Researchers studied the remains of 2,300 early farmers that were found at 180 sites in Northwest Europe ranging from 8,000-4,000 years ago, and found that more than 10% displayed weapon injuries. This may have been a peak not only in violence, but in the destruction of communities, as indicated by mass burials. According to Martin Smith, “The study raises the question to why violence seems to have been so prevalent during this period. The most plausible explanation may be that the economic base of society had changed. With farming came inequality and those who fared less successfully appear at times to have engaged in raiding and collective violence as an alternative strategy for success, with the results now increasingly being recognized archaeologically.” That last bit about recognizing it is because strides have been made recently in distinguishing between fatal injuries and post-mortem breakage, as well as between accidental and violent deaths. According to the researchers, the agrarian way of life even paved the way for formalized warfare.