War Before Civilization

By: Lawrence H. Keeley

Narrated by: Gary Appleton

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. 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.

This Ascend Audio recording of the book War Before Civilization by Lawrence H. Keeley is text copyright © 1996 Oxford University Press, Inc. and 2024 by Ascend Audio LLC. All rights reserved. This recording may not be copied, or played for an audience, without the written permission of Ascend Audio LLC.

©1996 Oxford University Press, Inc. (P)2024 Ascend Audio LLC

Reality

This book illuminates the reality of human existence which is neither Hobbesian nor Russeauian but much more complex. The fact is that war has almost always been a part of life and the myth of the noble savage is a dream of those who are isolated from these primitive societies. The individuals who have lived with the greatest peace are those within modern nation states where war is pushed out beyond their borders. In tribal society every man is a warrior and everyone bares the scars of war.

Important contextual history

I very much enjoyed this book. While the themes and descriptions of human cruelty can be uncomfortable at times, the author was very thorough and even-handed in his analysis and conclusions of warfare, whether modern or premodern. The narration was workable, although to an American ear, the persistent mispronunciation of Native American tribal names was distracting.

Equality

Haha the equality of humankind, hahah hah hah hah ha ha ha ha ha ha ha