War, What Is It Good For? [Precolumbian massacres]

Archaeology mag, Beyond Stone & Bone 'blog ^ | November 14, 2008 | Heather Pringle

[SunkenCiv]

;')

Google

[Longtom]

This is done so that the Mayans, Aztecs and Plains Indians can look like the happy children of the forest who were cruely oppressed by the evil whites. Sucks when your favorite victim group turns out to be a bunch of fine young cannibals.

[Sherman Logan]

I can recommend Lawrence H. Keeley: War before Civilization, New York, 1996.

Excellent book. Shows how primitive warfare is far more destructive than most modern warfare.

[Old Student]

"Could have been independent developments, do ya think? After all, it's not like it's a huge intellectual proble to figure out how to scalp someone."

I suppose. War does seem to be one of the things that humans are endlessly inventive at.

[coolbreeze]

massacred, maimed and scalped

...and I had heard it was the Dutch that started the practice, gee, how these things get started...

[Harmless Teddy Bear]

Because when you deal with OTHER humans long enough, sooner or later you start to think about now nice the world would be without them!

By Jove I think you have hit on the core reason. :)

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks!

[Antoninus]

“This is interesting because I distinctly remember reading or being taught that the French introduced the concept of scalping in order to pay bounty on white settlers, whereas the Indians prefered ‘counting coup’. Hmm...”

Whoever said that would be totally wrong. In the earliest records of New France, the warriors would bring scalps home to their villages to show their prowess on the war path. But of course, the greatest and best thing they could bring home were live captives--to be tortured, burned, and in some cases, eaten.

[A_perfect_lady]

I’m convinced that war and divorce are closely related. ;^)

[denydenydeny]

Really? What researchers were those? I'm in the field, and I've have a tough time believing any serious American archaeologist or historian would be that utterly irresponsible.

War Before Civilization is full of references to the prevailing Rousseauvian prejudices in academia.