War Before Civilization: The Myth of the Peaceful Savage by Lawrence H. Keeley (PDF)

Description

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 to primitive societies through contact with civilization (an idea he denounces as “the pacification of the past”). Building on much fascinating archeological and historical research and offering an astute comparison of warfare in civilized and prehistoric societies, from modern European states to the Plains Indians of North America, War Before Civilization convincingly demonstrates that prehistoric warfare was in fact more deadly, more frequent, and more ruthless than modern war. To support this point, Keeley provides a wide-ranging look at warfare and brutality in the prehistoric world. He reveals, for instance, that prehistorical tactics favoring raids and ambushes, as opposed to formal battles, often yielded a high death-rate; that adult males falling into the hands of their enemies were almost universally killed; and that surprise raids seldom spared even women and children. Keeley cites evidence of ancient massacres in many areas of the world, including the discovery in South Dakota of a prehistoric mass grave containing the remains of over 500 scalped and mutilated men, women, and children(a slaughter that took place a century and a half before the arrival of Columbus). In addition, Keeley surveys the prevalence of looting, destruction, and trophy-taking in all kinds of warfare and again finds little moral distinction between ancient warriors and civilized armies. Finally, and perhaps most controversially, he examines the evidence of cannibalism among some preliterate peoples. Keeley is a seasoned writer and his book is packed with vivid, eye-opening details (for instance, that the homicide rate of prehistoric Illinois villagers may have exceeded that of the modern United States by some 70 times). But he also goes beyond grisly facts to address the larger moral and philosophical issues raised by his work. What are the causes of war? Are human beings inherently violent? How can we ensure peace in our own time? Challenging some of our most dearly held beliefs, Keeley’s conclusions are bound to stir controversy.

User’s Reviews

Editorial Reviews: Review “The evidence that Mr. Keeley marshals is vivid, varied, and often complex.”–The New York Times Book Review About the Author Lawrence H. Keeley is Professor of Anthropology at the University of Illinois at Chicago. He has contributed articles to Scientific American and Nature, and has appeared in documentaries that have run on PBS, The Discovery Channel and The Learning Channel. He lives in Oak Park, Illinois with his wife and son.

Reviews from Amazon users which were colected at the time this book was published on the website:

⭐I picked this book up because I was moderately interested in the topic of this book – to the extent of how do you defend places/wage war against an advanced civilization/conduct guerilla war or total war. I got a lot out of the book.This book sets that information into the context of archaeological revelations of defensive fortifications, mass burials of slaughtered victims, and first-person accounts (oral histories and pictographs) to determine A) how widespread was warfare as a way of life before civilized historians wrote it down; B) how lethal was warfare among “primitive” societies; all while C) examining the core beliefs behind the modern anthropologists’ description of tribal societies as “peaceful.”I would recommend reading this book and Jared Diamond’s “Guns, Germs, and Steel” soon after one another. The two books treat similar topics, but with different approaches.First, Lawrence Keeley endeavors to explain why archaeologists “pacify” the past. They refuse to “see” the results of conflict and war, as though they are wearing academic blinders. In Keeley’s opinion, clear evidence points to the warlike nature of primitive (non-literate) tribes: fortified dwelling places, defensive structures, mass burials (especially after a period of exposure of the corpses), and skeletal remains that show execution methods or cannibalism cuts. Keeley goes all the way back to Hobbes vs. Rousseau to tackle the “why” and examine confirmation biases, both in the colonial reports that exist and in modern ethnologies. (note: Keeley draws more than once on the work of Chagnon with the Yanomamo tribe, and my understanding is that this work has become doubtful. At the time Kelley published, Chagnon was a legitimate source, and including Chagnon’s material in this book does not undercut Keeley’s ideas.)We look at pre-colonial raids and massacres:1) 10% of some populations died violently (p. 68)2) Burials are unequivocal evidence3) Frequent deadly raids and occasional horrific massacres (about once per generation)4) Sometimes entire villages and settlements were wiped out.We examine whether civilized armies hold a tactical advantage in combat against a primitive foe:1) It comes down to fortifications and manpower2) Primitives have important advantages: dispersed units; knowledge of terrain; skirmishes and ambushes; raids; surprise attacks on military camps or settlements far from the army; and the destruction of the enemy’s economic advantages3) In 1874-1975, the US Army conducted a total war against the Plains Indians: adopted primitive techniques of relentless pursuit, during winter, with no rest, and the destruction of bison4) In 1876-1877, the US Army conducted total war vs. Sioux and Cheyenne Indians: pursuit through fall and winter, no time to gather/harvest, destruction of tipis and stored food, destruction of Indian horses, destruction of bison5) Look at Crook’s campaigns against the Apaches: adopted primitive methods of attacks on encampments, utilization of Indian scouts, and the use of mules, not horses6) Also looks at Ancient Roman records and colonial records from central and south AmericaKeeley makes the case that primitive war was far deadlier and more destructive than modern war (Chapter 6). In particular, he cites these characteristics of primitive war:+no quarter will be given+enslavement of captured women and children+cannibalism by the victors on the corpses of the defeated+mutilation of enemy corpses+sometimes ransom of prisoners+sometimes “adoption” of prisoners+expect atrocitiesKeeley lists some of the most war-prone societies on page 128, but he omits Islam. He posits that the causes of war generally are: the proximity to belligerent neighbors, hard times, and frontiers (p. 127)Takeaways:1) Keeley offers an extra-good analysis of the differences between the Canadian frontier system and that of the US and Mexico (pp 154-156). In Canada, the government got there first, establishing Army/Mountie posts and allowing the army to resolve disputes as they arose. The Army/Mounties moved the Indians off the land before the settlers arrived. Result: Much less conflict.2) The first Rule of War is: DO NOT LOSE3) Page 129 points to the rise of China as dangerous for world peace, because of rapid population increases and new technology in food production/transportation/weaponryRead Also: Quincy Wright “A study of War” – lawyerlyRead Also: Harry Holbert Turney-High “Primitive War” about the plains tribes – considers war as a social institution

