This ambitious and innovative book sets out to establish a new understanding of human aggression and conflict in the distant past. The authors examine the evidence of warfare in prehistoric times and in the early historical period in order to throw fresh light on the motives and methods of the combatants. Their study marks a significant new step in this fascinating and neglected subject, and creates the agenda for many years to come. By integrating archaeological and documentary research, the contributors seek to explain why some sides gained and others lost in battle. They also examine the impact impact of warfare on the social and political developments of early chiefdoms and states. Taking a crucial look at the nature and quality of the material evidence for warfare in prehistoric times, they look at weaponry and defensive structures. Their conclusions suggest a new interpretation of the evolution of warfare from the stone age and the bronze age, through the military practice of the Ancient Greeks and the Romans, to the conflicts of the Anglo-Saxons and of medieval Europe.