Premium
A History of Research on Warfare in Anthropology
Author(s) -
Otterbein Keith F.
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
american anthropologist
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.51
H-Index - 85
eISSN - 1548-1433
pISSN - 0002-7294
DOI - 10.1525/aa.1999.101.4.794
Subject(s) - mythology , period (music) , prehistory , relativism , cultural relativism , history , anthropology , environmental ethics , philosophy , sociology , epistemology , law , classics , archaeology , political science , aesthetics , human rights
In this brief history of warfare research, I identify four major periods: Foundation Period, Classical Period, Golden Age, and Recent Period. The myth of the peaceful savage arose in the Classical Period rather than in the later periods, as argued by Lawrence Keeley. The myth has its origins in an early evolutionary approach as well as in cultural relativism. It continues to play a major role in warfare research with some anthropologists arguing for the peaceable nature of man, while others argue that man has engaged in warfare from the beginning of prehistory, [ war, theories of warfare, history of warfare research, myth of peaceful savage ]