The Why of War and the How of Peace, Part II: Lessons from Prehistory ~ Douglas P. Fry

How old is war? Does it stretch deep into human origins, or did warfare become common only as growing populations settled down? 

In Part II of this conversation with Douglas P. Fry, we return to the long-running debate about the origins of war.

Fry revisits his argument that aggression is ancient, but war is not. I put that claim to the test, raising some of the strongest objections from archaeology and the study of modern hunter-gatherers. We discuss Jebel Sahaba, nomadic and settled foragers, food storage, marine resources, population growth, and the archaeological sequences through which warfare seems to emerge in different parts of the world.

Is war an ancient adaptation—or a more recent cultural development? And is the answer relevant to our modern quest for a more peaceful world?

Enjoy!

FACT-CHECKING

No factual errors have been detected in this conversation, but there is a potentially unfair criticism of Wrangham and Glowacki's (2012) methodology. Contrary to the impression offered by the episode, the authors had explicitly excluded Malaysian hunter-gatherer groups on the grounds of substantial contact with surrounding farming and state societies.

For the original exchange, see Wrangham & Glowacki's (2012) and Fry & Söderberg (2014).

If you notice an error, please get in touch via Substack or the form below.

LINKS

Fry's 2026 book: ⁠Advanced Introduction to Conflict Resolution⁠

Support: ⁠⁠Patreon.com/OnHumans⁠⁠

Articles & newsletter: ⁠⁠OnHumans.Substack.com⁠⁠

Get in touch: ⁠⁠https://forms.gle/h5wcmefuwvD6asos8⁠⁠

Music credit: Aleksey Chistilin (Lexin_Music) via Pixabay.

NAMES MENTIONED

Douglas P. Fry | Luke Glowacki | Richard Wrangham | Brian Ferguson | Christopher Boehm | Richard B. Lee | Donald E. Brown

ETHNIC GROUPS AND HISTORICAL REGIONS

Northwestern Alaska | Valley of Oaxaca | Jebel Sahaba  | Monte Albán | Zapotec Empire | Calusa people | Batek people | Orang Asli | Juǀ’hoansi, !Kung | Mbuti 

KEY WORDS

Origins of war | prehistory of war | history of warfare | causes of war | why humans go to war | anthropology of war | anthropology of peace | peace studies | conflict studies | war studies | peace and conflict studies | evolutionary anthropology | human evolution | human nature and war | hunter-gatherer warfare | hunter-gatherers | nomadic hunter-gatherers | mobile foragers | complex hunter-gatherers | prehistoric violence | interpersonal violence | coalitionary aggression | coalitionary killing | lethal aggression | human aggression | conflict resolution | restraint of aggression | archaeological evidence of war | archaeology of warfare | archaeological record | Pleistocene | Holocene | Neolithic warfare | origins of social complexity | sedentism | permanent settlements | food storage | population growth | population density | resource competition | resource intensification | marine resources | aquatic resources | Neolithic revolution | human universals | evolutionary psychology | chimpanzee warfare