Introduction

Between 1980 and 1991, the Republic of El Salvador in Central America was engulfed in a war that plunged Salvadorian society into violence and left it with thousands of people dead. The country and its inhabitants were exposed to appalling crimes, until 16 January 1992, when the parties, reconciled, signed the Peace Agreement in the Castle of Chapultepec, Mexico. They began a process of reconciliation that continues even today (Commission on the Truth in El Salvador 1993, hereinafter cited as Truth Commission).

In response to the peace agreement, the negotiators agreed that alleged illegal acts, such as executions and other crimes should be referred to a Commission on the Truth, which would impartially investigate the allegations. The Commission on the Truth was so named because its very purpose and function were to seek, find, and publicize the truth about the acts of violence committed by both sides during the war. A primary charge of the Commission on the Truth was to examine alleged systematic atrocities both individually and collectively, since the flagrant human rights violations which shocked Salvadorian society and the international community had been carried out not only by members of the armed forces but also by members of the insurgent forces (Truth Commission 1993).

The Commission was composed of a variety of persons, predominately from Central and Latin America, although a wide range of experts were called upon from around the world to investigate specific issues.

The peace agreements were unambiguous when, in Article 2, they defined the mandate and scope of the Commission as follows: "The Commission shall have the task of investigating serious acts of violence that have occurred since 1980 and whose impact on society urgently demands that the public should know the truth." Article 5 of the Chapultepec Peace Agreement gives the Commission the task of clarifying and putting an end to any indication of impunity on the part of officers of the armed forces and gives this explanation: "acts of this nature, regardless of the sector to which their perpetrators belong, must be the object of exemplary action by the law courts so that the punishment prescribed by law is meted out to those found responsible" (Truth Commission 1993:11).

Village of El Mozote

One case of alleged mass extra-legal executions occurred in the rural village of El Mozote. Investigations into the alleged atrocity required the combined expertise of archaeologists, physical/forensic anthropologists, and pathologists. One aspect of the case involved determining if the firearms evidence, which was collected during the archaeological exhumation of nearly 150 bodies in a single building, constituted evidence of combat related operations or a mass execution (Equipo Argentino de Anthropologia Forense 1992, hereinafter cited as EAAF; Truth Commission 1993).

The El Salvadoran Army's Atlacatl Battalion arrived at El Mozote in the course of a military action known as "Operacion Rescate", which had begun two days earlier on 6 December 1981 and also involved units from the Third Brigade and the San Francisco Gotera Commando Training Center. The Atlacatl Battalion was a "Rapid Deployment Infantry Battalion" or "BIRI", that is, a unit specially trained for "counter-insurgency" warfare. It was the first unit of its kind in the El Salvador armed forces and had completed its training under the supervision of United States military advisers, at the beginning of that year, 1981. The goal of "Operacion Rescate" to eliminate the guerrilla presence in a small sector in northern Morazan, where the guerrillas had a camp and a training center at a place called La Guacamaya.

On the afternoon of 10 December 1981, units of the Atlacatl Rapid Deployment Infantry Battalion arrived in the village of El Mozote, Department of Morazan. The village consisted of about 20 houses situated on open ground around a square. Facing onto the square was a church and behind it a small building known as the "convent", used by the visiting priest to change into his vestments when he came to the village to celebrate mass. Not far from the village was a school, the Grupo Escolar.

When the soldiers arrived in the village they found, in addition to the residents, peasants who were refugees from the surrounding areas. They ordered everyone out of the houses and into the square; made them lie face down, searched them and asked them about the guerillas. They then ordered the villagers to lock themselves in their houses until the next day, warning that anyone coming out would be shot. The soldiers remained in the village during the night.

Early the next morning, 11 December, the soldiers reassembled the entire population in the square. They separated the men from the women and children and locked everyone up in different groups in the church, the convent, and various houses. During the morning, they proceeded to interrogate, torture, and execute the men in various locations. Around noon, they began taking out the women in groups, separating them from their children and machine-gunning them. Finally, they killed the children. A group of children who had been locked in the convent were machine-gunned through the windows. After exterminating the entire population, the soldiers set fire to the buildings.

