Has there ever a period in history when people were not killing each other?
Upvote:5
If you just mean wars, according to this graph from a University of Warwick study (by way of History Today), there was in fact a brief time in 1890 when there was only one war going on.
If you are talking person-to-person conflict, ie: murder, then no. Violence is a standard part of human behavior, shared with our chimpanzee relatives. Just like with chimps, the violence is largely (but not entirely) carried out by males. The natural conclusion here is that whatever common ancestor our two species had 4-13 million years ago, predominantly male violence was likely part of their behavior.
If history is to ever record such a time, Steven Pinkner argues that it is likely to be in our future, not our past. His Better Angels of our Nature argues that the rates of murder and death in warfare have been dropping for centuries. I'm not sure I buy that argument (reference the trajectory of the graph above), but I'd sure like to.
Upvote:5
Research on history and prehistory shows that there was no such period, contrary to some common myths about "golden age", and "peaceful primitive people". Moreover, they argue that the chances of violent death in 20s century were lower than they were in the primitive societies. That is the fraction of total population killed in all wars in 20s century is lower than during comparable periods in prehistory. See, for example: Keeley, Lawrence H., War Before Civilization. Oxford University Press, 1996.
Concerning the historical times (after the invention of writing) the evidence is abundant: war was one of the main activities of almost all human civilizations.
Of course some local exceptions happen. There was no war on Canadian territory since 1812 (but Canada participated in overseas wars). Switzerland or Iceland probably did not participate in any wars for centuries.
People kill each other in many other ways (crime, death penalty, etc.) but I suppose you are asking about wars. In primitive societies where there is no legal system as we understand it, the difference between wars and crime can be fuzzy.
More post
- 📝 Why weren't German V-2 weapons used against the Russians?
- 📝 Have any major US book publisher published a book about USA war crimes?
- 📝 What does Tuchman mean by transition to a "money economy" in the Middle Ages?
- 📝 What kind of canoes were used in 19th century Yucatán?
- 📝 How did Mao Zedong's policy abuse affect those in the Five Black Categories during the Cultural Revolution?
- 📝 Where was the site of Mary Seacole's store in Aldershot?
- 📝 What was the meaning of the following Neville Chamberlain quote?
- 📝 Did the US try to buy California before the 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo?
- 📝 What is the name of this song about taking Cherokee land?
- 📝 How is serfdom related to slavery?
- 📝 What is the original source of this 16th century image of a French town holiday with musicians in a tree?
- 📝 In WW2, which midget submarine program was the most successful?
- 📝 Pedophilia in ancient Greek and Roman culture
- 📝 Origin of "The grass did not grow where Attila had passed"
- 📝 Were Quintidis holidays in the French Republican calendar?
- 📝 Why were the workers opposed to Hitler becoming the chancellor of Germany near the end of the Weimar republic?
- 📝 How did Vasco da Gama know about the Southern Cross?
- 📝 Free Silver movement: Why were Republicans opposed to it in the 1890s?
- 📝 When did monogamy become the norm in Ancient Greece?
- 📝 The greek 'daktylos'
- 📝 How much did King George III of Britain weigh?
- 📝 What were the main clans of the Sengoku period?
- 📝 How do historians decide who to refer to as 'the allies?'
- 📝 Why were Union troops referred to as "lop-eared Dutch"?
- 📝 What were the Ethiopians doing in Xerxes' army?
- 📝 Did temples in ancient Greece contain treasure?
- 📝 In Chicago, IL, why do most north/south streets change names east of Ashland on the north vs south side?
- 📝 Regional Customs for Leaving a King's Presence
- 📝 Did Stalin have any designs on Turkey and Greece?
- 📝 In World War 1, why were the Australian and Canadian troops so good?
Source: stackoverflow.com
Search Posts
Related post
- 📝 Has there ever a period in history when people were not killing each other?
- 📝 Has there ever been a war where 2 parties who were at war with each other cooperated on a strike against a third party?
- 📝 Has there ever been a case when a traitorous military commander took command again for the side he betrayed?
- 📝 Has there ever been a cold war other than between the U.S. and the U.S.S.R.?
- 📝 Has there been an occasion where ranged weapons were available but not used?
- 📝 Was there ever a war mission where the personnel were instructed to surrender when the mission complete?
- 📝 Have there been known instances in history when a queen consort slept with someone other than her husband, and no one got hurt? How was that possible?
- 📝 Were there crewmen from other USN ships on USS Missouri when the Japanese surrendered?
- 📝 Has there ever been a massacre or genocidal act via people thrown off a cliff?
- 📝 What incentives were there for Soviet and Chinese politicians to try climb to the top when there was so much history of deposing their own?
- 📝 Was there a period in history predating the 15th century where being bald was not looked upon negatively?
- 📝 What were paper airplanes called before there were real airplanes? (i.e. untethered winged flyers, not kites or balloons)
- 📝 Has there ever been a truly multi-sided war?
- 📝 Has there ever been a non-rectangular banknote?
- 📝 Has there ever been an instance of an active nuclear power plant within or near a war zone?
- 📝 Why did Europeans (and not people in other regions) dominate oceans?
- 📝 Why were helmets and other body armour not commonplace in the 1800s?
- 📝 Has there ever been a peaceful overthrow of a dictator or monarch?
- 📝 Has there ever been a battle with only a single survivor?
- 📝 Were there occasions when a sovereign country voluntarily joined another country?
- 📝 Has there ever been a major migration from the New World to the Old World? If not, why?
- 📝 Were there ethnic Russians in Alaska when the US purchased it 1867? Did they stay?
- 📝 Has there ever been anything like the oil boom we see today?
- 📝 Were there ever wars/battles where infantry were given multiple rifles to speed up rate of fire?
- 📝 Has there ever been a true kidnapped princess from anywhere in the world?
- 📝 Has there ever been an archbishop or bishop younger than the 16-year-old James of Nicosia?
- 📝 Has there ever been a serious effort to reform the US Electoral College system?
- 📝 Were there ever actual organizations of pirates?
- 📝 Has there ever been a truly bilingual country prior to the contemporary period?
- 📝 Were there ever any farming societies without a calendar?