Hunter-gatherers first launched violent raids at least 13,400 years ago

Small-scale warfare began in the Stone Age, a new study suggests

photo of two skeletons on their sides in the fetal position, half immersed in the soil

Human skeletons previously unearthed at an ancient African cemetery, including this pair, display wounds indicating that they were victims of recurring raids more than 13,000 years ago. Pencils mark the locations of partial spear or arrow points and other stone artifacts found with the skeletons.

Courtesy of the Wendorf Archives of the British Museum

More than 8,000 years before the rise of Egyptian civilization, hunter-gatherers went on the attack in the Nile Valley.