Hi everybody. So, in this video, we're going to begin with one of the big questions that you've heard posed in one of the introduction videos and that is, are humans inherently violent? To begin the discussion we will start with Christine. >> Yeah, so one of the big questions that immediately comes to mind when I hear this discussion point is, how do we even define violence, what is it? I think if there's a war, we can all agree that there's violence. If one person kills another man, there is also definitely violence. But what if I'm having an argument with my brother, and I push him, is that violence? Or, if I have an argument with my brother, but we only shout at each other, is that violence? Or even if two people go in for a job interview, and they compete for the same job. There's competition but is there also violence? So, that is actually a big question we need to answer first before knowing if humans are inherently violent or not. And another point that comes to my mind is, how do we see violence in archaeology, because that's actually not that easy. And we have evidence for the presence of violence, but we also have the evidence for its absence. So, which evidence do we use? It's quite a difficult matter. >> It's actually a very good point, Christine. The visibility of violence in archaeology is problematic. We have signs of violence in the form of defence structures that are being built, for example, castles. They are made specifically to withstand violent seizures. But as you've also seen in this past module, there are markings on the skeleton, trauma, that's indicative of interpersonal violence. So we've seen that humans have the capacity to be violent. We have evidence of this violence that's even witnessed in Neanderthals. However, what are these factors, then, that drive us towards violent behavior? Are all populations inherently violent? What is the role of culture in this channeling of violence? Does it minimizes it? Does it amplifies violence? >> Yeah, a lot of factors to consider indeed. And you get the sense that we have to broach this question with a biocultural approach. So, considering not only what our biological propensity may be towards violence but also the tremendous importance of culture. In terms of, as you said, either sort of minimizing violent behavior, at least in specific contexts, or amplifying it, perhaps in other contexts. The question itself, are humans inherently violent? Really has its roots in a epistemological debate that has been going on for many centuries now. Where we can compare and contrast to idealized versions of human nature. The nature of man, as you will. So, on the one hand, we have this idea of man as a noble savage, developed in large part by Jean-Jacques Rousseau. And this idea that we are peaceful at our core and we live at one with each other and at nature. And in contrast to that is a viewpoint that sees our inner workings, our nature, as boorish and brutish and violent. And this was a viewpoint more taken by Thomas Hobbes and developed by him throughout the course of his career. So, the truth probably lies somewhere in the middle. But these scholars, as well as many more since then, have devoted their entire lives to gathering evidence and gathering data to try and answer questions such as this. It's not an easy question to answer. There is a lot of information that has to be brought to bear in terms of understanding. So, what we encourage you to do is gather data. We'd like you to look in archaeology and osteoarchaeology, of course, in particular. But as well in other fields and see, what all of these different fields have to say about what might be our inherent propensity for violence or not, as well as the role of culture. And in gathering all of this data, the hope is that we will come to a better understanding of what is the essence to this question. If you come across information that you think would be useful in this discussion for the group, please share it on the online discussion forum. We look forward to continuing the discussion with you and from learning from each other.