The soldiers remained in El Mozote that night. The next day, they went through the village of Los Toriles, situated 2 km (1.2 mi.) away. Some of the inhabitants managed to escape. The others, men, women, and children were taken from their homes, lined up and machine-gunned.

The victims at El Mozote were left unburied. During the weeks that followed the bodies were seen by many people who passed by there. In Los Toriles the survivors subsequently buried the bodies.

The El Mozote massacre became public knowledge on 27 January 1982, when the New York Times and the Washington Post published articles by Raymond Bonner and Alma Guillermoprieto, respectively, reporting the massacre. In January, they had visited the scene of the massacre and had seen the bodies and the ruined houses.

In the course of the year, a number of human rights organizations denounced the massacre. The Salvadorian authorities categorically denied that a massacre had taken place. No judicial investigation was launched and there was no word of any investigation by the government.

On 26 October 1990, on a criminal complaint brought by Pedro Chicas Romero, criminal proceedings were instituted in the San Francisco Gotera Court of the First Instance. During the trial statements were taken from witnesses for the prosecution; eventually, the remains were ordered exhumed, and this provided irrefutable evidence of the El Mozote massacre.

The Results of the Exhumation

The exhumation of the remains in the ruins of the little building known as the convent, adjacent to the El Mozote church, took place between 13 and 17 November 1992 (EAAF 1992; Truth Commission 1993). The material found in the convent was analyzed by expert anthropologists and then studied in minute detail in the laboratories of the Santa Tecla Institute of Forensic Medicine and of the Commission for the Investigation of Criminal Acts by Dr. Clyde Snow (forensic anthropologist), Dr. Robert H. Kirschner (forensic pathologist), Dr. Douglas Scott (archaeologist and ballistics analyst), and Dr John Fitzpatrick (radiologist), in collaboration with the members of EEAF, Patricia Bernardi, Mercedes Doretti and Luis Fondebrider.

The exhumation and examination team made the following conclusions (Snow et al. 1993):

1) All the skeletons recovered from the site, and the associated evidence, were deposited during the same temporal event. The physical evidence recovered in the site excludes the possibility that the site could have been used as a clandestine cemetery in which the dead were placed at different times.

2) The events under investigation are unlikely to have occurred later than 1981. Coins, and cartridges cases bearing their date of manufacture were found in the convent. In no case was this date later than 1981.

3) In the convent, skeletal remains of at least 143 people were found. The laboratory analysis, however, indicates that there may, in fact have been a greater number of deaths. This uncertainty regarding the number of individual skeletons is a reflection of the extensive peri-mortem skeletal injuries, postmortem skeletal damage, and associated commingling. Many young infants may have been entirely cremated; other children may not have been counted because of extensive fragmentation of body parts.

4) The skeletal remains and other evidence found in the convent show numerous signs of damage caused by crushing and by fire.

5) Most of the victims were minors. Laboratory analysis determined the skeletal remains of 143 bodies were identified, including 131 children under the age of 12, 5 adolescents, and 7 adults. The average age of the children was approximately 6 years.

6) One of the victims was a pregnant woman.

7) Although it could not be determined with certainty that all the victims were alive when they were brought into the convent, it can be concluded that at least bullets, which may well have been lethal, inside the building, struck some of the victims.

This conclusion is based on various factors:

Large quantities of bullet fragments were found inside the building. Virtually al the ballistic evidence was found in direct contact with or imbedded in the bone remains, clothing, household goods, and floor of the building. Moreover, the spatial distribution of most of the bullet fragments coincides with the area of greatest concentration of skeletons and with concentrations of skeletal remains.

Of 117 skeletons identified in the field, 67 were associated with bullet fragments. In 43 out of this subtotal of 67, the fragments were found in the areas of the skull and/or the thorax, i.e., parts of the body where they could have been the cause of death.

In at least nine cases, the victims were shot inside the building while lying in a horizontal position on the floor as indicated by wound paths and bullet pock marks in the floor of the building. The shots were fired downwards. In at least six of the nine cases mentioned, these shots could have caused the victims' deaths.

