It is a common assumption that prehistory was a time of war and violence, between species of humans competing for supremacy, between cultures and within communities. These nineteen papers, from a Prehistoric Society conference held in Sheffield, consider the archaeological evidence from sites across Europe, demonstrating how the prevalence, nature and experience of warfare and violence differed between regions and investigate the causes of war between hunter-gatherers. General studies of prehistoric warfare and how to detect it in the archaeological record, can be found alongside analyses of butchered human remains and mass burials at sites in Scandinavia, Iberia, Italy, Germany and Britain. Other evidence is also considered, covering the Mesolithic to the Iron Age, such as rock art, weaponry and deposited weapons. In addition to the editors, some familiar names can be found here: Pia Nystrom, Robert Layton, Christopher J Knuesel, Jorg Orschiedt, George Nash, Andreas Harde, Eduardo Sanchez-Moreno, Lynne Bevan, Richard Osgood, David Fontijn, Miranda Aldhouse Green, Rebecca Craig, Gillian Carr, Gonzalo Aranda Jimenez, Margarita Sanchez Romero, Jose Freire, Neil A Bishop, John Carman, Patricia Carman, Tim Taylor .