⭐The Author consistently uses the words and idea of war “before civilization” – but I would certainly say this is actually documenting “war at the dawn of civilization” – which is to say, the beginning of “agricultural revolution” and the formation of towns and cities, as the evidence only goes back to about 10,000 years ago. The so-called “Cognitive Revolution” – when our species became different from other species of Homo – THAT was when Homo Sapiens were actually “savage” in the sense of possessing no civilization and being pure hunter-gatherers. So 60,000 years of evidence are missing from that – really this book is primarily investigating the “Dawn Of Civilization.” A few examples of the last tribes are shown, but it’s difficult to draw much from that about those missing 60,000 years.

⭐this book is packed with tons of infoextremally detailed differences between primitive warfare and modern warfare and how primitive tactics still exist in war today.

⭐This is one of the best books on the topic I have ever read. It is well written and accompanied by a profusion of charts and tables with lots of data that supports the thesis that the author proposes, i.e., that there was war before civilization, contrary to the opinion of many many researchers and scholars. The prevailing trend was based on a worldview that considered the emergence of war as a consequence (unintended, anyway) of the complexities that the new forms of organization (protostates and empires) brought with them. With the empires appeared the war and with the war the armies, in an infinite and unstable cycle of peace and war.Now, what professor Keeley did, or better, what he discovered at some moment during the exercise of his career as an archaeologist, was that he was wrong in following the prevalent opinion. In his words: “Like most archaeologists trained in the postwar period, I emerged from the first stage of my education so inculcated with the assumption that warfare and prehistory did not mix that I was willing to dismiss unambiguous ‘physical’ evidence to the contrary.”After some findings in Stuttgart – Germany that revealed that several “men, women and children,” have been “killed by blows to the head inflicted by characteristicly Early Neolithic axes,” the prevalent opinion began to stagger. “The resistance,” he adds, “that we archaeologists showed to the notion of prehistoric war, and the ease whit which it was overcome when the relevant evidence was recognized, impressed me and convinced me that a book on this subject would be worthwhile.”Thus, after twelve chapters you got everything you need in order to decide what to think. Anyway, the problem with accepting that the epoch we live in right now has been the most pacific of all is really hard to assimilate. Just think about it for a moment and then you can say to yourself “this is impossible.” But is it?Page after page, the author exposes you to the intricacies and multi layered aspects of the human behavior, so the book is more than counting corpses and bones with holes and injury marks in them. In fact, it is about the reason behind our tendency to fight before talking. The impulse that pushes us into fight everywhere and every time. That’s why the narration covers a full spectrum that goes from evolution to biology to sociology to politics and the like.If you are interested in history, in warfare, in topics about violence, aggressiveness, “human condition in extremes,” “political intrigues,” and so on, this is your book. Also if you want to know about that idealized world that existed before the cities (and the wars between them) destroyed the pastoral landscapes, this is your book.If you teach or if you study about war or strategy, this is your book also.You won’t forget it for a long time, I guess. In fact I finished the reading some months ago but the book is still with me.And a final advice: read it after or before “Sex and war” by Malcolm Potts and Thomas Hayden. Both of them are genuine contributions.Five stars.

⭐An interesting analysis of war in pre-urban, pre-industrial, “pre-civilised” society, which contained some lessons for those of us living in the urbanised, industrial “civilised” modern world as well. Using plenty of figures and charts, Keeley bins the notion that ‘primitive’ warfare was a bloodless affair involving a lot of shouting and not much killing. On the contrary, such conflicts were marked by extreme savagery, mutilation and merciless massacre of warriors and non-combatants alike. Keeley explains that this misconception is formed by post-War ideological pacifism and, by extension, one can also blame Western self-loathing. The assumption often made that peaceful primitives only became violent and bloodthirsty after contact with white colonialists is junked by evidence to the contrary dating back thousands of years, which anthropologists rationalise away with inevitably peaceful (and usually ludicrous) appeals to religion, ritual and culture.Other interesting insights include the idea that societies that trade and intermarry with one another are more, not less, likely to go to war with each other, and that the bellicosity of a society is not related to its population density. Fear not, as many of the reasons why primitives, and less primitives, go to war are elucidated in this engaging and well-written book.Keeley suffers fools badly, and he has some quite acidic comments to make about those with whom he disagrees. Whether the bile is amusing or not, whether it added to or subtracted from my appreciation of this book, I am not certain. That aside, I can recommend this book for those interested in the field of human conflict.

⭐Full of archaeological and historical data, interpreted in a very readable way. An excellent and insightful debunking of all-too-popular myths as well as a commentary on the history of warfare which many people will find most helpful background to other reading. Strongly recommended.

⭐The myth of the ‘noble savage’ is brought under scrutiny in this anti PC book, wonderful.

⭐An true eye opener regarding the ‘noble savage’ myth. It proves mankind was always engaged in warfare, no matter what era or location.

⭐This is a very thoughtful, scholarly piece that deserves to be a classic. It explodes the myth that prehistoric societies were mainly peaceful, and contains some excellent discussion of the nature of war and conflict, and how the understanding of prehistoric war illuminates the understanding of modern conflicts. I confess I expected a little more by way of juicy descriptions of early battles, but I was in no way disappointed with the book I got. Note that it’s not exactly a light read, however.

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