THE ORIGINS OF WAR

In War Before Civilization, Lawrence H. Keeley argues that prehistoric as well as primitive mankind was move warlike than has been recognize d by most scholars. Such scholars subscribe, according to Keeley, to ' 'the myth of the peaceful savage,'' the subtitle of Iris book. But Kee ley, who leads a long list of Hawks, has replaced this myth with anoth er, the ''myth of the warlike savage. '' Anthropologists who argue tha t serious warfare arose only after the rise of the state and civilizat ion understate the extent of serious warfare in prehistory. The eviden ce for warfare among primates, prehistoric mankind, early agricultural ists, and primitive peoples suggests that the forth lies somewhere bet ween the myth of the peaceful savage and the myth of the warlike savag e.