Large-scale wars as we understand them today—with organized armies, strategies, and significant territorial ambitions—are generally associated with later historical periods, particularly after the advent of the Iron Age. However, evidence of conflict exists long before the Iron Age, albeit on a smaller scale.
### Pre-Iron Age Conflicts:
1. **Neolithic Period (around 10,000–4,500 BCE)**: During this time, evidence of violent conflict is seen in mass graves, fortifications around settlements, and weapons found in archaeological sites. These conflicts were likely driven by competition over resources like land, water, and food as human societies transitioned from nomadic to settled lifestyles.
2. **Chalcolithic and Bronze Age (around 4,500–1,200 BCE)**: In the Bronze Age, the development of metal tools and weapons did lead to more organized warfare. The rise of city-states and early empires in Mesopotamia, Egypt, and the Indus Valley led to conflicts over territory, trade routes, and power. However, these wars were still relatively limited in scope compared to later periods.
### Iron Age (starting around 1,200 BCE):
The Iron Age did indeed bring about a significant change in the scale and frequency of warfare. Iron weapons and tools were cheaper and more accessible than their bronze counterparts, leading to the arming of larger segments of the population. This contributed to the rise of large, militarized states and empires, such as the Assyrian Empire, which engaged in frequent and extensive warfare.
### The Role of Technological Development:
The argument that human aggressiveness was "released" and "aggravated" by the Iron Age and subsequent technological developments has some merit. Technological advancements made warfare more efficient, lethal, and widespread. The ability to produce weapons on a large scale, coupled with the growth of states and empires, meant that conflicts could involve tens of thousands of combatants and impact entire regions.
### Conclusion:
While large-scale wars as we think of them today were not common before the Iron Age, conflict and violence were still present in human societies. The Iron Age and technological advancements that followed did escalate the scale and intensity of warfare, but it is an oversimplification to say that human aggressiveness was solely released or aggravated by these developments. Human societies have always had the potential for both cooperation and conflict, and the tools and technologies available to them have influenced how these tendencies were expressed.
