WEAPON · Warrior Elites: Assessing their Presence and Organisational identity in Neolithic Europe

Warrior Elites: Assessing their Presence and Organisational identity in Neolithic Europe

The role, extent and main actors of Neolithic warfare remain poorly understood. The Action WEAPON (“Warrior Elites: Assessing their Presence and Organisational identity in Neolithic Europe”) aimed to explore the identity and life-histories of those involved in the violence observed in this pivotal period through a multi-isotope approach, including micro-sequential carbon, nitrogen and sulphur stable isotope analysis of bone collagen and tooth dentine, and strontium, carbon and oxygen analysis of tooth enamel. Such topic is important for society because the emergence of the first ‘specialised warriors’ is likely to be related to the consolidation of lasting inequalities and/or large population movements across Europe, being both issues still difficult to handle in present times. A better understanding of their Neolithic roots may help policies to move through different decision-making scenarios and also provide society with new knowledge to deal with social asymmetries and promote solidarity. Objectives of this Marie Skłodowska Curie Action (MSCA-IF) have been to reconstruct the isotopic biographies of those involved in violence in order to (a) assess the presence of “specialized warriors” in the Mid-Upper Rhine valley of northeastern France, particularly in the relevant late Middle Neolithic sites of Achenheim and Bergheim, b) detect dietary and/or residence shifts that help identify the factors behind violent conflict, and (c) investigate further socio-cultural implications of late prehistoric lethal confrontations in western Europe. This project has permitted the development of new ground-breaking microsequential analytical protocols for sequential palaeodietary and mobility studies in archaeology, providing unique ways to reconstruct past human life histories in detail.

Data: CORDIS, © European Union