Human Conflict from Neanderthals to the Samburu: Structure and Agency in Webs of Violence

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-vii

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2. Introduction

   • William P. Kiblinger

   Pages 1-10

3. The Mammoth Steppe in Relation to the Fate of Modern Humans and Neanderthals

   • Valerius Geist

   Pages 11-21

4. The Meaning of Projectile Points in the Late Neolithic of the Northern Levant: A Case Study from the Settlement of Shir, Syria

   • Laura Dietrich, Dörte Rokitta-Krumnow, Oliver Dietrich

   Pages 23-38

5. Was There a Method to Their Madness? Warfare, Alliance Formation, and the Origins of the Irish Medieval State

   • D. Blair Gibson

   Pages 39-55

6. Seeking Justice, Preserving Honor: War and Peace Among the Western Dani

   • Douglas Hayward

   Pages 57-80

7. Forced Labor and Disciplinary Control: A History of Indigenous Peoples’ Treatment and Agency in the City of Manaus, Brazil

   • Ana Luiza M. Soares

   Pages 81-104

8. Culpability for Violence in the Congo: Lessons from the Crisis of 1960–1965

   • A. C. Roosevelt

   Pages 105-174

9. Killing, Mercy, and Empathic Emotions: The Emotional Lives of East African Warriors

   • Bilinda Straight, Amy Naugle, Jen Farman, Cecilia Root, Stephen Lekalgitele, Charles Owuor Olungah

   Pages 175-192

10. Conclusions and Commentary

    • William P. Kiblinger

    Pages 193-204

This book examines human conflict throughout history, the reasons behind the struggles, and why it persists. The volume delves into the causes of human conflict and what can be done about them. Based on detailed descriptions that support insightful interpretations, the book explores significant historical events in the course of human history. 

By pursuing a “web of violence” approach, it raises and answers questions about the sources of conflict and how it may or may not be resolved through investigations into human agency and practice. It evaluates lessons learned concerning human conflict, violence, and warfare. To illustrate these lessons, the book presents a broad geographical and temporal set of data, including research on the time of Neanderthals in Europe (20-30 thousand years ago); the Late Neolithic civilization on the Mediterranean (6-8 thousand years ago); medieval Ireland; contemporary history of the Western Dani peoples of West Papua; and, finally, recent issues in Brazil, Congo, and Kenya.

• Mammoth Steppe
• Modern-Humans and Neanderthals
• Late Neolithic of the Northern Levant
• Origins of the Irish Medieval State
• History of Indigenous Peoples’ Treatment and Agency in Brazil
• Violence in the Congo 1960-1965
• Emotional Lives of East African Warriors
• Studies of Violence
• Warfare and Alliance Formation
• web of violence
• human conflict across history
• human conflict, violence, and warfare
• Late Neolithic civilization on the Mediterranean
• history of the Western Dani peoples of West Papua
• recent issues in Kenya and the Congo

• Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies, Winthrop University, Rock Hill, USA

  William P. Kiblinger

William P. Kiblinger (editor) is an associate professor of Philosophy and Religious Studies. He holds a Ph.D. in the philosophy of religion from the University of Chicago. His research focuses on continental philosophy and theology as well as issues in religion and science. He has published work on evolutionary theory and subjectivity in Zygon: Journal of Religion and Science as well as on religious imagination in the International Journal of Philosophy and Theology. He teaches courses in philosophy and religious studies, and he has co-taught interdisciplinary courses in biology, anthropology, and political science. 

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