Quote (hATemOnkEy @ Feb 10 2016 11:58am)
Not resorting to those two things does indeed sound more humane than doing so.
One would think so, however that wasn't always the case. Some plains indian tribes developed a rather sadistic form of warfare over the ages. Instead of arrows or other sharp edged weapons they preferred blunt weapons like clubs and mauls. Sounds more humane right? Wrong. The goal was not to kill your opponent, the goal was to maim them. This way they would be a burden to their families, as disabled people don't fit well into a nomadic society. They were trusting on familial ties to weaken the other tribe.
Obviously this anecdote shouldn't be used to say they are as bad or worse than Europeans, they were not. However there were some practices and specific groups who were specifically inhumane.