Author(s): Debra L Martin (Editor), Ryan P Harrod (Editor), Ventura R Perez (Editor)
Publisher: University Press of Florida
Publication Date: 15 Aug. 2012
Language: English
Print length: 304 pages
ISBN-10: 0813041503
ISBN-13: 9780813041506
Book Description
Human violence is an inescapable aspect of our society and culture. As the archaeological record clearly shows, this has always been true. What is its origin? What role does it play in shaping our behaviour? How do ritual acts and cultural sanctions make violence acceptable?
These and other questions are addressed by the contributors to The Bioarchaeology of Violence. Organised thematically, the volume opens by laying the groundwork for new theoretical approaches that move beyond interpretation; it then examines case studies from small-scale conflict to warfare to ritualised violence.
Experts on a wide range of ancient societies highlight the meaning and motivation of past uses of violence, revealing how violence often plays an important role in maintaining and suppressing the challenges to the status quo, and how it is frequently a performance meant to be witnessed by others.
The interesting and nuanced insights offered in this volume explore both the costs and the benefits of violence throughout human prehistory.
Editorial Reviews
Review
“”The tragedies of violence have seldom been told with such a compelling use of the biocultural perspective. Building on a solid methodological foundation, we are served theoretical perspectives that are unusually rich and nuanced in their application to the case studies. This collection of case studies is a valuable contribution to the bioarchaeological literature.””–George Armelagos, Emory University
From the Back Cover
“The tragedies of violence have seldom been told with such a compelling use of the biocultural perspective. Building on a solid methodological foundation, we are served theoretical perspectives that are unusually rich and nuanced in their application to the case studies. This collection of case studies is a valuable contribution to the bioarchaeological literature.”–George Armelagos, Emory University Violence has played an essential role in human social relations. Violence and conflict often have the ability to unite, create stability, and be a productive force while at the same time generating the antithesis of these positive influences. Previous perspectives on the subject have been narrowly conceived, and this volume aims to broaden theoretical paradigms within violence studies. The Bioarchaeology of Violence provokes readers to imagine acts of violence not as a necessary evil or an abhorrent behavior but rather as a response to certain problems. It provides different ways to think about the relationship between violence and lived experience, and lived experience and cultural processes. Experts on a wide range of ancient societies describe how violence can become ritualized over time, describe why and how certain forms of violence emerge, and explore both the costs and the benefits of violence throughout human prehistory. The contributors ultimately aim to explain why violence persists in the world today and offer insights into the factors that can disrupt and transform violence into less deadly activities. A volume in the series Bioarchaeological Interpretations of the Human Past: Local, Regional, and Global Perspectives, edited by Clark Spencer Larsen
About the Author
Debra L. Martin, professor of anthropology at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, is co-editor of Troubled Times: Violence and Warfare in the Past. Ryan P. Harrod is a doctoral student of biological anthropology at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Ventura R. Pérez is assistant professor of anthropology at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and editor-in-chief of the online journal Landscapes of Violence.
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