Essay On Prehistoric Conflict

North American Prehistoric Conflict

In regards to the degree in which conflict was present in Prehistoric North America, disagreement within the archaeological community as to the extent that which it occurred exists in spite of the plentiful amount of evidence in the form of defensive structures, iconography, materials of war, and skeletal remains. Each article of this Literature Review covers a different region of the North American continent, and between them the various kinds of evidence come with. Across the continent, a trend of violent indication can be found, but the disagreement comes from the nature of the people, the cause of the war, and the impact war had on polities, and vice versa. Using Patricia Lamberts “A North American Perspective” as a reference to chronology of the regions study, (excepting the Eastern Woodlands which I chose to begin with due to relevance in class) I hope to piece together a clearer picture of how the evidence of conflict varies, and what factors might influence the differences in causation of warfare across the continent.

Beginning with the previously mentioned Eastern Woodlands, archaeologists find evidence in the osteological record in the form of massacred bodies, wounds inflicted to individuals in a manner suggesting they were fleeing at the time of death, and that conflict was more pick-and-choose rather than outright conflict, which left more potential for misfortune. (Milner, 117) Evidence of large-scale conflict resulting in the wiping out of most or all of a community is not to be found, although the likelihood of finding such evidence is also improbable. (Milner, 117) Also within skeletal evidence, the remains suggest trophy taking was a large factor in conflict, as the trophi...

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...r other defensible natural land paired with the construction of moats and “no mans lands” suggests a shift into legitimate warfare. (Leblanc, 1999 ;Wilcox and Haas, 1994).

Also prone to catching ones attention, is the concept of cannibalism in the Southwest. Dismembered bodies, broken and charred bone, and other mutilation as well as other biochemical investigation suggest its presence in the archaeological record. (Billman, 2000; Turner and Turner, 1999; White, 1992) If indeed it was cannibalism, it is hypothesized by (Turner 1999) and Leblanc (1999) to be used as an intimidation practice to assist in the expansion of a particular people. However other interpretations of these findings comes as witch killing, mutilation without cannibalism, as well as mortuaristic practice. (Bullock, 1998; Dongoske, 2000, Darling, 1998, Bullock, 1998) sources paired respectively.