Researchers of a new study found that intense warfare led to the evolution of large, complex societies among humans, thousands of years ago.
Have you often wondered how the human societies of today came in to existence? Written documents prove that early man travelled and lived in groups. So how did these smaller groups develop into large, complex human societies? Researchers from the University of Connecticut, the University of Exeter in England, and the National Institute for Mathematical and Biological Synthesis provide an answer to these questions through mathematical analysis.
According to the team of researchers, intense warfare was the cause of formation of these complex and large human societies that exist even today. The mathematical equation presented by researchers of this study explains exactly when and where these societies first formed.
The cultural evolutionary model that the scientists used for the study was set within a realistic landscape of the Afro-Eurasian landmass during 1,500 BCE to 1,500 CE. This model was tested against recorded history of the region. During the period that was studied, horse-related military innovations were extensively used during warfare in the Afro-Eurasian region.
Researchers also noted that geography played an important role in the formation of today's human societies. Nomads living in the Eurasian Steppe were a great influence on agrarian societies living nearby. They were also responsible for spreading intense forms of offensive warfare out from the steppe belt. Researchers noted that when warfare was more intense, ultra-social institutions that facilitated cooperation among unrelated individuals in large groups also increased.
"What's so exciting about this area of research is that instead of just telling stories or describing what occurred, we can now explain general historical patterns with quantitative accuracy. Explaining historical events helps us better understand the present, and ultimately may help us predict the future," said the study's co-author Sergey Gavrilets, NIMBioS director for scientific activities in a press release.
Click here to watch an animation that shows the distributions of large-scale polities in the mathematical simulation.
