An ethnohistorical analysis of Iroquois assault tactics used against fortified settlements of the Northeast in the seventeenth century

In the seventeenth century the Iroquois successfully attacked indigenous an d European fortified villages and posts of the Northeast. The purpose of th is article is to address and describe the warfare tactics used by the Iroqu ois against fortified settlements. A diachronic and functional analysis of offensive and defensive warfare techniques is presented from ethnohistorica l descriptions and archaeological evidence. It is argued that through the p rocess of trial and error, warfare acted as a selective process upon offens ive strategies and assault tactics used against fortifications during the l ate prehistoric and early historic periods.