War before history

Abstract

Historical records leave no doubts that the recent 5 thousand years were the period of constant wars. As for the period "before history", for which no written records are available, the question is much more complicated. The paper briefly describes the history of the problem, assesses the potential of different kinds of materials relevant to its consideration, while the main focus is made on the analysis of archaeological evidence shedding light on the role of warfare and armed violence at different stages of the Stone Age. This role seems to have increased first at the very end of the Paleolithic and during the Mesolithic ages and then in the Late Neolithic age at the turn of the Stone and Early Metal Ages.