The experiential role of violence and combat in the creation of social identities

The experiential role of violence and combat in the creation of social identitiesat the Sixth World Archaeological Congresson3rd July 2008 at University College Dublin
Session organisers Barry Molloy and Angelos Papadopoulos
Discussants will include John Carman, Kristian Kristiansen and Colin Renfrew

In the history of humankind, the 'warrior male' has often been regarded as a paradigm of masculinity. Violent activities, such as combat, hunting and agonistic sports would have been highly visible phenomena dynamically negotiating their location in society.
Displays of idealised masculine prowess in violent contexts can be further manifested in the images displayed on various artistic media. This ethos of the warrior, or an idealised version of him, can be seen in many cultures around the world where martial arts and competitive displays of fitness are used as projections of power. Martial symbolism underlines the military prowess and hunting skills of certain individuals or groups, highlighting their legitimate political authority. This is further promoted and perpetuated through the art created to enshrine this aspect of elite identities. Notions of such 'warrior elites' are spread liberally throughout archaeological and anthropological literature from Bronze Age Britain to the Maori of New Zealand, making this concept a global phenomenon.
The active role of combat arts and violence in the development and characterisation of this identity are profound as they represent the manifest realities of what it means to be a warrior. In seeking to understand the social location of the warrior in societies from prehistory to more recent times, we need to bring together source material relating to both their lifestyle in reality and how they chose to display this materially and ideologically. The papers in this session will focus on these agencies of action, experience and symbolism by exploring their role in modelling both the individual and group identities of these practitioners of 'legitimatised' violence. In doing this we seek to elucidate some of the realities and myths behind these seemingly ubiquitous 'warrior elites' around the world.

Anthony Harding

The development of warrior identities in the European Bronze Age [PDF]

Barry Molloy

Developments in cognitive capacities for violence in prehistoric Ireland [PDF]

Rick Schulting

War without warriors? The nature of interpersonal conflict before the emergence of formalised warrior élites [PDF]

Jennifer Birch

The expression of individual and community identity through combat and defence in northern Iroquoian societies [PDF]

Stephen O'Brien

The Role of the Duel in Early Mycenaean Society [PDF]

Angelos Papadopoulos

I Need a Hero: Iconography and Identity in Late Bronze Age Aegean [PDF]

Kyriakos Grigoropoulos

Military force, state and warrior ethos: the cases of late palatial Knossos and Pylos [PDF]

Dimitrios Roulias

Marshals of the Army, Liberators of Cities: The Kings of Greece during the Balkan Wars [TBA]

Dan Boatright

The Realities of Battle in New Kingdom Egypt (c. 1550-1080BC)[PDF]

Philip De Souza

Roman emperors as warriors [TBA]

Alan Peatfield

Warrior skills in ancient societies - the human reality [PDF]