Skeletons of the oldest large-scale war in Europe found

The first major European conflict occurred during the Neolithic era

Large-scale warfare occurred in Europe “1,000 years earlier than previously thought.” Re-analysis of skeletal remains in Spain suggests that warfare took place around 5,000 years ago during the Neolithic era, researchers say.

Researchers have suggested that the earliest period of warfare in Europe may have occurred more than 1,000 years before what was previously thought to be the first large-scale conflict in the region.

According to The Guardian, re-analysis of more than 300 sets of skeletal remains discovered in Spain – carbon dated to between 5,400 and 5,000 years ago – indicates that conflicts occurred long before powerful states emerged in the region.

The number of damaged bones and the disproportionately high percentage of men indicate that the wounds were sustained during a period of conflict, potentially lasting at least months, said the authors of the study, published in Scientific Reports.

The study re-examined the skeletal remains of 338 people from a mass grave site in a shallow cave in the Rioja Alavesa region of northern Spain, The Guardian notes.

Researchers found that injury rates were significantly higher during this time, with 23% of people showing signs of skeletal trauma and 10% having non-healing injuries.

The study authors also found that 74% of non-healing injuries and 70% of healed injuries occurred in adolescent or adult males, a significantly higher rate than females, and a difference not seen at other European Neolithic mass mortality sites.

Fifty-two flint arrowheads were also discovered at the excavation site, and 36 of these had minor damage associated with being hit.

Previous research has suggested that conflicts consisted of short raids lasting a few days involving small groups of up to 20–30 people, and suggested that early societies lacked the logistical capabilities to support longer, larger-scale conflicts.

It was previously believed that the earliest such conflict in Europe occurred in the Bronze Age, approximately 4,000 to 2,800 years ago, The Guardian recalls.

The overall injury rate, the higher injury rate among men, the relatively high percentage of healed injuries (suggesting that the conflict continued for several months), and previously observed arrowhead damage led the authors to conclude that many people at the burial site were abused and may have been victims about war.

According to the authors, the reasons for the conflict are unclear, but they suggest that the war may have been caused by tensions between different cultural groups in the region during the late Neolithic period.