War

War #

• First evidence: 15,000 – 8,000 years ago (agriculture)
  • Not found in all societies: wealth → defense → segmentation → growth → full scale competition
• Simple War: no chain of command (rituals, displays, combat)
• Raid: ambush, large number of attackers, minimal risk
• Complex War: armies, professional soldiers

Evolution of War #

Zapotec: 700 BC – 1521 AD #

• First city in Mesoamerica: Monté Albán
• Began as simple villages ⇒ cities in 1200 years
• Full scale war b/tw communities
  • Storable wealth
  • Territorial expansion
  • Domestication of corn

1. Village Life
   • Nuclear families w/ houses, storage pits
   • Defense: palisades
2. San José Phase

   • 1000 people in city

   • Strongly segmented societies w/ hereditary elite
3. Guadalupe Phase
   • Villages being burnt
4. Rosario Phase
   • 7x increase in burning (escalation of raiding)
   • 3 areas w/ buffer zones
   • San José Mogote burned
   • Temple Stone: carved w/ captive corpse to identify chief killed
5. Full Scale Wars, Zapotec State
   • 2000 people in city
   • 3km defensive wall
   • 8–10k people in valley total
   • Elimination of rivals: attacks on large rival to control entire valley
   • Elite officers with ceremonial helmets, display of victim skulls

Evolution of Empires #

Empires are predicted to emerge when two cultures collide #

• Increased social organization to combat enemy
• Selection for militants

Example: Steppe vs Forest #

Steppe

• plains habitat
• mobile, horse-mounted
• female warriors
• lots of raiding

Forest

• sedentary, rich
• paid tribute to protect from raiders
• closer to steppe ⇒ more social complexity, stratification

⭐ empire size increases with military technology

Beaker Culture #

• first British empire
• 2750–2500 BC
• replaced 90% of British Neolithic gene pool

Global Empires #

Eurasian Conquering #

• large east-west expanse
• guns, germs, and steel (weapons, bacteria, technology)
• had domesticated animals, plant foods
• higher levels of food storage
• lots of steppe-forest boundaries

Human: