Jean-Jacques Rousseau inculcated us with the idea that our prehistoric ancestors, before the rise of civilisations, cities and states, were more peaceful than us. His image of the noble savage was probably more based on some unusually friendly and welcoming Polynesian tribes than on the average human being.
In an excellent article, The Economist summarises new researches, according to which hunter-gatherers were much more violent than anything we have known in our written history. They lived in a state of constant warfare, and 25-30% of men died of homicide. It is estimated that if 20th century wars had the same death rate as prehistoric warfare, 2 billion people would have died. Women, for their part, were almost bound to be abducted as a sexual prize at least once in their lifetime.
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The Economist : Hunter-gatherers - Noble or savage?
In an excellent article, The Economist summarises new researches, according to which hunter-gatherers were much more violent than anything we have known in our written history. They lived in a state of constant warfare, and 25-30% of men died of homicide. It is estimated that if 20th century wars had the same death rate as prehistoric warfare, 2 billion people would have died. Women, for their part, were almost bound to be abducted as a sexual prize at least once in their lifetime.
More here :
The Economist : Hunter-gatherers - Noble or savage?