Archive - Traditions of Conflict

Traditional Methods of Black Magic

Spooky action at a distance

Jan 24 •

William Buckner

December 2024

Dynamics of Polygyny in Hunter-Gatherer Societies, Part 1

I have been writing about polygyny for years now.

Dec 10, 2024 •

William Buckner

March 2023

Underestimating Social Complexity Among Hunter-Gatherers

Anthropologist Robin Dunbar has a recent paper arguing that as group size increases—particularly with the historical transition to larger and more…

Mar 22, 2023 •

William Buckner

February 2023

Gebusi Homicide and the Cultural Influence of Violence

From one of the highest homicide rates ever recorded to none for decades

Feb 4, 2023 •

William Buckner

December 2022

A Warrior's Reputation

Fame and infamy in small-scale warfare

Dec 28, 2022 •

William Buckner

The Traditions of Conflict 2022 Film Awards

What I watched and appreciated

Dec 28, 2022 •

William Buckner

November 2022

The Culture of the Harfoots in the show 'The Rings of Power'

As soon as the Harfoots first appear in the show The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, we are given a great deal of insight into their culture.

Nov 23, 2022 •

William Buckner

October 2022

The Intelligence of African Hunters, and the Ignorance of Popular Hereditarians

The sophistication and skill of Bushmen hunters is, I had thought, fairly well known to many educated WEIRDos.

Oct 22, 2022 •

William Buckner

The Sad Story of Short Kwi, Legendary Hunter of the Kalahari

This post recounts events described in the book The Harmless People (1958, 1989) by Elizabeth Marshall Thomas.

Oct 4, 2022 •

William Buckner

September 2022

'People's Vengeance on a Disagreeable Medicine-Man'

We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be—Kurt Vonnegut, Mother Night, 1961.

Sep 7, 2022 •

William Buckner

August 2022

The Oldest Trick in the Book

For the Yolngu of Central Australia, illness was often thought to be caused by a harmful object lodged within the body.

Aug 15, 2022 •

William Buckner

During the annual Okipa ceremony among the Mandan of the Great Plains of North America, in a display of his devotion to the Great Spirit, a young man…

Aug 6, 2022 •

William Buckner

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