The Osteology and Archaeology of The Crow Creek Massacre

Abstract

The Crow Creek site is a massive village on the Missouri River in south-central South Dakota. The Initial Coalescent component covers 7.3 ha (18 acres) and is enclosed by a large, bastioned fortification ditch. The size of the village and the presence of the ditch suggest intergroup hostilities. In 1978 excavations at the northwest end of the fortificaton ditch recovered the remains of at least 486 individuals dated toAD 1325. Analysis of the skeletal material indicates that men, women, and children were present. Many were scalped, decapitated, and dismembered, and there are other indications of violence. Chewing on many of the elements demonstrates that the remains were exposed above ground for some period before burial. The Crow Creek crania are metrically most similar to those from St. Helena and early Arikara sites, suggesting affinities with those groups. Crow Creek has important implications for understanding intergroup relations and warfare in the Missouri River trench during the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries.