The Origins of War (500,000 BC–3,000 BC)

In a part of the Nile Valley that was soon going to be flooded by the construction of the Aswan Dam, the archaeologist Fred Wendorf made a groundbreaking discovery. In 1964 he found a prehistoric burial site which contained 61 skeletons near the border between Egypt and Sudan. This burial site, called Jebel Sahaba, was constructed by members of the Qadan culture about 14,000 years ago. Because almost all these skeletons showed clear signs of physical trauma, Wendorf and his colleagues thought they had found the oldest battlefield in history. But were these skeletons really the victims of the first battle? And did organized warfare even exist at all at that time? If so, what did it look like? In this video we address these questions and search for the origins of war.

Some must read mlitary history books:

00:00-00:58 Intro: First Battle in History?
00:58-07:15 Chapter 1: What is War?
07:15-10:25 Chapter 2: The Beginning of Organized Violence
10:25-13:17 Chapter 3: First Traces of War
13:17-17:00 Chapter 4: Organized Warfare
17:00-21:14 Chapter 5: An Age of War?
21:14-23:20 Epilogue

Bibliography:
Archer, Christon I./Ferris, John R./Herwig, Holger H./Travers, Timothy H. E., World History of Warfare, Lincoln 2002.
Churchill, S. E., Franciscus, R., McKean-Peraza, H. A., Daniel, J. & Warren, B. R. Shanidar 3 Neandertal rib puncture wound and paleolithic weaponry. J. Hum. Evol. 57, p 163-178 (2009).
Ferril, Arther, The Origins of War. From the Stone Age to Alexander the Great, London 1997.
Harari, Yuval N., Sapiens. A Brief History of Humankind, New York 2011.
Keeley, Lawrence H., War Before Civilization: The Myth of the Peaceful Savage, Oxford 1996.
LeBlanc, Steven, The Origins of Warfare and Violence, in: The Cambridge World History of Violence vol. 1: The Prehistoric and Ancient World, pp 39-57.
Scherer, Andrew K., Recent Research on the Archaeology of War and Violence, in Annual Review of Anthropology 50 (2021), pp 403-421.
Waal, Frans de, The Age of Empathy, New York 2009.

#history #documentary #education

[SandRhomanHistory]

We put a lot of effort and poured substantial resources into this video. For example, we licensed a lot more footage and artwork, put much more effort into research, storytelling and editing. All in all, this resulted in much more work but also in a much better video and viewing experience, at least that’s what we think.

There’s a more extensive bibliography in the description of this video but if you’re interested in some of the more accessible books mentioned in this video, have a look here (affiliated links):

The two papers on Jebel Sahaba and the Y-chromosome bottleneck can be found here:

[Revick_Revas]

“Before man was, war waited for him. The ultimate trade awaiting it’s ultimate practitioner”

[ripevanwinkle]

'War was always here. Before man was, war waited for him. The ultimate trade awaiting its ultimate practitioner.'

[AKSnowbat]

"The most persistent sound which reverberates through man's history is the beating of war drums."
Arthur Koestler

[Phalanx]

Given that organized groups of Apes have gone to war, I feel it's safe to say modern human species have likely always had war.

[ScarletRebel]

"As long as there's two people left on the planet, someone is gonna want someone dead" -TF2 Sniper

[Elcore]

"'It makes no difference what men think of war, ' said the judge. 'War endures. As well ask men what they think of stone. War was always here. Before man was, war waited for him. The ultimate trade awaiting its ultimate practitioner. That is the way it was and will be. That way and not some other way.'"

[francogomez]

Really enjoy the quality of your job. Thanks. The narrative properly like a criminal investigation. Love to see more of this format. Congrats

[McGiver]

“War is father of all, and king of all. He renders some gods, others men; he makes some slaves, others free.”
― Heraclitus, Fragments

[POTUSenclave]

“War was always here. Before man was, war waited for him. The ultimate trade awaiting its ultimate practitioner.”
The Judge was right about it, it seems...

[DIY_Miracle]

As a Hobbesian; "Men are not fallen angels but mere animals seeking to ascend to heaven."

[MattiasGrozny]

"War was always here. Before man was, war waited for him. The ultimate trade awaiting its ultimate practitioner."

[koakley]

You make some of the best historical videos on YouTube. They are well researched, informative and entertaining. Thank you for all your hard work.

[bigbload]

I think that the fact that Chimps (our closest living relatives) are pretty much in a constant state of war with one another says a lot about how early humans engaged in war.

[CesarEnjoyer]

I love when a random history video that I find interesting pops up in my recommended

[qwaz]

Me and my buddy Ooga Booga gonna pull up on some Neanderthals with that Pointy.

[SquidMonke]

Wars are so natural even this comment section has them

[MM]

I would add that Guns, Germs, and Steel is worth reading. The sections where Diamond talks about inter-tribal warfare in Papua New Guinea (in the 1960's, and as close as we get to neolithic warfare outside of say, the Amazon) is an eye-opener. You don't think of one or two or five guys getting killed in little scuffles is much ado of anything, until you realize it's happening year after year, and - proportional to their population - is casualties at WW2 levels for these groups.

[pyetr]

War was always here. Before man was, war waited for him. The ultimate trade awaiting its ultimate practitioner.
--Holden, 1849

[WelcomeToDERPLAND]

A severely overlooked topic, thank you for this.