Lenape continued their eastward trek into the forested re-
gions of the eastern United States, giving rise to at least 40
nations, including the Delaware, which found homes in New
York and along the eastern seaboard. Th e Mengwe in time
evolved into the Iroquois. Ironically, the two nations that
had formed an alliance during war and lived in harmony for
many centuries aft er defeating the Allegewi themselves be-
came bitter enemies.
Native North Americans did not mount “armies” as the
term is conventionally understood. Rather, the war party gen-
erally constituted the fi ghting forces of Native Americans.
Generally, the leader of a war party was a chief or another
member of the nation who had shown courage in battle on
a former occasion. Usually, such a person was said to have
“medicine,” meaning a kind of spiritual power that would
make him and his force victorious. Individual warriors also
had medicine, and this medicine was typically symbolized
by an object, such as an amulet, that the warrior carried into
battle. Interestingly, it is believed that among some nations,
women as warriors were as fi erce as men. Warfare among an-
cient Native Americans was not always intended to vanquish
the enemy and seize his territory and resources. Rather, war-
fare was oft en regarded as a kind of ritual activity with spiri-
tual implications. Th e number of casualties in these types of
confl icts was oft en quite low, and in some cases, the goal of
a warrior was merely to touch an enemy soldier and perhaps
seize his weapon.
Th e most common battle tactic of Native Americans
was stealth. Because large bodies of soldiers did not take
part in battles, smaller bands of warriors moved swift ly and
silently over the landscape, fi nding ways to sneak up on or
ambush the enemy. Retreat was not considered a form of
dishonor; rather, retreat was oft en a strategic move designed
to lure the enemy to a place where he could be confronted
and defeated. Related to strategic retreat was the principle of
force concentration. Rather than allowing the line of battle
to be spread out, it was common to lure enemy forces into
a ravine, a small valley, a narrow mountain pass, or some
other similar place where the attacking force could focus its
attack. In many respects ancient Native American warfare
was similar to guerrilla warfare. Th e goal was usually not
to overwhelm the enemy with a large, superior force but to
harass the enemy and pick off enemy soldiers one at a time
or in small groups.
Weapons diff ered depending on the types of tools and
materials that were available to a given tribe. Th us, for ex-
ample, the groups of the Arctic North used spears—the
same spears they used for fi shing and hunting for sea mam-
mals—oft en tipped with points made of bone. Other groups
used spears that were otherwise used for big-game hunting,
though they were likely tipped with stone. Other weapons in-
cluded the bow and arrow, the club, the sling, and the toma-
hawk—any hatchetlike implement with a stone head, used
primarily by eastern North American nations, whose soldiersthrew it at enemy soldiers. Sticks and knives were also com-
mon weapons.
Also important was hand-to-hand combat, and Native
American warriors were skilled at forms of martial arts that
enabled them to overcome enemy soldiers in close quarters.
Some Native American nations adopted forms of armor and
helmets. A form of psychological warfare that was imple-
mented involved throwing weapons that were elaborately
decorated with feathers and other objects; masks with fi erce
grimaces were oft en worn. Native American war paint on the
face, arms, and upper body was also common. It should be
noted that ancient Native Americans did not fi ght on horse-
back. Horses did exist in ancient North America prior to at
least 6000 b.c.e., when they became extinct on the continent,
but they were not domesticated, meaning that ancient peo-
ples probably used them only as a food source. Th e horse be-
came a weapon of war only aft er the arrival of the Europeans
and their domesticated horses in the 16th century c.e.MESOAMERICA
Archaeologists for many decades believed that the societies
of ancient Mesoamerica were relatively peaceful. More recent
fi ndings, however, suggest otherwise—that warfare was a
way of life for some Mesoamerican cultures, at least during
portions of their history. Among the Maya, the most domi-
nant culture of ancient Mesoamerica, warfare was conducted
to capture victims for ritual sacrifi ces and to control trade
routes and resources. Additionally, warfare was a source of
slaves for building temples and other monuments.
Th e Maya defended their cities with earthworks and
walls—oft en systems of double walls, where enemy invad-
ers were trapped and slaughtered aft er breaching the outer
wall. In common with other warriors in North and South
America, they fought primarily with weapons they could
hurl. Th e atlatl was a device that gave greater impetus and
range to spears; it consisted of a shaft in which the spear
rested, enabling the warrior to hurl the spear by propelling
the atlatl, giving the spear much more energy. Th e maca-
huitl was a wooden weapon that was used like a club or a
sword; sharp blades made of obsidian were inserted into the
wood, making the weapon lethal. Blowguns were also used,
and while bows and arrows were sometimes employed, they
were not common weapons. Ordinary warriors wore no hel-
mets, but they carried shields made of wood, animal skins,
or woven mats. Leaders, on the other hand, dressed them-
selves for battle in padded armor and elaborate headdresses,
all decorated with religious symbols designed to inspire fear
in the enemy.
At the head of Maya militar y forces was the ruler of each
city. Each city had a small group of soldiers who captured
sacrifi cial victims; this group was supplemented by a mili-
tia during times of war. Commoners were oft en recruited
to fi ght, but since they had no military-style weapons, they
used hunting tools and rocks. On some occasions, women1154 war and conquest: The Americas0895-1194_Soc&Culturev4(s-z).i1154 1154 10/10/07 2:31:16 PM