Direct skeletal examination showed intact gunshot wounds of entrance in only a few skulls because of the extensive fracturing that is characteristically associated with high-velocity injuries. Skull reconstruction identified many more entrance wounds, but relatively few exit wounds, but relatively few exit wounds. This is consistent with the ballistic evidence that the ammunition involved in the shootings was of a type likely to fragment upon impact, becoming essentially frangible bullets. Radiological examination of skull bones demonstrated small metallic densities consistent with bullet fragments in 45.2 % (51/115). In long bones, vertebrae, pelvis, and ribs there were defects characteristic of high velocity gunshot wounds.

Firearms Identification Procedures

The excavation and documentation of the Convent recovered a large quantity of cartridge cases and bullets. These were examined to ascertain the source of the ammunition and type of weapons fired in and around the building (Scott 1993). In addition detailed examination of the firearms evidence attempted to determine the minimum number of weapons and shooters present at the Convent.

Most archaeologists are familiar with the concept of artifact wear pattern analysis. Whether the wear is to a foot ring of a ceramic bowl or plate or on the edge of a stone tool, the concept is that wear is patterned as a result of human behavior and that patterning can be interpreted. The comparative study of ammunition components, known as firearms identification analysis, is another form of wear pattern analysis (Scott 1989). Firearms, in their discharge, leave behind distinctive metallic fingerprints or signatures on the ammunition components. These signatures, called class characteristics, allow the determination of the type of firearm (i.e. model or brand) in which a given cartridge case or bullet was fired. This then allows determination of the number of different types of guns uses in a given situation.

Further, these signatures allow the identification of individual weapons by comparing the unique qualities called individual characteristics. This capability is very important because coupled with the precise artifact location; identical signatures can be used to identify specific firing areas. With this information, pattern of movement can be established and sequences of activity can be more precisely interpreted.

The means to this end is reasonably simple in concept. When a cartridge weapon is fired the firing pin strikes the primer contained in the cartridge, leaving a distinctive imprint on the case. The primer ignites the powder, thus forcing the bullet down the barrel. The rifling in the barrel imprints the lands and grooves on the bullet in mirror image. The extractor also imprints the spent case as it is removed, extracted, from the gun's chamber. These imprints are called individual characteristics.

Law enforcement agencies have long used the investigative technique of firearms identification as an aid in solving crimes. Two methods commonly used by police departments include comparisons of bullets and cartridge cases (Hatcher, Jury, and Weller 1977; Harris 1980) to identify weapon types from which they were fired. Police are routinely successful in matching bullets and/or cartridge case individual characteristics to the crime weapon simply by demonstrating that the firing pin, extractor marks, or the land and groove marks could only have been made by a certain weapon. In the event that weapons used in a crime are not recovered, law enforcement personnel can say with certainty, on the basis of the individual characteristics, from recovered bullets and cases, that specific types and numbers of weapons were used.

The comparison microscope is critical to the analysis of ammunition. Simply, the microscope is constructed so that two separate microscope tubes are joined by a bridge with prisms mounted over the tubes. Two separate images are transmitted to the center of the bridge, where another set of prisms transmit the images to central eyepieces. The eyepieces are divided so that each image appears on one-half of the eyepieces. Movable stages allow the objects under scrutiny to be manipulated so that they can be directly compared for class and individual characteristics. The microscope used in this analysis was a Reichert-Jung comparison microscope. The objectives range from 10 to 40 power.

The cartridge cases, totaling 245, associated with the Convent building at El Mozote were analyzed to determine the minimum number of shooters. Most cases were collected during excavation related to the recovery of human remains. These cases were identified by an evidence number assigned to them by the excavation team. In addition, several fragments of explosive ordnance were also analyzed to determine their origin. The bullets were briefly reviewed. Their fragmented condition coupled with time constraints for analysis prohibited detailed projectile analysis.

The firearms identification analytical work was conducted at two locations. Initial sorting and cleaning was accomplished at the Medical Legal Institute at Santa Tecla, El Salvador. Detailed microscopic examination was accomplished at the forensic ballistic laboratory of the Commision de Investigacion de Hechos Delictivos of the Unidad Ejecutiva.

