Warfare amongst the tribes of North America was not uncommon. Some conflicts were waged for economic and political goals, exacting tribute, or controlling trade routes. Revenge was another factor that led to recurrent cycles of violence, often of low intensity. In areas where large war parties could come together, formal battles occurred that were often highly ritualized and conducted in ways that limited the casualties. Surely combatants would and did die in these mock confrontations and through small raids but this was not the norm. Injuries sustained from blunt force trauma were not always lethal, nor were those from a small flint arrowhead, but those from a .75 caliber, English Brown Bess, were very much so.