What makes societies peaceful—not violent?

A new study spanning 10,000 years of Central Andean history offers one of the clearest answers so far

For decades, scientists have tried to understand what pushes societies toward violence—famine, drought, overcrowding, political collapse. But a new study published in Science Advances flips the question around: What sustains peace?

A new Science Advances study analyzing 7,800+ skeletons from the Central Andes finds that peace across 10,000 years was most strongly linked to two factors: stable climate conditions and low population pressure.