Materials and Methods All information concerning the materials and methods associated with patterns of Mortuary practice

Associated with genocide was gathered from reports and field notes by anthropologist working for various Human Rights groups from 1999 through 2004. The study focuses on single, multiple, and mass graves. Information that was collected from the sites include any type of information pertaining to site identification, minimum number of individuals (MNI) recovered from the grave, sex and age distributions of decedents, presence? Absence of binding, blindfolds, or gags, presence/ absence of burning, grave depth, body position in grave, and primary versus secondary deposition. (Komar 124) During the study of the grave site, only firsthand witnesses who participated in the burials and had coordinating evidence were used for the study. The graves that were going to be studied by the two anthropologist included single, multiple, and mass graves. Of these graves cremations, and surface deposits were excluded due to lack of evidence. Only graves that had known agents of burial were incorporated. Results The data collected and depicted from Table 1, Summary of Demographics by Country and Grave Type shows information including the total number of recovered and included individuals was 1,189 with a total of 119 graves being excavated. Of the 119 grave sites only 17 were marked, the largest grave contained 460 individuals. From the 119 excavated graves there were a total of 21 coffins. There were 15 single person graves with coffins, and the other 6 were in graves with multiple individuals. Remains found in mass and multiple grave sites contained

remains of individuals buried in nontraditional poses along with some individuals burned and bound. Implications of Archeology Although there is no clear method that directly concludes an incident where genocide occurred, there are many indicators that investigators can use to support their hypothesis. Items that have dates on them such as money or newspapers, witness statements, time-of-death statements, and graves can assist an archeologist in understanding the circumstances of the death of a particular individual. However, in assessing the circumstances of death it is important to understand the variables in culture and terminology. What is considered to be fair and rightful form of defense that resulted in the death of another individual in one culture can be illegitimate in another and be labeled as genocide. Furthermore, by labeling the defense as legitimate and illegitimate one is convicting one as innocent or guilty of murder. In order to comprehend why one would take part in a mass killing one must asses the act of genocide and the people involved. Knowing the when, where, and how an individual died can help support or dismiss the case of genocide. It is also critical to understand that genocide is not the result of the improvement of weapons and warfare but the escalation of behavioral patterns in society. Stresses in environment, sociopolitical, and religious affairs typically cause clashes in society. These patterns evolve into large-scale attacks and mass inhumations with common targets such as people with social disqualifies and deformities. Overall, one cannot confirm the occurrence of genocide in a particular case study; but with the proper analysis and support from date, one can form a link between traumatic events and the probability of genocide.

Identifying agent of burial. Within the article Patterns of Mortuary Practice Associated with Genocide the battle in the village of Towton located in North Yorkshire, England is talked about. The battle occurred on March 29, 1462 with 76,000 combatants involved, and resulted in 28,000 causalities. July of 1996 a mass grave was found which measured 3.25 cm by 2 cm and contained a depth of .65 meters (Komar 129). The bodies in the mass grave had an orientation of west-east, east-west, and north-south, with the absence of consistent east-west orientation which was common with the religious and social norms of the time period researchers feel this mass grace was an othercreation burial. The bodies were absent of clothes, and armor with multiple sharp and blunt force injuries to the skull which would indicate a type of torture treatment (Komar 130). In the mass grave the bodies were found with the arms behind the back which in turn shows evidence of restraints inflicted by an outside source not of close relatives or kin. Another example that contributes to researchers believing that this burial was other-produced was that the grave was not buried on sacred despite the fact that a chapel was nearby (Komar 130). An excavation at Crow Creek Creek Sloux Reservation in South Dakota shed light to the remains of at least 486 women, children, and men. The mass grave was an open ditch; this ditch was covered with a thin layer of clay, and the trash from the village. The village associated with this mass grave dates back to 1325 AD, and in this village burned remains were uncovered which contained additional human remains. In relation to the medico-legal death classification the cause of death is due to the blunt force trauma to the head, with homicide being the consequence of warfare which in turn is related to the manner of death (Komar 130). The 486 individuals was estimated to be about 60% of the village population, young adult women, and

older adult males were scarce in body count found in the mass grave. This could correlate with the fact that during warfare both young women and older males were taken as prisoners. In 90% of the skull remain evidence shows different forms of torture like; scalping, blunt-force trauma, decapitation, and dismemberment. The bodies were in no pattern of body alignment, and no kin distinction was found between the skulls (Komar 130). Once the bones were laid on the north side of the ditch, the bones were covered with a thin layer of clay. According to Wiley the bodies had been unburied for several weeks which gave room for scavengers to disturb the remains, which was also seen in both self-created and other-created burials in Bosnia. With the evidence represented Wiley associated this burial with returning villagers or otherwise affiliated people, because of the similar traits to 3 of the 22 cases of self-created graves in Bosnia (Komar 130). Represented in these 3 cases the remains were mixed together and there were attempts to separate individuals by placing the remains in plastic bags or bundled in clothing. Crow Creek burial was compared to another large mass burial to Nyamata in Rwanda which took place in 1994, over 5,000 individual bodies was discovered in a mass grave. The surviving kin and neighbors returned to the death site and buried the bodies in a mass grave (Komar 130). Even with the massive number of bodies all the remains were organized with a consistent placement of long bones and skulls. The evidence of Nyamata contradicts Willeys claims of Crow Creek having to massive of an amount of bodies to arrange in an orderly manner if constructed by kin or close relatives. The evidence that supports self-created burial is shown but more evidence supports the claim that Crow Creek burial was other-created (Komar 131).