the peak was in the Chalcolithic (6,500 to 5,300 years ago).
In fact, a fall tends to cause damage to the eye, nose and eyebrow areas, while the top of the head (above the imaginary ‘brim’) has always been a prime target. In conflicts, it is important to preserve the traces of trauma.
No more wounds, no more wounded, no more weapons
Let’s return to the bones exhumed in prehistoric Spain. The number of people showing signs of skeletal injury, a disproportionate percentage of affected men, and a relatively high rate of unhealed lesions lead the study authors to suggest that this community may have experienced a period of conflict that could last several months.
In fact, 23.1% of individuals in the sample had skeletal lesions, including 10.1% unhealed lesions, rates significantly higher than at other European Neolithic sites (7 to 17% and 2 to 5%, respectively).
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Additionally, 74.1% of unhealed wounds and 70% of healed wounds occurred in adolescent or adult males. A gender difference that has not been observed in other places of mass extinction – “In many societies, the art of war is primarily reserved for this population group,” the experts note in their study.
In the same cave in Rioja Alavesa, 52 flint arrowheads were also discovered. Thirty-six suffered “minor damage associated with hitting a target,” the researchers describe in a press release. Another piece of information that suggests that the residents of the region were exposed to violence and could have become victims of the war.
A turf war between different groups?
The reasons for the latter are not clear, but one hypothesis is put forward: that of tensions between the different cultural groups in these places at the end of the Neolithic period. “It is possible that the existence of different cultural groups with different lifestyles and burial practices in a context of strong demographic pressure was a source of tension and competition and therefore a major trigger for the murderous violence,” they actually write.
The conflicts that took place during this period remain poorly understood. Previous research suggests that these were short raids lasting several days, carried out by small groups of 20 to 30 people. It was also believed that primitive societies did not have the logistical capabilities to endure longer, larger confrontations.
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It is estimated that the first significant “war” in Europe took place in the Bronze Age, around 4,000 to 2,800 years ago. The conclusions presented here suggest that it would have been older:
Traces of wounds from arrowheads and other skeletal signs of violence […] in other comparable locations in the region confirm the picture of permanent and organized violence between rival communities.
These features, coupled with skeletal and isotopic evidence consistent with biological stress and malnutrition, as well as fixed mobility in the region, suggest broader social impacts on a scale not previously observed in the European Neolithic record.
On the same topic:
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