Constant Battles

This illuminating book by Steven A. LeBlanc, an archaeologist and Director of Collections at the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology at Harvard University, explodes the myth of the 'noble savage' and that people lived in ecological balance in the prehistoric and distant past. Like Jared Diamond, LeBlanc illustrates the ecological destruction of the environment in various societies which then lead to a drastic population drop. Carrying capacity of an area. Fortified villages and more.

On a per capita basis, tribal villages lose up to 25% of their population in constant battles, ambushes and massacres. Constant battles were the norm for the whole of human history.

On another note, the startling thing is that infanticides were common up to the last two centuries.

This is not a 'war' book. It is an book on ecological balance and anthropology. I highly recommend this book to all my friends and visitors to my blog.