This paper considers interpersonal human violence during the Upper Paleolithic and the subsequent transitional period between the Paleolithic and Neolithic by examining lithic variation against the related theoretical background. The human mind’s evolutionary capacity for violence was well in place during this period, so changes in violence at the time were not infl uenced by cognitive evolution. However, the cultural learning process related to increased social complexity directly affected human behavior during this short-term transition. Increased interpersonal contact translated not only into positive effects such as sharing food and strategic resources procurement, but also into negative effects such as intensifi ed confl icts and greater violence. The pattern of violence during the transition period is refl ected in evidence from projectile points.
