The New Gospel

Ten thousand years ago, if someone decided to use force to settle an argument, there were far fewer constraints on him — or, occasionally, her — than citizens of functioning modern states are used to.  Most of the killing was on a small scale, in homicides, vendettas and raids, but because populations were also small, the steady drip of low-level killing took an appalling toll.  By many estimates, 10 to 20 percent of all people who lived in Stone Age societies died at the hands of other humans.