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by chipsy 5518 days ago
Nutrition isn't the only issue. Hunter-gatherers have a much higher chance of a violent death; not just because of the risks of hunting, but because tribal warfare drafts the majority of able-bodied men. Even the ritualized warfare commonly used among present-day hunter-gatherers is likely to cause deaths.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_Before_Civilization
1 comments
FrojoS 5518 days ago
Christopher Ryan [1] denies this.

So which of my down voted post above was bullshit? I'd like to learn.

[2] http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/sex-dawn/201103/steven-p...

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berntb 5517 days ago
Christopher Ryan's blog post is low on examples, compared with that Wikipedia page about the book...

>>About 90-95% of known societies engage in war. [Etc.]

This is a sensitive subject for people with (political) axes to grind, so I'd prefer better references for the claim that Pinker is totally non serious?

(I was surprised to see that Eskimos had extermination wars?! You would think the population density made organised conflicts impossible?)

Edit: Clarity.

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FrojoS 5513 days ago
You might be right. I still think its worth reading. I still tend to prefer Christopher Ryan's point of view but this might change. Also, Pinker is afaik not a professional expert on anthropology [1].

[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pinker

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berntb 5512 days ago
Pinker quoted an expert. Or not?

If the research consensus in the field really was different, Ryan would have pointed that out gleefully -- with many more references. Since Ryan didn't do that, he is either dishonest or ignorant. Either way, he can be ignored.

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