Wolfson Fellow Sheds Light on Stone Age Warfare

Wolfson Governing Body Fellow Rick Schulting has been sharing new insights from his research into Stone Age conflict in a piece for New Scientist published this week.

New evidence discovered by Professor Schulting suggests that Stone Age people were fighting wars over 5000 years ago, much earlier than originally thought. This evidence comes from the re-analysis of an ancient burial site in Northern Spain first discovered in 1985, which contains the remains of hundreds of individuals.

Professor Schulting, whose research focuses on the archaeology of the Mesolithic and Neolithic periods, believes that the burial site is too large to consist of members of one community, and points to early warfare rather than interpersonal conflict or skirmishes. You can read the full article on Professor Schulting’s discovery on the New Scientist website.

Wolfson has for many years proudly supported a research community that includes internationally renowned and award-winning archaeologists, as well as a thriving Ancient World Research Cluster. Professor Schulting’s work builds on that heritage and the College congratulates him on his discovery.