Archaeological Perspectives On Warfare On The Great Plains

The Great Plains has been central to academic and popular visions of Native American warfare, largely because the region’s well-documented violence was so central to the expansion of Euroamerican settlement. However, social violence has deep roots on the Plains beyond this post-Contact perception, and these roots have not been systematically examined through archaeology before. War was part, and perhaps an important part, of the process of ethnogenesis that helped to define tribal societies in the region, and it affected many other aspects of human lives there. In Archaeological Perspectives on Warfare on the Great Plains, anthropologists who study sites across the Plains critically examine regional themes of warfare from pre-Contact and post-Contact periods and assess how war shaped human societies of the region. Contributors to this volume offer a bird’s-eye view of warfare on the Great Plains, consider artistic evidence of the role of war in the lives of indigenous hunter-gatherers on the Plains prior to and during the period of Euroamerican expansion, provide archaeological discussions of fortification design and its implications, and offer archaeological and other information on the larger implications of war in human history. Bringing together research from across the region, this volume provides unprecedented evidence of the effects of war on tribal societies. Archaeological Perspectives on Warfare on the Great Plains is a valuable primer for regional warfare studies and the archaeology of the Great Plains as a whole. Contributors: Peter Bleed, Richard R. Drass, David H. Dye, John Greer, Mavis Greer, Eric Hollinger, Ashley Kendell, James D. Keyser, Albert M. LeBeau III, Mark D. Mitchell, Stephen M. Perkins, Bryon Schroeder, Douglas Scott, Linea Sundstrom, Susan C. Vehik

"Anthropologists from across the Plains critically examine regional themes of warfare from pre-Contact and post-Contact periods and assess how war shaped and reflected human societies on the Plains. Brings together research from across the region, provides unprecedented evidence of the effects of war on tribal societies" ... Provided by publisher.

This book uses archaeology to tell 15,000 years of history of the indigenous people of the North American Great Plains.

Stretching from Canada to Texas and the foothills of the Rockies to the Mississippi River, the North American Great Plains have a complex and ancient history. The region has been home to Native peoples for at least 16,000 years. This volume is a synthesis of what is known about the Great Plains from an archaeological perspective, but it also highlights Indigenous knowledge, viewpoints, and concerns for a more holistic understanding of both ancient and more recent pasts. Written for readers unfamiliar with archaeology in the region, the book in the SAA Press Current Perspectives Series emphasizes connections between past peoples and contemporary Indigenous nations, highlighting not only the history of the area but also new theoretical understandings that move beyond culture history. This overview illustrates the importance of the Plains in studies of exchange, migration, conflict, and sacred landscapes, as well as contact and colonialism in North America. In addition, the volume includes considerations of federal policies and legislation, as well as Indigenous social movements and protests over the last hundred years so that archaeologists can better situate Indigenous heritage, contemporary Indigenous concerns, and lasting legacies of colonialism today.

The greatly expanded and enhanced 2nd edition of A World History of War Crimes provides an authoritative and accessible introduction to the global history of war crimes and the laws of war. Tracing human efforts to limit warfare, from codes of war in antiquity designed to maintain a religiously conceived cosmic order to the gradual use in the modern age of the criminal trial as a means of enforcing universal humanitarian norms, Michael S. Bryant's book is a masterful one-volume account of the subject. This new edition includes, for the first time: * Two chapters providing extensive coverage of the Americas, Africa and the Middle East * Strengthened chronological boundaries – a new chapter on the Incas, Aztecs, Mayan, and North American Indian tribes, as well as more material across all regions in ancient times; discussion of contemporary war crimes committed in Afghanistan, Iraq, Myanmar and Syria * A historiographical essay to broaden your understanding of the field * An added final chapter focusing on the social, cultural and psychological aspects of the subject A World History of War Crimes is vital reading for anyone needing to understand the history of war in one of its most significant contexts.

Plains Indian biographic rock art can be “read” by those knowledgeable in its lexicon. Presented is a lexicon of imagery, conventions, and symbols used by Plains Indians to communicate their warfare and social narratives. The reader is introduced to Plains Indian “warrior” art in all media, biographic art as picture writing is explained, and the lexicon is described, providing a pictographic “dictionary,” and explains conventions and connotations. Finally, it illustrates four key examples of how these narratives are read by the observer. Familiarity with the lexicon will enable interested scholars and laypersons to understand what are otherwise enigmatic rock art drawings found from Calgary, Alberta through ten U.S. states, and into the Mexican state of Coahuila.

First Published in 1991.This study is the product of the discovery, excavation, processing, data collection and analysis of nearly 500 human skeletons from the Crow Creek Massacre Project, South Dakota. In about 1325 AD nearly 500 American Indians were massacred, and their remains were discovered, excavated and cleaned in 1978. The general purpose of the Crow Creek osteological study were to describe the remains as fully as time permitted and compare these results with other samples. This volume presents information concerning the Crow Creek bone elements, paleodemography, cranial affiliations, mutilations and stature. It emphasizes the unique feature of the sample and compares the Crow Creek sample with other skeletal samples from the Plains.