Neolithic Yarmoukian culture figurines at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem; Oren Rozen, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Archeological research suggests that during the Neolithic era newly sedentary lifestyles, domestication, and resource accumulation introduced concepts of property and competition, paving the way for organized warfare.

Deborah Barsky studies ancient stone tool technologies and human prehistory. Her perspective centers on using insights from human evolution to address modern challenges. She advocates understanding our evolutionary pathways to encourage sustainable behavior and greater harmony with the environment.

In this article she explores the origins and development of large-scale human violence, tracing its historical and technological roots. Barsky argues that large-scale violence is not inherent to human nature but has evolved due to technological advancement and competition over resources. War, she suggests, arises from perceived differences and scarcity rather than innate aggression—with technology playing a dual role in either mitigating or amplifying conflict.

She observes that since the emergence of early humans, two forces have driven our evolution: natural selection and technological development. Natural selection is a slow, adaptive process shaped by environmental pressures. In contrast, technology evolves rapidly and unpredictably. These forces interact in complex ways, creating new strategies for survival and continually reshaping the human experience.

"While it is difficult to determine the exact point in time when humans selected large-scale warfare as a viable behavioral trait, co-opting their astounding technological prowess as a strategy to compete with each other in response to unprecedented demographic growth, there may yet be time for us to modify this trajectory toward resiliency, cooperation, and exchange."

ARTICLE:How Long Has Humanity Been at War With Itself?