NCJ Number
234987
Journal
British Journal of Criminology Volume: 51 Issue: 3 Dated: May 2011 Pages: 499-517
Date Published
May 2011
Length
19 pages
Annotation
This study reviewed archaeological evidence in establishing a historical context for the study of violence.
Abstract
The past two decades have seen important changes in the ways in which archaeologists perceive interpersonal violence in the past. Prehistoric archaeology in particular provides a unique long-term perspective on the development and institutionalization of violence in human societies, adding a further dimension to the work of cultural anthropologists studying more recent non-state societies. Evidence can be drawn from a range of sources, including material culture, settlement patterning, iconography and (crucially) patterns of trauma in human remains. The interpretation of such evidence remains inseparable from wider contextual understandings of prehistoric social forms and practices. This paper considers the specific role of archaeological evidence in establishing a broader historical context for the study of violence. (Published Abstract)