Violencia, antropología y arte: cuestionando lo inevitable de la violencia humana

The article discusses the topic of the inevitability of human violence. It does so grounded on the debate in biological and sociocultural anthropology, as well as the analysis of two ethnographic cases (one in East Timor in 2007 and another in Mexico in 2020) that show how artistic creation can face specific situations of violence to provide an alternative, and nonviolent response. This highlights the importance of historical and contextual aspects in thinking about the mediated, rather than determined, relationship between human beings and violent action, but also offers us proof that art, in addition to being a means of expression, is a sphere of understanding and resistance to the idea of an inexorable violent destiny. According to the cases analyzed, the article concludes by returning to the discussion between biological and sociocultural anthropology.