Exploring Warfare and Violence from a Cross-Cultural Perspective Introduction to the Special Issue Richard J. Chacon 1 & Yamilette Chacon 2 # Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2019 Abstract This special issue of Human Nature presents selected works from the 2015 and 2017 “Warfare, Environment, Social Inequality, and Pro-Sociability” (WESIPS) conferences held at the Center for Cross-Cultural Study in Seville, Spain. These investigations explore the manifestations of indigenous warfare and violence from a host of theoretical perspectives. Topics range from the origins of warfare to the psychological repercus- sions of combat, the relationship between warfare and status, as well as the documen- tation of peace processes among warring groups. This issue also examines the effects of militarization and coercive conservation on indigenous peoples. Keywords WESIPS . Warfare . Violence . Status . Nature-nurture . Coercive conservation This special issue of Human Nature presents selected papers presented at the 2015 and 2017 “Warfare, Environment, Social Inequality, and Pro-Sociability” (WESIPS) Con- ferences held at the Center for Cross-Cultural Study in Seville, Spain. 1 The WESIPS biennial symposium brings together a cadre of internationally recognized scholars to address the underlying causes of warfare, environmental degradation, social inequality, and the advent of social complexity from a host of interdisciplinary and theoretical perspectives. 2 Setting the stage for the cumulation of knowledge, this conference seeks to uncover effective solutions which promote peace, altruism, cooperation, social equality, biodiversity, and sustainable use of natural resources. Human Nature https://doi.org/10.1007/s12110-019-09341-9 1 These selected papers were presented in various stages of development at the aforementioned 2015 or 2017 symposia. Therefore, these articles constitute outgrowths of research findings presented at previous WESIPS Conferences. 2 Originally, the WESIPS acronym stood for “Warfare, Environment, Social Inequality, and Peace Studies.” * Richard J. Chacon chaconr@winthrop.edu 1 Winthrop University, Rock Hill, SC 29733, USA 2 James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA, USA