For Peaceable Humans, Don’t Look to Prehistory

Wall Street Journal ^ | 06/30/2016 | MELVIN KONNER

[SES1066]

Along a river in northern Germany, thousands of men lined up for a pitched battle. Some had come great distances, determined to seize or hold this modest waterway. They went at it mercilessly, leaving hundreds dead, many shot in the back while fleeing. Victory was decisive. [1250 BC]

[Huck]

Haha. Heck, just watch a couple of sparrows fighting over birdseed. It’s the way it is.

[SunkenCiv]

And for dessert, lady fingers!

[PUGACHEV]

Canyon de Chelly?

[PUGACHEV]

I recall reading an account written by two French explorers in the 1600s who hired some “peaceful” Indians to guide them and carry their supplies for a journey through lower Canada. One day, the party came across a group of women and children belonging to some other tribe. Like black ants meeting red ants, the Indians immediately dropped what they were carrying and slaughtered the women and children. Then they undressed the dead women and inspected them, comparing them to the women of their own tribe. Finally, they picked up their goods and were ready to move on, without any more formality. The explorers criticized the Indians in their account of the incident not for their cruelty, but for their shiftlessness and the ease by which they were distracted. So much for the noble savage and civilized man.

[tet68]

Historically, in say the Bronze age, the majority of casualties occurred
when one side was forced to retreat and their undefended
rear was exposed to the killing zone.

This type of action found a renewal in fast moving
armored warfare, where the attackers could move faster
than those retreating.

[Marie]

In my house the innate violence of humanity was on display when my kids would fight over the remote! lol

[TexasTransplant]

That was really enlightening and enjoyable read... I am 1/8 Cherokee, have a good friend that is Lakota, an old Girlfriend that is full Mandan (she was adopted as a child and has since returned to the Res)
It will be fun to share this with them so that they can tell me how I don’t pay attention.
The Quanah Parker story is also fascinating as I know Texans that remind me very much of him.

[Huck]

Haha! Seriously!

[Mr Rogers]

Yes, Canyon de Chelly. Beautiful place, but when one looks up at the cliff dwellings, one asks, "What in the HELL were they afraid of? And is it still nearby?"

Another subject that fascinates me is the caves of Easter Island. This is the mouth of "Man Eat Cave". Hmmmm....

People don't live in a place like this because they want to prevent skin cancer:

"China told us that the early Rapa Nui people practiced ritual cannibalism, and that the cave was used for cooking and munching on their enemies. Lore had it that the fingers and toes were the most delicate, prized parts, often given to the chief. According to our guide, humans allegedly tasted much like pork."

http://glenniacampbell.typepad.com/silenti/2009/10/easter-island-of-cannibals-and-caves.html

Nothing like rustic natives, living in peace and harmony! "All we are saaaaayiiiing is give peace a chance!"

[pierrem15]

“To him Phyleus’ spear-famed son came near, and struck him with a cast of his sharp spear at the sinew of the head; and straight through between the teeth the bronze sheared away the tongue at its base. So he fell in the dust, and his teeth bit the cold bronze.”

[blam]

" It’s no wonder they didn’t have time to invent the wheel."

They had no draft animals.

The massive Inca sacrifices were about protein supply. Those sacrificed 'victims' carcasses was parcelled out and eaten.

All explained in this book:

[bert]

First one created a profile by discriminating between me and you. If the differences added up to a profile that was objectionable and you had what I wanted or perhaps needed we would go to war.

Discriminating and the profiling are ancient human traits necessary for very life its self.

Those that chose not to discriminate will die

[SES1066]

To him Phyllis’ spear-famed son ...

One of the bloodiest books (5) of Home's Iliad, lots of puncture wounds. However all the experts of Eighteenth & Nineteenth Centuries Greek literature would swear that Homer was a myth and his works were fiction - Until the German-American amateur, Heinrich Schliemann, proved that Troy and thus Homer existed!

[pierrem15]

Attarsiya, king of the Ahiyyans (Atreus, king of the Achaeans), according to the Hittite diplomatic archives.

There's more history in Homer and the Greek myths than many ever thought.

[Trumpinator]

Great book.

[Trumpinator]

https://www.amazon.com/Man-Corn-Cannibalism-Prehistoric-Southwest/dp/0874809681

Man Corn: Cannibalism and Violence in the Prehistoric American Southwest

[TigerLikesRooster]

Humans have evolved as hunters/scavengers. It is not much of a stretch to move from there to warfare and ritual killings.

People probably lived peacefully where there are not rival groups nearby and enough to eat, although this is not always guaranteed.

Relentless warfare by well-organized armies and the carnage it brings in their society could make some people search for a ideal society free of them. Usually in distant places. People project their wishes to those mysterious and faraway people.

But it turns out that things are not much different in those societies.

[Harmless Teddy Bear]

Sure we are.

Feudalism was great, Bards sang songs filled with profound poetry and deeds of daring do.

The peasants were joyous, knights were noble spirits who righted wrongs, and everyone in Europe was spiritually united in peace and harmony.

[SunkenCiv]

[chesley]

Me, too. Does not compute.