The human motivational complex: Evolutionary theory and the causes of hunter-gatherer fighting. Part I. Primary somatic and reproductive causes

Journal/Book: Anthropol Quart. 2000; 73: 620 Michigan Avenue NE Admin Bldg Room 303, Washington, DC 20064, USA. Catholic Univ Amer Press. 20-34.

Abstract: This study addresses the causes of fighting among hunter-gatherers, whose way of life, represents 99.5 percent of human history. Focusing on somatic: and reproductive causes in Part I and on such diverse causes as dominance, revenge, the ''security dilemma,'' and ''pugnacity'' in Part II, the study seeks to show how all these motives, rather than being separate, come together in an integrated motivational complex, shaped by the logic of evolution and natural selection.

Note: Article Gat A, Tel Aviv Univ, IL-69978 Tel Aviv, ISRAEL

Keyword(s): hunter-gatherers; causes of war; primitive warfare; evolutionary theory; interpretative approaches; WAR; POPULATION; VIOLENCE; WARFARE

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