Stretching across continents and centuries, The Origins of War: Violence in Prehistory provides a fascinating examination of executions, torture, ritual sacrifices, and other acts of violence committed in the prehistoric world.

Until recently what little had been written on prehistoric violence and warfare focused on the symbolic interpretations of archeological remains. This engrossing book demonstrates that violence has always been far more than just symbolic by combining such interpretations into prehistory with a medical understanding of these violent acts. The authors, one an eminent prehistorian and the other a respected medical doctor, are the ideal guides through such evidence and enable the reader to understand this violence at a human level, without a sophisticated understanding of history or archeology.