3 ms·

Yes, apparently one factor that prevented malnutrition from claiming more lives in the pre-agricultural era is that 30% of the population was culled through hom

Yes, apparently one factor that prevented malnutrition from claiming more lives in the pre-agricultural era is that 30% of the population was culled through homicide, leading to the population remaining below the environment's carrying-capacity.

midoridensha 3y ago
>30% of the population was culled through homicide, leading to the population Is that from murder, or war (presumably inter-tribal), or both? We're not exactly doing much better in modern times. See Russia's war against Ukraine, or the 100M+ killed in WWII.
- ETH_start 3y ago
  The source I read said inter-tribal warfare was a major source of homicides, but I can't recall if intra-tribal murder was a major factor as well.
defrost 3y ago
It's certainly odd that such a seemingly important fact(?) doesn't appear at all in: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hunter-gatherer https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hunter-gatherer You should considering adding that factoid and your backing evidence.
- ETH_start 3y ago
  Unfortunately I don't remember source where I read about this and a quick search didn't produce any results. I may have even found the article on HN.
  - defrost 3y ago
    Does it sound like something that would be true and provable for all hunter gatherers across the entire planet for some two million years? ( From first humans to present day hunter gatherers ) Is it true for present day hunter gatherers? How could it be determined for (say) hunter gatherers in modern western Europe? Would that be via skulls and bones from major outbreaks of conflict every so often or would it establish a pattern true for all generations, etc? To be honest it sounds more like missionary type comment on uncivilised savages.
    - ETH_start 3y ago
      That homicide rates for hunter gatherers are much higher than for people in agrarian and industrial societies is firmly established by the evidence, which is spread out across thousands of years of pre-history and a diverse array of geographical locations. It is also consistent with what we see in the closest relatives of humans: chimpanzee. https://archive.li/uP7Ax https://archive.li/uP7Ax
      - defrost 3y ago
        > That homicide rates for hunter gatherers are much higher than for people in agrarian and industrial societies is firmly established by the evidence Cool. That's what I'm asking for ... do you have any? ( Bear in mind, WWI, WWII, Vietnam, Korea, The Boer Wars, Crimea (old and new), Ukraine, et al set the bar on homicide in agrarian and industrial cultures )
        ETH_start 3y ago
        Yes, this article has a large number of sources: https://ourworldindata.org/ethnographic-and-archaeological-evidence-on-violent-deaths https://ourworldindata.org/ethnographic-and-archaeological-e...

midoridensha 3y ago

>30% of the population was culled through homicide, leading to the population Is that from murder, or war (presumably inter-tribal), or both? We're not exactly doing much better in modern times. See Russia's war against Ukraine, or the 100M+ killed in WWII.

ETH_start 3y ago
The source I read said inter-tribal warfare was a major source of homicides, but I can't recall if intra-tribal murder was a major factor as well.

defrost 3y ago

It's certainly odd that such a seemingly important fact(?) doesn't appear at all in: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hunter-gatherer https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hunter-gatherer You should considering adding that factoid and your backing evidence.

ETH_start 3y ago
Unfortunately I don't remember source where I read about this and a quick search didn't produce any results. I may have even found the article on HN.
- defrost 3y ago
  Does it sound like something that would be true and provable for all hunter gatherers across the entire planet for some two million years? ( From first humans to present day hunter gatherers ) Is it true for present day hunter gatherers? How could it be determined for (say) hunter gatherers in modern western Europe? Would that be via skulls and bones from major outbreaks of conflict every so often or would it establish a pattern true for all generations, etc? To be honest it sounds more like missionary type comment on uncivilised savages.
  - ETH_start 3y ago
    That homicide rates for hunter gatherers are much higher than for people in agrarian and industrial societies is firmly established by the evidence, which is spread out across thousands of years of pre-history and a diverse array of geographical locations. It is also consistent with what we see in the closest relatives of humans: chimpanzee. https://archive.li/uP7Ax https://archive.li/uP7Ax
    - defrost 3y ago
      > That homicide rates for hunter gatherers are much higher than for people in agrarian and industrial societies is firmly established by the evidence Cool. That's what I'm asking for ... do you have any? ( Bear in mind, WWI, WWII, Vietnam, Korea, The Boer Wars, Crimea (old and new), Ukraine, et al set the bar on homicide in agrarian and industrial cultures )
      - ETH_start 3y ago
        Yes, this article has a large number of sources: https://ourworldindata.org/ethnographic-and-archaeological-evidence-on-violent-deaths https://ourworldindata.org/ethnographic-and-archaeological-e...