Who were the first warriors of Europe? In the Neolithic, violence was sporadic but by the Bronze Age warfare and warriors were a core part of society.

In the late Neolithic and Copper Age, clans from the Yamnaya, Corded Ware, and Bell Beaker cultures raided others. They were armed with bows, copper daggers, and battle axes but the extent to which these men were "warriors" is debated.

By the time of the Late Bronze Age, warriors served chiefs and kings from Mycenaean Greece to Nordic Bronze Age Sweden and Denmark.

They guarded trade routes like the so-called Amber Road and fought pitched battles like at the Tollense Valley battlefield.

So when and where did a class of dedicated warriors emerge? What weapons did they use? And how and why did they fight?

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Video Chapters

00:00 The First Warriors
00:36 Ötzi and Neolithic Violence
02:41 Alpine Copper Age Proto-Warriors
03:30 Corded Ware Culture
06:43 Bell Beaker Culture
11:28 The Rise of the Warrior
15:41 The Concept of the Warrior