![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() This period could be termed the legionnaire age because it saw the heavy infantry of Rome come to dominate the battlefield. The next stage in the evolution of warfare (400BC-900AD) saw the rise of infantry as the dominant force on the battle field, well trained and disciplined infantry could deal with chariots by remaining steady in the face of a charge or opening their ranks to let the chariots through and then attacking them. The chariot represented the shock element in the armies of the day. During this period armies started to develop and the king of the battle was the chariot. A good example of this period is that of ancient Egypt and the ancient kingdoms of the Middle East such as the Hittites. Clearly as Stone Age societies began warfare, the next stage of warfare became collective and systemized, where large kingdoms developed and waged war for prestige and to gain land and resources including slaves. So what does explain the advent of war? Archeological evidence offers several explanations including large regional populations that increased competition more anchored living that prevented people from moving away from conflict social structures such as clans that provided flexible frameworks for splitting into “us” and “them” the emergence of a distinct political elite with its own interests trade in goods that provided something to fight over and ecological reverses such as droughts or large-game extinction. ![]() Some archaeologists claim the first act of homo sapiens on the world stage was that of genocide with the systematic destruction of the Neanderthals although there is no suggestion of an organized war effort, evidence points to small scale conflict slowly driving the physically stronger Neanderthals into less favorable areas for survival as they were defeated by the homo sapiens who although weaker and less well adapted to the northern European climate could communicate and unite to gain dominance of better settlement areas. From the very beginning of our species history we have waged war. ![]()
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