War before civilization : the myth of the peaceful savage / Lawrence H. Keeley.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Keeley, Lawrence H.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Warfare, Prehistoric.

Fortification, Prehistoric.

Weapons, Prehistoric.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (264 pages)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

New York : Oxford University Press, 1996.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

The myth of the peace-loving ""noble savage"" is persistent and pernicious. Indeed, for the last fifty years, most popular and scholarly works have agreed that prehistoric warfare was rare, harmless, unimportant, and, like smallpox, a disease of civilized societies alone. Prehistoric warfare, according to this view, was little more than a ritualized game, where casualties were limited and the effects of aggression relatively mild. Lawrence Keeley's groundbreaking War Before Civilization offers a devastating rebuttal to such comfortable myths and debunks the notion that warfare was introduced t

Contents:

""Cover""; ""Contents""; ""1. The Pacified Past: The Anthropology of War""; ""2. The Dogs of War: The Prevalence and Importance of War""; ""3. Policy by Other Means: Tactics and Weapons""; ""4. Imitating the Tiger: Forms of Combat""; ""5. A Skulking Way of War: Primitive Warriors Versus Civilized Soldiers""; ""6. The Harvest of Mars: The Casualties of War""; ""7. To the Victor: The Profits and Losses of Primitive War""; ""8. Crying Havoc: The Question of Causes""; ""9. Bad Neighborhoods: The Contexts for War""; ""10. Naked, Poor, and Mangled Peace: Its Desirability and Fragility""

""11. Beating Swords into Metaphors: The Roots of the Pacified Past"" ""12. A Trout in the Milk: Discussion and Conclusions""; ""Appendix: Tables""; ""Notes""; ""Bibliography""; ""Index""

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

0-19-988070-0

1-283-11329-5

9786613113290

0-19-976153-1

OCLC:

726734954