Sebastian Junger makes the claim that currently reported PTSD in veterans is related more to the return to a cold and selfish society from a life in which one is highly interdependent and feels an indispensable part of their in-group.
This claim is predicated on the fact that psychological trauma is not the cause of PTSD. To back up his thesis he claims that violence of the sort that we would associate with psychological trauma did not cause anything resembling PTSD in hunter gatherer societies. I was wondering if this claim has actually been evaluated historically or if it is more of a romanticized interpretation.
Speaking for the Cayuse: Symptoms of what is now called PTSD isn't present in accounts that concern warfare and warriors. War was considered more of a sport for the Cayuse than something to be dreaded (this isn't an uncommon view among other American Indian tribes). Warfare was such a big part of life that when American Missionaries came and asked the chieftains to cease the violence with their enemies, they flat out refused as it has brought them influence, wealth, and a way to keep young men out of trouble.
However, the Cayuse (among other tribes) waged war differently than the US, markedly so. The Cayuse fought for loot (horses, food, personal items), killing their enemies, personal glory, and slaves. This type of warfare is referred to as "Endemic Warfare". Endemic Warfare is on a much smaller scale than the warfare that many people are familiar with.
Source: The Cayuse Indians, the Imperial Tribesmen of Old Oregon