Interpersonal violence between 18th Century Native Americans and Europeans in Ohio

During the winter of 1778-1779, a garrison of 176 individuals lived within the walls of a Revolutionary era stronghold named Ft. Laurens on the banks of the Tuscarawas River, near the present-day town of Bolivar, Ohio. At least 21 individuals were buried in the fort's cemetery during its occupation, 13 of whom were supposedly killed and scalped by Native Americans while gathering firewood and foraging horses. The purpose of this study is to build on previous work by Sciulli and Gramly ([1989] Am J. Phys. Anthropol. 80:11-24) by adding a more detailed analysis of the traumatic lesions, in order to better understand what happened to the victims. Lesions were analyzed based on type, location, and dimensions, as well as their overall pattern on the skeleton. Results indicate that multiple blows to the cranium were common. Out of 12 observable crania, the order of blows could be determined in only one case. Eleven of 12 of the observable crania from ambush victims and four of the seven nonambush victims exhibited lesions consistent with scalping. Evidence of postcranial trauma was noted on four individuals: one was an ambush victim, and the other three were killed at other times. No evidence of gunshot wounds was found.