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In the history of humankind, the 'warrior male' has often been regarded as a paradigm of masculinity. Violent activities, such as combat, hunting and agonistic sports would have been highly visible phenomena dynamically negotiating their location in society.

Displays of idealised masculine prowess in violent contexts can be further manifested in the images displayed on various artistic media. This ethos of the warrior, or an idealised version of him, can be seen in many cultures around the world where martial arts and competitive displays of fitness are used as projections of power. Martial symbolism underlines the military prowess and hunting skills of certain individuals or groups, highlighting their legitimate political authority. This is further promoted and perpetuated through the art created to enshrine this aspect of elite identities. Notions of such 'warrior elites' are spread liberally throughout archaeological and anthropological literature from Bronze Age Britain to the Maori of New Zealand, making this concept a global phenomenon.

The active role of combat arts and violence in the development and characterisation of this identity are profound as they represent the manifest realities of what it means to be a warrior. In seeking to understand the social location of the warrior in societies from prehistory to more recent times, we need to bring together source material relating to both their lifestyle in reality and how they chose to display this materially and ideologically. The papers in this session will focus on these agencies of action, experience and symbolism by exploring their role in modelling both the individual and group identities of these practitioners of 'legitimatised' violence. In doing this we seek to elucidate some of the realities and myths behind these seemingly ubiquitous 'warrior elites' around the world.