The Crow Creek Site Massacre: Preliminary Report


Ariel View of Crow Creek Site

Publication: University of South Dakota Archaeology Laboratory

Author: Larry Zimmerman, Thomas Emerson & P. Willey

Date of Publication: 1981

PDF File: ADA098882.pdf

Copyright Info: Public Domain

Description


During the Summer of 1978 the skeletons of at least 486 individuals were excavated from the badly eroded and looted end of the fortification ditch of the Crow Creek site (39.BFll) in Central South Dakota. The skeletal material was analyzed during the following year. This report documents the excavation and analysis of materials recovered. The site was occupied during the Initial Coalescent variant of the Coalescent tradition from the 14th Century A.D. The skeletons recovered showed evidence/that the individuals had died in warfare; many showed evidence/of mutilation. This document contains sections dealing with excavation, various aspects of demography, mutilation, pathology and recommendations for the site.