In the midst of an explosion of violence in Israel and Palestine, a team from the University of Warsaw has published a study in which it analyzes the level of violence among ancient communities in the Middle East, the region where agriculture, sedentary lifestyles and the developed countries.
Dr. Arkadiusz Sołtysiak's team wondered if violence is “a natural part” of being human and that is why they carried out an exhaustive analysis of cranial injuries in a collection of more than 3,500 skeletons found in various regions of Turkey, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Israel and Jordan and who died between 12,000 and 400 BC.
"Because homicide records are only available for the most recent period, much of human history remains out of reach," the researchers write in the article published in the journal Nature Human Behavior on the role of violence in the development of human civilization.
The experts focused especially on damaged skulls above the so-called hat brim line, which corresponds to the area with the largest horizontal perimeter of the head. In science, it is assumed that injuries above this line are of active origin (derived from an intentional impact), while those below this line are of passive origin (derived from an accident).
They also examined other parts of the skeletons for signs of weapon-related injuries. “Sufficiently large skeleton collections allow us to estimate the level of violence in various ancient human groups based on the frequency of injuries resulting from the use of weapons. In particular, blows made with blunt hand weapons or with sharp edges can leave characteristic marks on the bones, especially on the vault of the skull," says Sołtysiak.
The data obtained served to find a certain trend. In the Neolithic, approximately between 9000 and 4500 BC, the level of interpersonal violence was very low. At that time people lived mainly in small scattered villages. When they began to organize into larger settlements and the first centralized states arrived, in the Chalcolithic period (around 4500-3200 BC), the number of injuries increased rapidly, especially in Mesopotamia.
The next period of history brought a notable decrease in the level of violence. This situation persisted from the Early Bronze Age (3200-2100 BC) to the Middle Bronze Age (2100-1500 BC). The trend was reversed again in the Late Bronze Age (1500-1200 BC) and the Iron Age (1200-400 BC), when the incidence of injuries increased, although it was still lower than in the Chalcolithic.
Although the trend was very similar in different parts of the Middle East, the overall frequency of injuries was clearly lower in Mesopotamia and higher in Anatolia and Iran. "People may be less inclined to be aggressive when the state does not control their behavior, as in the Neolithic, and when there is a strong state that maintains order, as in the Bronze Age," says Sołtysiak.
“Our analyzes show that violence becomes more common in times of increased stress, either in relation to the emergence of new institutions that have not yet developed ways to alleviate social tension associated with rapid urbanization, such as in the Chalcolithic period , or with the collapse of institutions, as in the Iron Age,” he adds.
The archaeologists conclude that because the incidence of injuries did not systematically decrease or increase over time, this means that the level of interpersonal violence depended less on the progress of civilization itself and more on the specific conditions that shaped social life in particular times.
The first farmers, for example, lived in small, somewhat isolated groups that did not have to compete with each other for resources. However, as the population grew significantly and the first states began to emerge, greater social tensions appeared, which could result in a dramatic increase in the level of violence, both internally and between the new states.
As institutions emerged, including police institutions, that allowed the gradual reduction of violence within societies, order was maintained in cities. Wars continued, but armies became largely professional, which also greatly reduced the risk of injury to non-soldier citizens.
However, at the end of the Bronze Age serious crises began to occur, derived, among other things, from mass migrations and increased internal tensions. Many powers of that era collapsed or were significantly weakened.
"This period of several hundred years of unrest is described in the sources as a time of conflict between city dwellers and herders, but also of an unstable situation in the cities themselves, where the weakening or even collapse of the central administration reduced the feeling of security," writes Dr. Sołtysiak.
The archaeologist highlights that the main factor that contributed to reducing the level of violence was the existence of a strong central authority that had appropriate institutions (courts, police forces) to guarantee social peace.
Although there is a factor, in addition to socioeconomic ones, that can influence the level of interpersonal violence: the changing climate. Research has revealed that, for example, a 300-year drought in the Middle East contributed to mass migrations and widespread hunger. It was also associated with a notable increase in the frequency of head injuries among the population.
At a time of growing climate crisis, many experts fear that conflicts around the world will intensify due to rising temperatures. Dr. Giacomo Benati, the co-author of the study, considers that our times are very different from the past.
“There is substantial evidence that extreme weather events could affect levels of conflict. But it is also true that when there are institutions that are capable of reducing and limiting violence, confrontations can be reduced,” concludes the researcher.
