What makes war? : assessing Iron Age warfare through mortuary behaviour and osteological patterns of violence
There is an ongoing debate concerning the nature of warfare and violence in the Iron Age of Britain. Interpretations regarding material remains from this period fluctuate between classifying instruments of violence (i.e. swords, spears, hillforts) as functional tools of war and as ritual symbolic devices. Human skeletal remains provide the most unequivocal evidence for violent encounters, but were often missing from these debates in the past. This thesis addresses this lack of treatment by analyzing the patterns of traumatic injuries at sites from two distinct regions in Iron Age Britain (East Yorkshire and Hampshire). The human remains from these sites show clear markers of interpersonal violence. When the remains are placed in context with the mortuary treatment, it is evident that violence and ritual were inextricably linked. In East Yorkshire, combat may have been ritualized through duelling and competition performance. In Hampshire, individuals with perimortem injures are often found in special deposits such as pits, ditches and domestic areas, suggesting their use in ritual processes that distinguish them from the general population. This provides a basis for understanding warfare and violence during
King, Sarah Suzanne
Iron Age ; Warfare ; Ritual violence ; East Yorkshire ; Hampshire ; Skeletal injuries ; Human skeletal remains ; Traumatic injuries ; Mortuary behaviour
What makes war? : assessing Iron Age warfare through mortuary behaviour and osteological patterns of violence. There is an ongoing debate concerning the nature of warfare and violence in the Iron Age of Britain. Interpretations regarding material remains from this period fluctuate between classifying instruments of violence (i.e. swords, spears, hillforts) as functional tools of war and as ritual symbolic devices. Human skeletal remains provide the most unequivocal evidence for violent encounters, but were often missing from these debates in the past. This thesis addresses this lack of treatment by analyzing the patterns of traumatic injuries at sites from two distinct regions in Iron Age Britain (East Yorkshire and Hampshire). The human remains from these sites show clear markers of interpersonal violence. When the remains are placed in context with the mortuary treatment, it is evident that violence and ritual were inextricably linked. In East Yorkshire, combat may have been ritualized through duelling and competition performance. In Hampshire, individuals with perimortem injures are often found in special deposits such as pits, ditches and domestic areas, suggesting their use in ritual processes that distinguish them from the general population. This provides a basis for understanding warfare and violence during
make war assessing iron_age warfare mortuary_behaviour osteological pattern violence ongoing_debate concern_nature warfare violence iron_age_britain interpretations regard material_remain period fluctuate instrument violence sword spear hillforts functional tool war ritual symbolic device human_skeletal_remain provide unequivocal evidence violent encounter often miss debate past address lack treatment analyze pattern traumatic injury sit two_distinct region iron_age_britain east yorkshire hampshire human_remain site show clear marker interpersonal violence remains place_context mortuary treatment evident violence ritual inextricably_link east_yorkshire combat may ritualize competition performance hampshire individual often find special deposit pit ditch domestic area suggest use ritual process distinguish general_population provide_basis warfare violence