War Before Civilization

[Greg Montalbano]

On Thu, 18 Jul 1996 17:06 EST you said:
>Just read a review in the NY Times of a new book called War Before
>Civilization by Lawrence Keeley (prof. of anthropology at Univ. of
>Chicago) which basically refutes the notion that warfare before the rise
>of civilized states was somehow different, gentler, more stylized, a
>game. (call it the Dances with Wolves syndrome I guess).
>
>Anyway, doesn't a claim like this undermine Stencil's (and Pynchon's?)
>view that WW1 or the balance of power shennigans  that led up to it
>somehow changed the rules of warfare in that  something unique (V.?) was
>born in this god-foresaken century.
>
>Is 20th century warfare (or societal deaths ) so unique as Stencil claims
>it be I guess is what I'm asking...(I don't think GR applies since atomic
>weapons forever changed the rules)
>
>
>
>By the way, I'm really enjoying Norfolk's L'E. Dictionary....
>
>
>
>Richard Romeo
>
>Coordinator of Cooperating Collections
>
>The Foundation Center-NYC
>
>212-807-2417
>
>rromeo at fdncenter.org
>
>
>
>
>
>
Forgive me -- it's been a while since I last read V., but as I recall, my take
on it was that EVERYTHING (not only, but including, war) was changed by the
"unique thing" that was born, that was both a symptom and a cause.

Or am I more full of it than the last time I checked?
--GMM