LBK Realpolitik: An Archaeometric Study of Conflict and Social Structure in the Belgian Early Neolithic

The causes and consequences of violence and warfare have long interested social scientists, historians, and philosophers. While economic motivations for conflict are among the most commonly discussed drivers of human violence, prehistorians have often downplayed economic factors when studying non-state society. This volume explores linkages between conflict and socioeconomic organization during the early Neolithic of eastern Belgium (c. 5200-5000 BC), using compositional analysis of ceramics from Linienbandkeramik villages to assess production organization and map intercommunity connections against the backdrop of increasing evidence for conflict.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1: Introduction Anthropological and Archaeological Perspectives on Warfare Explaining the Occurrence and Frequency of Warfare Archaeological Correlates of Warfare The Linienbandkeramik in Belgium Research Significance Project Methodology Overview Chapter 2: Warfare and Economy in Stateless Society Warfare and Exchange Warfare and Exchange in Prehistory Linking Warfare and Exchange in the Archaeological Record Chaper 3: The Linienbandkeramik The Central European Late Mesolithic The Linienbandkeramik LBK Settlements and Settlement Patterns Linienbandkeramik Economic Structure Mechanisms of LBK Expansion Linienbandkeramik Sociopolitics Conflict Conflict and Socioeconomic Structure in the Linienbandkeramik Chapter 4: Linienbandkeramik Settlement in the Hesbaye Region of Belgium Hesbayen Geography and Geology The Late Mesolithic in Belgium Linienbandkeramik Settlement of the Hesbaye Chronology of Settlement Fortified Settlements and the Chronology of Conflict in the Hesbaye The Hesbayen Bandkeramik Economy Conflict, Economy, and Social Structure in the Hesbayen early Neolithic Research Questions Chapter 5: Method and Sample Chemical Proveniencing of Archaeological Ceramics LA-ICP-MS Protocol Petrography Statistical Methods and Chemical Reference Groups Sample Chapter 6: Results of Compositional Analysis Results of Ceramic Analyses Petrographic Analyses Provenience Interpretation of Ceramic Chemical Groups Ceramic Compositional Variability and Inference of Community Ties Chapter 7: Conflict and Social Structure in the Hesbayen Bandkeramik Changing Patterns of Ceramic Production and Acquisition Changes in Lithic Production and Distribution Discussion Chapter 8: Conclusion—Conflict and Economy in the Hesbayen Linienbandkeramik and Beyond Summary of Findings Future Research Directions LBK Conflict in Broader Context