Massacres, raiding parties, ambush, pillage, scalping, captive taking: the things we know and sometimes dread to admit occur during times of war all happened in the prehistoric Southwest-and there is ample archaeological evidence. Not only did it occur, but the history of the ancient Southwest cannot be understood without noting the intensity and impact of this warfare. Most people today, including many archaeologists, view the Pueblo people of the Southwest as historically peaceful, sedentary corn farmers. Our image of the Hopis and Zunis, for example, contrasts sharply with the more nomadic Apaches whose warfare and raiding abilities are legendary. In PREHISTORIC WARFARE IN THE AMERICAN SOUTHWEST Steven LeBlanc demonstrates that this picture of the ancient Puebloans is highly romanticized. Taking a pan-Southwestern view of the entire prehistoric and early historic time range and considering archaeological and ethnohistorical evidence and oral traditions, he presents a different picture. War, not peace, was commonplace and deadly throughout the prehistoric sequence. Many sites were built as fortresses, communities were destroyed, and populations massacred. The well-known abandonments of much of the Southwest were warfare related. During the late prehistoric period fighting was particularly intense, and the structure of the historic pueblo societies was heavily influenced by warfare. Objectively sought, evidence for war and its consequences is abundant. The people of the region fought for their survival and evolved their societies to meet the demands of conflict. Ultimately, LeBlanc asserts that the warfare can be understood in terms of climate change, population growth, and their consequences.
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Editorial Reviews
Review
"Will be required reading for everyone concerned with the precontact Southwest or with the pre-Industrial Age human condition."—Patty Jo Watson
"This book should stimulate a long-overdue debate about the role of warfare in the prehistoric Southwest….Nothing half as comprehensive has been published on the subject."—Richard Woodbury
"Absolutely essential on the bookshelf of any scholar of the prehistoric or historic Southwest. It promises to spark and focus debate on the formation of basic patterns in the culture history of the greater Southwest."—The Journal of Arizona History
"Will put to rest any reasonable doubts that may persist about the presence and importance of warfare in the archaeological history of this region. [Le Blanc] has taken the analysis of warfare in the Southwest to an entirely new level."—Journal of Field Archaeology
"Successfully articulates why warfare needs to be systematically incorporated into models of prehistoric southwestern behavior. LeBlanc clearly presents a case for wafare that all scholars must address."—New Mexico Book Reviews
"There has been a wave of books by various authors that challenge the long-standing suppositions of anthropologists and archaeologists. One of these for Western history is Steven A. LeBlanc's groundbreaking work on the not-to-be-overlooked evidence all over the Southwest of continuous warfare for limited resources."—Journal of the West
"Unique for its general synthesis of Southwestern prehistory. LeBlanc's book has much to offer scholars and the interested public, and it will certainly be a defining work on warfare in this part of the world."—Science
"This is not a book for the faint of heart. But, in building his case for both endemic warfare and specific periods of lessened and heightened polity-based hostilities in the Southwest, LeBlanc raises a host of critical and deeply interesting questions regarding the nature of warfare in prehistorical societies in general and the Southwest in particular."—American Antiquity
From the Back Cover
"Will be required reading for everyone concerned with the precontact Southwest or with the pre-Industrial Age human condition." ( --Patty Jo Watson)
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87 of 92 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The paradigm begins to shift in Southwestern prehistory,
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This review is from: Prehistoric Warfare in the American Southwest (Hardcover)
This book is one of a triad published almost simultaneously by three different professionals assaulting traditional assumptions about the prehistory of the Southwest. Each of these works is formidable and collectively they will probably result in a paradigm shift in the interpretation of the nature of prehistoric society in the region. The other two works are Man Corn by Christy Turner, and The Chaco Meridian by Stephen Lekson. LeBlanc's work will jolt those comfortable with past versions of southwestern prehistory characterized by peaceful farmers living in harmony with one another and nature. LeBlanc offers a history, typology, and context for violence in the prehistoric Southwest. He devotes much space on a period of unusual warmth and moisture in the Southwest, 900 to 1200 AD. This era was dominated by a political center in Chaco Canyon, New Mexico. The Chacoans may have dominated as much as fifty thousand square miles of the Southwest at this time. Chaco's political/military structure may justify calling it a regional variant of a Mesoamerican statelet. For Chacoan times, LeBlanc feels there is much evidence of cannibalism, but very little of actual warfare. This is explained by the likelihood that those bold enough to defy the Lords of Chaco were exterminated and cannibalized. Cannibalism was an instrument of policy to terrorize potential rebels and ensure Chaco's dominion. Benign climate and enforced peace created a population explosion. The party ended when a series of droughts undermined the agricultural base. By the late 1200's the Southwest entered a prolonged period of unusual cold and drought. The societal response was the disintegration of the Pax Chaco and a bloody free-for-all in competition for fewer arable acres. Small villages had too few warriors to defend them and were abandoned. Many show evidence of a violent end. To survive in such an age, it was necessary to gather into large villages that could close out or fight off marauders. With less rain and more frosts, many Anasazi were killed by others wanting their land or their stored food. Others starved. Evidence for violence and warfare is common in this age from 1275 to 1400. By the end of this age the Anasazi are living in four regional groupings occupying in large, fortresslike Pueblos. Groups of villages are linked by political and military alliances. The empty lands separate the four great clusters the Spanish called "Despoblados". In his review of violence, cannibalism, and warfare, LeBlanc almost inadvertently answers one of the great questions in southwestern archaeology, why was the Colorado plateau largely abandoned by the Anasazi after 1300. His answer is that many did not leave, but rather died in situ from starvation and warfare. Others crowded into ever larger, distant settlements in search of the security of numbers. I found this LeBlanc's arguments tightly reasoned and backed by a studious, often innovative, review of the archaeological record. The result is a believable reworking of the history of the Southwest. This book will be distasteful to many Native Americans, New Agers, and anthropologists who have invested careers in portraying the Anasazi as exempt from the evil and violence that characterize mankind in other times and places. LeBlanc, Turner, and Lekson are spearheading a radical transformation in how the educated public interprets the prehistory of the Southwest. The currently dominant "beau model" of peaceful farmers, directed by wise elders living in harmony and balance is another manifestation of the noble savage fantasy that has beguiled the West for centuries now. History and archaeology have much to tell us about human nature and how to understand and resolve the problems confronting us as a species. For this information to be of any help to us in our current struggle, our perceptions of our past must be as accurate as possible. In my assessment, these three authors are bringing the experience of mankind in the Southwest into a focus that seems more realistic and human than what has previously been offered to the literate public.
11 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
An important, scholarly work,
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Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Prehistoric Warfare in the American Southwest (Hardcover)
This book is very interesting (at least for someone who has lived in the area all his life and seen many of the sites it mentions)and convincing. As one of the earlier reviews reflects - and as the book itself clearly expects - this interpretation of the evidence highly offends those for whom ideology trumps acheology. The books' tone is rather dry; this is written as a scholarly work, not a popularization, and may not be exciting reading except for archeology majors.
10 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Viewpoint of a student,
By Cody Burkett (Peoria, AZ United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Prehistoric Warfare in the American Southwest (Hardcover)
This book is absolutely fabulous! The author has done a good job of providing a read that is both very informative, but not at all a "dry read" so to speak. I found this book enjoyable, as a matter of fact. Also, i'm about to enter college as an anthropology major, and i am interested in pursuing a topic simular to the the subject of this book (it will be something dealing with warfare in the southwest, that's for certain) as a thesis, so no doubt this book will help me with that as well when the time comes for that.
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