I don't say this to defend the practice, but shunning is not modern. Shunning was advocated by Paul the Apostle (or whoever wrote those letters to the Corinthi

I don't say this to defend the practice, but shunning is not modern. Shunning was advocated by Paul the Apostle (or whoever wrote those letters to the Corinthians) about two thousand years ago. Banishment and social exclusion has also been observed in many social animals besides humans.