Bioarchaeological evidence of violence in ancient Mesopotamia

The paper reviews available evidence of violence-related traumatic injuries observed in archaeological human skeletons from Mesopotamia, confronting them with available textual and iconographic evidence.Scatters of human remains were found in destruction layers of a few sites dated to several chronological periods, such as Tuttul (Old Babylonian period), Nineveh, Aur (Neo-Assyrian period) and Dura Europos (Roman/Sasanian period).There were also earlier mass burials with evidence of violence (Tell Majnuna, Titri Hyk).Moreover, possible violence-related trauma has been observed at several regular cemeteries.The frequency of healed cranial traumas decreased at the beginning of the 2d millennium BCE, and this shift may be related to major changes in the art of war that occurred during that time and specifically to higher reliance on professional soldiers.Apart from warfare, the evidence for other kinds of violence in Mesopotamia is very rare.Although the textual evidence of violence is abundant, especially in the Old Babylonian (ca.1800(ca.-1600 BCE) BCE) and in the Neo-Assyrian period (ca.900-600 BCE), the actual frequency of traumatic lesions in skeletons from Mesopotamia is lower than in the surrounding regions, producing a picture of a peaceful society, especially during the Early and Middle Bronze Age

Archaeological evidence · Bronze Age · Grave goods · Mesopotamia · Middle East · Period (music · Ancient Near East History · Forensic and Genetic Research · Forensic Anthropology and Bioarchaeology Studies