Frank's article is largely a review of the archaeologist Lawrence H. Keeley's research that he published in War Before Civilization: The Myth of the Peaceful Savage. In it Keeley shows that peaceful societies are a rare exception and that nearly 95% of them are warlike or regularly go to war. Of the fraction that doesn't, they tend to fall into two groups: isolated nomadic groups (who also have the option of flight) and defeated refugees.
The attrition rate of the close-quarters combat that is the feature of tribal warfare whether ancient or modern, results in much higher (up to 60 times![1]) casualty rates that what we see today. And it doesn't matter if you base your calculations on the total deaths due to war or as the average deaths per year from war as a percent of the total population.
Here's a graph from the article showing this comparison:
Figure 2. Death Rates From Warfare.jpg
1. According to TJ Nelson's review of Keeley's work.
The attrition rate of the close-quarters combat that is the feature of tribal warfare whether ancient or modern, results in much higher (up to 60 times![1]) casualty rates that what we see today. And it doesn't matter if you base your calculations on the total deaths due to war or as the average deaths per year from war as a percent of the total population.
Here's a graph from the article showing this comparison:
Figure 2. Death Rates From Warfare.jpg
1. According to TJ Nelson's review of Keeley's work.
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