EBOOK Sticks, Stones, and Broken Bones:Neolithic Violence in a European Perspective

Sticks, Stones, and Broken Bones: Neolithic Violence in a European Perspective        presents an up-to-date overview of the evidence for violent injuries on human        skeletons of the Neolithic period in Europe, ranging from 6700 to 2000 BC. Unlike        other lines of evidence - weapons, fortifications, and imagery - the human skeleton        preserves the actual marks of past violent encounters.The papers in this volume are        written by the experts undertaking the archaeological analysis, and present evidence        from eleven European countries which provide, for the first time, the basis for a        comparative approach between different regions and periods. Difficulties and        ambiguities in interpreting the evidence are also discussed, although many of the        cases are clearly the outcome of conflict. Injuries often show healing, but others        can be seen as the cause of death. In many parts of Europe,women and children appear        to have been the victims of violence as often as adult men.The volume not only        presents an excellent starting point for a new consideration of the prevalence and        significance of violence in Neolithic Europe, but provides an invaluable baseline        for comparisons with both earlier and later periods.