Post by UKarchaeology on Apr 4, 2016 18:44:29 GMT
Archaeological innominate fragment SK1161 showing two small circular depressed lesions, which are likely buckshot injuries. The inset shows the injury magnified at 10x. (Photo by Laura Lockau)
The night of June 6, 1813, was dark and chaotic. As American troops advanced into the Niagara Peninsula, a battle ensued between them and the British army attempting to raid their camp at Stoney Creek in Ontario. Unable to coordinate a standard infantry line, both sides launched into close-range, hand-to-hand combat. Given the atypical nature of the battle, a group of archaeologists set out to see if the injuries found on two dozen skeletons in a mass grave from this War of 1812 skirmish were also atypical.
The Battle of Stoney Creek mass grave was excavated in 1998 and 1999. Containing 2,701 fragments, the collection represents at least 24 people who were likely hastily buried following the raid. The British lost 23 men, and the Americans 17, with over 200 more injured, missing, or captured. Previous studies on the excavated skeletons using stable isotope analysis revealed some of the soldiers had a more European diet, while others had a more North American, corn-based diet, suggesting both sides may have used the same grave to bury their dead. And in three of the individuals’ hip bones, there were injuries that seemed to have resulted from muskets.
To solve the question of the hip injuries from the Stoney Creek mass grave, a Canadian team of researchers led by Laura Lockau at McMaster University launched an experiment that sounds like an episode of MythBusters, in order to replicate both the people and the firearms in use during the battle. They report their findings in an article in the April issue of the Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports. After procuring pig shoulders from a local butcher, Lockau and colleagues covered them with center loin pork chops and belly pork to simulate the bone, muscle, fat, and skin in the area of the hip blade. They chose modern but era-appropriate fabrics as a way to simulate the typical British military uniforms, which consisted of a linen shirt and trousers as well as a heavy wool coat, and they layered the fabrics on the pig parts. Voilà – the researchers created what they call “proxy buttocks” of the soldiers. But what about the ammo?
Full story: www.forbes.com/sites/kristinakillgrove/2016/04/04/mass-grave-from-war-of-1812-gives-archaeologists-first-evidence-of-buckshot-injuries/#ac34b4739869