Conflict and violence in the Neolithic of Central-Northern Europe

This chapter focuses on the geographical area of what comprises Germany, Denmark and Sweden. It considers the role of mass fatality sites in discussions on Neolithic violence and presents a case study to try to get closer to the question of the human experience of violent interaction in this transformative period of human history. Mass graves, or more generally mass fatality sites, present a particular challenge in discussions of Neolithic violence and conflict. The noticeable increase in research and publication on anthropological and archaeological aspects of violence and warfare within the last few decades has added a number of literature surveys to the available data. Violent interaction in the Central-Northern European Neolithic has become a well-researched topic over the last decade. Of all the archaeological lines of evidence available to us, skeletal remains bearing signs of trauma are the only direct evidence of physical violent interaction and its scale.