INFORMATION TO USERS This manuscript has been reproduced from the microfilm master. UMI films the text directly from the original or copy submitted. Thus, some thesis and dissertation copies are in typewriter face, while others may be from any type of computer printer. The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality illustrations and photographs, print bleedthrough, substandard margins, and improper alignment can adversely affect reproduction. In the unlikely event that the author did not send UMI a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if unauthorized copyright material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Oversize materials (e.g., maps, drawings, charts) are reproduced by sectioning the original, beginning at the upper left-hand comer and continuing from left to right in equal sections with small overlaps. Each original is also photographed in one exposure and is included in reduced form at the back of the book. Photographs included in the original manuscript have been reproduced xerographically in this copy. Higher quality 6” x 9” black and white photographic prints are available for any photographs or illustrations appearing in this copy for an additional charge. Contact UMI directly to order. UMI A Bell & Howell Information Company 300 North Zeeb Road, Ann Arbor MI 48106-1346 USA 313/76W700 800/521-0600 NOTE TO USERS The original manuscript received by UMI contains pages with slanted print. Pages were microfilmed as received. This reproduction is the best copy available UMI AN ETHNOHISTORIC PERSPECTIVE ON IROQUOIS WARFARE DURING THE SECOND HALF OF THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY (A.D. 1649-1701) DISSERTAHON Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of the The Ohio State University By Craig S. Keener, M.A. The Ohio State University 1998 Dissertation Committee: Approved by Professor William Dancey, Advisor r N Professor Kristen Gremillion idvisor / Professor Paul Sciulli Anthropology Graduate Program' Professor Amy Zaharlick UMI Number: 9900855 Copyright 19 9 8 by Keener, Craig Scott All rights reserved. UMI Microform 9900855 Copyright 1998, by UMI Company. All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. UMI 300 North Zeeh Road Ann Arbor, MI 48103 Copyright by Craig Scott Keener 1998 ABSTRACT The primary objective of this dissertation is to evaluate the validity of the use of the fur trade premise as an explanation of Iroquois participation in the "Beaver Wars" which occurred from A.D. 1649 to 1701 in the Midwest and Northeast of North America. The fur trade model and other explanations for Iroquois warfare that have been offered by various scholars are discussed. In evaluating the fur trade premise and other questions of this thesis several multi-volume primary ethnohistoric texts were used as sources of information (e.g., the Jesuit Relations, The New York Colonial Documents, and Pennsylvania Colonial Documents). From these primary sources a total of 385 passages that described or reported causes of Iroquois warfare were identified and used to answer the research questions. All incidents of Iroquois warfare found in the utilized texts were documented, ordered chronologically, and mapped so that regional occurrences of warfare could be better visualized and interpreted. No evidence was found to support the premise that Iroquois involvement in the so called "Beaver Wars" was economically motivated. This thesis also addressed the importance of alternative explanations for Iroquois warfare such as defense of acquired territory, defense against the aggression of enemies, and the role of revenge and prestige as causal factors. It was predicted and supported by ethnohistoric evidence that the majority of ii the wars of the second half of the seventeenth century occurred because Iroquois peace representatives had been captured or killed during negotiations with opponents. Iroquois battle tactics are described and analyzed to determine what impact new weapons had on indigenous warfare and to ascertain how their successful implementation in the "Beaver Wars" may have influenced motives for war. The results of this ethnohistoric study indicate that there is a significant amount of evidence suggesting that revenge and prestige were the primary causal factors of Iroquois warfare in the second half of the seventeenth century. Ill Dedicated to my wife Erica, my daughter Kirsten, my parents Bob and Carol Keener, and to the Iroquois League of the past and present. IV ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I especially wish to thank my advisor, William Dancey, for his guidance, assistance, and encouragement, without which this dissertation would not have been possible. My appreciation for critical thinking, scientific theory, and writing I owe to you. I thank my dissertation committee members, Kristen Gremillion, Paul Sciulli, and Amy Zaharlick, for their comments and advice throughout the General Exams and development of my thesis. 1 also thank my wife Erica for her support, drawings (Figures 4 and 5), and editorial skills which greatly facilitated the writing of my dissertation in a timely manner. I am grateful to Brian Mollenkopf and Ryan Weller for letting me use the computer facilities at APPLIED Archaeological Services, Inc. I would also like to thank Ronald Spielbauer, whose introductory class on the field of anthropology/archaeology at Miami University (Oxford) convinced me to become an archaeologist. VITA November 20,1966 Bom - Dayton, Ohio 1989 B.A. Anthropology (with Honors), and B.A. History, Miami University (Oxford). 1991 M.A. Anthropology, The Ohio State University 1992 -1995 Graduate Teaching Associate (Course numbers: 200, 201, 202), The Ohio State University. 1993 -1995 Archaeological Co-op, the Ohio Department of Transportation. 1995 - present Principal Investigator, for APPLIED Archaeological Services, Inc. PUBLICATIONS Keener, C. S. 1997 The Impact of Iroquoian Populations on the Northern Distribution of Pawpaws in the Northeast. North American Archaeologist. 18(4): 327- 342. 1997 Weapons of the Iroquois. Ohio Archaeologist. 47(4): 36-41. 1994 Warfare as the Evolutionary Mechanism for Iroquoian Tribalization: A Selectionist View. 21st Proceedings of the Origins of the Longhouse Conference. A. Bekerman and C. Warrick (editors), Ontario Archaeological Society, North York. v i HELDS OF STUDY M^orHelcL Anthropology Vll TABLE OF CONTENTS Eâg£ Abstract.........................................................................................................................ii Dedication .....................................................................................................................iv Acknowledgements ....................................................................................................v Vita.................................................................................................................................vi List of Tables................................................................................................................ xi List of Figures...............................................................................................................xii Chapter 1; Introduction .............................................................................................1 The Study Area ...............................................................................................4 An Introduction to Iroquois Culture .........................................................5 The Time Frame: A.D. 1649 to 1701 ...........................................................9 Defining Warfare ............................................................................................10 Tactics and Technology .................................................................... 11 Chapter 2: Methodology and Theory .....................................................................14 Methodological Problems of Interpreting Ethnohistoric Sources.. 14 Primary Sources ..............................................................................................18 The Jesuit Relations (JR) ...................................................................18 The New York Colonial Documents (NYCD) .......................... 21 The Pennsylvania Colonial Records ...........................................24 Secondary Sources ......................................................................................... 25 Data Retrieval and Organization ................................................................28 Interpretation of Iroquois Warfare ............................................................ 33 Prestige.................................................................................................34 Defensive Warfare.............................................................................37 V lll Chapter 3: Iroquois Studies......................................................................................38 Seventeenth Century Literature .................................................................39 Eighteenth Century Literature ................................................................... 40 Nineteenth Century Literature .................................................................. 43 Twentieth Century Literature .................................................................... 45 1900