Violence in Upper Palaeolithic Hunter-Gatherers

During the Upper Palaeolithic, human remains from the Gravettian period from Dolni Vestonice, Pavlov and Mladec (Dolni Vestonice 3, 13, 16; Pavlov 1; Mladec 5) show a number of healed traumas on the skulls that did not penetrate the bone: the impacts left small rounded depressions on the outer surfaces of the skulls.

Their almost identical localisation on the frontal areas of the parietals could indicate that they may have been caused by repeated violent interactions.^{^[101]} Besides these more random injuries, a small number of more severe cases are present that have healed without inflammatory reactions or other complications. The crouched burial of a female individual, Dolni Vestonice 3, shows a noticeable facial asymmetry, which was caused by a trauma to the side of the mandible. As this trauma is long healed and shows no specific characteristics, it cannot be excluded that this injury was caused by an accident, but a violence-related origin is equally feasible. A further case is a healed skull injury on Dolni Vestonice 11/12. A larger defect is situated on the mid frontal bone, resulting from a more severe trauma. Again, the location and shape of the injury might be indicators for interpersonal violence. The most striking evidence for lethal violence in the Upper Palaeolithic is the case of the famous burial Sunghir 1, an adult male also dated to the Gravettian period. During the reinvestigation of these remains a centimetre-long cut was found on the body of a thoratic vertebra (mid spinal region).^{^[102]} Any signs of healing were absent. To cause such a defect, an object must have penetrated the body, destroying vitally important blood vessels and causing the death of the victim. It seems, therefore, that a projectile such as a thrown spear killed the man from Sunghir. This seems to be the first reliable evidence of a person being killed by a projectile weapon.

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Source: Fagan Garrett G., Fibiger Linda, Hudson Mark, Trundle Matthew (eds.). The Cambridge World History of Violence. Volume 1: The Prehistoric and Ancient Worlds. Cambridge University Press,2020. — 756 p.. 2020

Violence in Upper Palaeolithic Hunter-Gatherers

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