Archaeological Perspectives on the Battle of Little Bighorn

by Scott, Douglas D.

• ISBN13: 9780806132921
• ISBN10: 0806132922
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2000-09-01
• Publisher: Univ of Oklahoma Pr

Summary

Ever since the Custer massacres on June 25, 1876, the question has been asked: What happened - what REALLY happened - at the Battle of the Little Bighorn? We know some of the answers, because half of George Armstrong Custer's Seventh Cavalry - the men with Major Marcus Reno and Captain Frederick Benteen - survived the fight, but what of the half that did not, the troopers, civilians, scouts, and journalist who were with Custer? Now, because a grass fire in August 1983 cleared the terrain of brush and grass and made possible thorough archaeological examinations of the battlefield in 1984 and 1985, we have many answers to important questions. On the basis of the archaeological evidence presented in this book, we know more about what kinds of weapons were used against the cavalry. We know exactly where many of the men fought, how they died, and what happened to their bodies at the time of or after death. We know how the troopers were deployed, what kind of clothing they wore, what kind of equipment they had, how they fought. Through the techniques of historical archaeology and forensic anthropology, the remains and grave of one of Custer's scouts, Mitch Boyer, have been identified. And through geomorphology and the process of elimination, we know with almost 100 percent certainty where the twenty-eight missing men who supposedly were buried en masse in Deep Ravine will be found.

Table of Contents

Preface	xiii
Acknowledgments	xv
Part One. Background
Introduction	5	(7)
The Research Objectives	8	(2)
History and Historical Archaeology	10	(2)
A Historical Overview	12	(12)
Gathering the Evidence	24	(15)
Field Methods	25	(10)
Laboratory Methods	35	(4)
Part Two. Synthesis and Interpretation
Mystery in the Deep Ravine	39	(10)
A Deep Ravine Postcript	47	(2)
Markers and Maps	49	(40)
Maps of the Custer Battlefield	50	(6)
Archaeological Investigations	56	(3)
The Excavations	59	(19)
Identification of the Remains	78	(7)
Mutilation	85	(2)
The Locations of Spurious Markers	87	(2)
Interpreting the Evidence	89	(64)
The Evidence of Clothing and Equipment	90	(12)
Weapons at the Battle of the Little Bighorn	102	(19)
Chronology of Events on the Custer Battlefield	121	(9)
The Sequence and Chronology of Events at the Reno-Benteen Defense Site	130	(15)
Defining an Archaeological Post--Civil War Battlefield Pattern	145	(1)
Establishing the Post--Civil War Battlefield Pattern	146	(3)
The Post--Civil War Battlefield Pattern	149	(4)
Part Three. Artifact Descriptions and Specialist Reports
Artifact Description and Analysis	153	(71)
Firearms: General Information	153	(2)
Arms and Ammunition	155	(36)
Clothing and Personal Items	191	(10)
Accoutrements	201	(10)
Nails and Tacks	211	(4)
Tin Cans	215	(7)
Patrick Phillips
Miscellaneous Post-Battle Materials	222	(2)
Archaeological Geology of Deep Ravine, Custer Battlefield National Monument	224	(19)
C. Vance Haynes, Jr.
Introduction	224	(2)
Description of Deep Ravine	226	(1)
Objectives	226	(3)
Backhoe Trenching	229	(7)
Radiocarbon Sampling	236	(1)
Conclusions and Recommendations	236	(7)
Human Osteological Remains from the Battle of the Little Bighorn	243	(40)
Clyde Collins Snow
John Fitzpatrick
Introduction	243	(1)
The Casualties	243	(2)
Disposal of the Dead	245	(3)
Anthropological Variables	248	(5)
Examination Procedures	253	(1)
Recovery Analysis	253	(1)
Museum Collection	254	(2)
Surface Finds, 1983	256	(1)
Surface Finds, 1984	256	(1)
1984 Excavation Unit Assemblages	256	(6)
1985 Excavation Unit Assemblages	262	(14)
Discussion	276	(5)
Conclusions	281	(2)
Nonhuman Vertebrate Faunal Remains from Custer Battlefield National Monument	283	(16)
John R. Bozell
Introduction	283	(1)
Methodology	284	(2)
Analysis of the 1984 Sample	286	(6)
Analysis of the 1985 Sample	292	(1)
Identified Remains	292	(3)
Discussion	295	(4)
References Cited	299	(8)
Index	307