The Archaeology of Asymmetric Warfare in the U.S. Dakota War of 1862, Woodlake Battlefield Minnesota

Summary

Investigation of the patterns of asymmetric warfare at the Wood Lake Battlefield, the location of the last armed conflict between the Oceti Sakowin and the U.S. Military, revealed evidence of tactics used in asymmetric warfare in 1862 Minnesota. Conflict archaeology provides a new way of understanding the complexity of the cultural conflict as it played out in battle. Dakota traditional warfare, which relied on knowledge of the landscape and avoided loss of life, was adapted to fight against the U.S. military, which was technologically better armed with a numerically greater force. An examination of artifacts found through metal detection combined with GIS analysis of artillery-related artifacts show that the U.S. gained their advantage through the use of anti-personnel weapons fired by artillery—a tactic later repeated further west in Dakota massacres during the punitive actions of 1863-1890.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for Historical Archaeology 2018   •
• Conflict, Archaeology, and the Culture of the West

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Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): 854