ABSTRACT
Anthropologists have long debated the relative importance of cultural, biological, and historical factors in the origins and maintenance of different patterns of violence. Much of the evidence brought to bear on this issue has been generated by 78ethnographic research on modem non-industrial societies. While contributing significantly to our understanding of the proximate causes of violence, this avenue of inquiry lacks the time depth needed to identify and understand long-term trends in human interaction. Another complication with these studies is the difficulty of isolating ‘indigenous” patterns of behavior from those brought about by European contact. This chapter offers a broad temporal perspective in a pre-contact environment by reviewing the mortuary evidence for violent conflict in prehistoric hunter-gatherer societies of the Santa Barbara Channel Area, California. The evidence used to track temporal variations in violent conflict includes depressed cranial vault fractures and projectile wounds. Both types of injuries are relatively common in this area. Their frequency is not consistent across time, however, and there appears to be a strong correlation between violent conflict and periods of unfavorable climatic conditions. These data shed light on the causes of violent conflict in prehistoric societies and provide baseline data for understanding modern patterns of violence.
