Le Sentier de la Guerre. Visages de la violence préhistorique

by Jean Guilaine, Jean Zammit

La Préhistoire n'est pas l'âge d'or que l'on a longtemps voulu imaginer. En s'appuyant avec rigueur sur toutes les découvertes archéologiques, les auteurs font un tableau saisissant de la violence présente dans toutes les sociétés préhistoriques : sujets blessés, armes retrouvées, traces de violences individuelles ou collectives, cannibalisme, supplices et massacres. Des origines jusqu'au Néolithique et jusqu'à l'émergence du guerrier et du héros, les preuves sont là, qui démontrent un peu plus que l'homme préhistorique n'était pas différent de nous-mêmes.

Jean Guilaine, archéologue, est professeur au Collège de France et à l'École pratique des hautes études en sciences sociales. Jean Zammit, paléopathologiste, est chargé de conférence à l'École pratique des hautes études en sciences sociales.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Social Science, Military History, Anthropology

378 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2001

Reviews

[Rebecca]

In this book we are taught that the prehistoric (pre-Indoeuropean)man could be violent and didn't live in a peaceful paradise. We are also taught that some of the morals of today didn't apply back then - for example is cannibalism not something that necessarily was a problem for people back at the dawn of (pre-)civilisation (or later). These facts are not only presented but repeated. Over and over again. (we get it - most of us had gotten that before we picked up this book)

The actual presentation of skeletal remains and the forensic work on them is quite interesting - but it is always open for debate how much general conclusions can be drawn from the remains (the time span is huge after all, and so much just lost to us), but as case studies it works just fine.

And I find it quite interesting how the author(s) [there are actually two] point out in the beginning of the book how archaeologists change their interpretations based on how the modern world around them change. I have no doubt about that - but I wonder if the author(s) meant for us to do the same with the conclusions presented in this book since they are presented quite often as facts rather than speculations. (And why always apologize for making analogies to for example Celts, but having no qualms using 19th century Native Americans to illustrate ideas?)

[Dan Zarfati]

An excellent book that portrays the ancient as it really was, violent and mysterious. Analyzing the remains of hundreds of bodies and representations in cave art and engravings, the author makes an interesting and probably very realistic portrait of our ancient past.

[David]

An excellent, though occasionally dry, read covering the origins of organized violence and war in the human species. The approach, though biocultural, falls closer to evolution and biology than to the cultural determinist model.

Because of this, it is more convincing than are the cultural determinist models of human violence.

Recommended for those attempting to make sense of organized human violence...fun for the whole family.

Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars