Large-scale warfare occurred in Europe ‘1,000 years earlier than previously thought’

Skeletal remains in a mass burial site in a shallow cave in the Rioja Alavesa region of northern Spain. Photograph: Scientific Reports

The earliest period of warfare in Europe might have occurred more than 1,000 years before what was previously thought to be the first large-scale conflict in the region, researchers have suggested.

Reanalysis of more than 300 sets of skeletal remains uncovered in Spain – radiocarbon dated to between 5,400 and 5,000 years ago – indicates that conflicts took place long before powerful states formed in the region.