Warfare is a nearly universal trait of human societies that has influenced the evolution of human societies since the dawn of history. By some definitions, warfare is uniquely human; no other species engages in armed combat using manufactured weapons. But in other respects, human warfare bears much in common with intergroup aggression in a range of species, from ants to chimpanzees. Michael Wilson will discuss how an evolutionary perspective on warfare can help shed light on why people fight and what they can do to make war less likely to occur.
Presented in collaboration with the Peabody Museum of Archaeology & Ethnology