Archaeology, Ethnology & Anthropology of Eurasia 42 (1) 2014

Annotation:  The Pleistocene Peopling of the North: Paleolithic Milestones and Thresholds Horizons in Northern Eu The Levallois Mousterian Assemblages of Sindh (Pakistan) and Their Relations with the Middle Paleol Chronology of the Uralian Neolithic The Late Krotovo (Cherno-Ozerye) Culture in the Irtysh Forest-Steppe, Western Siberia An Experimental Study of Percussion Technologies in the Minusinsk Basin: Percussion and Tool Types Prehistoric Wars and the Origin of Military Power (Based on Archaeological and Historical- Ethnolog Anthropomorphic Wooden Figures from the Trans-Urals Images on Metal Ware: The Graphic Art of Northwestern Siberia and the Cis-Urals Seventeenth Century Moscow Tiles in Russia Female Ornaments of the Xiongnu-Xianbei Age from Ulug-Choltukh, the Edigan River Valley, Gorny Alta Kayakers Near Scotland’s Northern Shores at the Turn of the 17th–18th Centuries: Main Theories of O Bichura Village (Transbaikalia): Foundation and Population Growth (18th–Late 20th Century) Trepanation Among the Early Nomads of Gorny Altai: A Multidisciplinary Study On the Biological Distinctness of the Pit-Grave (Yamnaya) People in the Northwestern Caspian: Crania   

Prehistoric Wars and the Origin of Military Power (Based on Archaeological and Historical- Ethnological Data)

S.N. Korenevsky.

The objective of this study is to correlate historical, ethnological, and archaeological sources regarding the symbolism of military power. For that purpose the status of Neolithic and Early Bronze Age burials with weapons in the Danube Basin, Caucasus, and southeastern Europe was analyzed in the context of ethnological theory. These data are discussed with reference to the typology of warfare in pre-state societies, contrasting primitive wars and later “true” wars (those involving fi ghting for spoils). Ethnological evidence demonstrates the dramatic rise of the status of military chiefs. Eventually, as fi ghting for spoils becomes more common, the chiefs rapidly rise to the height of power and acquire the right to distribute trophies. This tendency is documented by archaeological evidence, art, and mythology, indicating the developing symbolism of weaponry and military themes and testifying to the rise in the status of persons involved in warfare, specifi cally military leaders.

Keywords: Ethnology, archaeology, war, spoils, power, weaponry.