Conflict and Competition in Spanish Prehistory: The Role of Warfare in Societal Development from the Late Fourth to Third Millnium BC

Abstract

The inevitability of war or warfare cannot be taken for granted in prehistory. Nor can it be seen merely as something constantly going on in the background throughout societal development. Conflict is all too often explained as either a natural human characteristic, which does not require any explanation, or as the inevitable solution to some economic or environmental crisis or change. It is rarely defined or explained, and has not been ascribed a significant role in social change. This paper seeks to address these issues by developing a theoretical framework, which is tested through a specific archaeological case study. It is argued that conflict and competition have a significant role to play in explaining and tracing some of the social and cultural changes which took place from the Late Neolithic and throughout the Chalcolithic in prehistoric Spain. .