The analytical procedure was relatively simple. The cases were visually examined to determine condition and need for cleaning. All 245 cases were cleaned in a 3% solution of acetic acid (vinegar) to remove oxidation. Most cases had suffered oxidation and corrosion due to burial at the site. Most were coated with verdigris. El Mozote's soils are volcanic in nature and have an acidic content. The acid soil coupled with burial associated with decomposing human remains, caused most cases to be corroded to some degree. The mild vinegar solution was able to remove most oxidation. With the oxidation removed a 10x hand lens was employed to determine if the corrosion had significantly altered individual characteristics, and to identify any cartridge headstamps. Of the 245 cartridges examined only 34 were in sufficiently well preserved condition to subject to individual characteristic level microscopic examination.

While the total number of cartridge cases that could be analyzed for individual characteristics is small, it is a 14% sample of the total number of cases available. The cases examined for individual characteristics were well distributed among the excavated quadrants representing both interior and exterior finds. While not a statistically valid, randomly drawn sample the cases examined appear to be a representative sample by distribution within and around the Convent. These cases, at least, provide a minimum date set to determine the lowest possible numbers of firearms used at the site.

Results of Analysis

Weapon Types

The size and depth of the firing pin imprint, evidence of extractor mark and location, as well as other distinguishing characteristics such as bolt face marks were the criteria used in determining weapon type. With one exception the cases were all fired in a 5.56 mm NATO-caliber firearm. The cases appear to have been fired in United States M-16 military rifles. The single exception is a 7.62 mm NATO case possibly fired in a united States M-14 rifle. A single cartridge case, such as this, and without direct association with human remains, cannot be assigned any significance. It may be associated with the event under consideration, or it may pre- or post-date the event. For purposes of this analysis the 7.62 mm NATO case is noted but not further considered in total number of firearms employed at El Mozote.

Cartridge Headstamps

Headstamps on cartridge cases often identify the government or commercial manufacturer, as well as date the case to a specific year of production. Of the 245 cases 184 had discernable headstamps. This is a 75.1 % sample of all cases. The remainder all exhibited partial headstamps, but were too oxidized or corroded to ascertain specific details. All cartridge cases, including the 7.62 mm NATO case, were head-stamped "L C", which indicates they were manufactured for the United States Government at Lake City Ordnance Plant located near Independence, Missouri (Hogg 1982: 110). All 184 cases also contained dated headstamps. The earliest date is 1973 with six cases having this imprint. Next is the single 7.62 mm NATO case with a 1974 date, followed by two cases with a 1975 date. The majority (172) of the cases carried a 1978 date. The most recent date was 1981 with three cases found with this date.

Bullets

Due to time constraints the bullets were only briefly examined. Those examined were copper jackets fragments and lead and steel cores from 5.56 mm NATO cartridges. The bullets were very fragmented which is typical of the United States ball ammunition. The bullet is composed of a lead and steel core which is copper-jacketed. The core does not fill the jacket point leaving an empty space between the jacket and the core (Huon 1988:34). The empty space causes the bullet to fragment on impact, becoming essentially a frangible bullet. The number of bullet fragments found at El Mozote testify to the frangible nature of the fired 5.56 mm NATO bullet.

Minimum Firearm Counts

The firearms identification analysis indicates there were at least 24 individual firearms used at the site. One gun had four matched cases, one had three matched cases, five had two matched cases, and the remainder had only a single case represented a firearm of the group analyzed.

Several cases exhibited marks of a primer-seating tool. Two cases (Evidence number 92b and 334) retained primer-seating tool marks that matched indicating the same tool was originally used to seat the primer in both cases.

The distribution of the matched cases demonstrates some were deposited in the structure and others on the exterior of the building. Approximately 44% of all cartridge cases were found on the exterior of the building or in the doorway. Of those cases that could be analyzed about 51% were found on the exterior or in the doorway. Although the total number of analyzable cartridge cases was slightly higher from the exterior, the distribution between those found in the building's interior and exterior is nearly even.

The cartridge cases recovered among the human remains from the building's interior were widely distributed across the floor. Only two were found in the northern portion of the building's interior. The smallest number of all cartridge cases was also found in this area (approximately 6, thus roughly 1/3 the total number in this area were analyzed). The central area yielded five analyzable cartridge cases. The largest number of total cartridge cases was recovered in this area as well as much of the human skeletal material. The largest number of oxidized and corroded cartridge cases also were found in this area. The southern area yielded seven cartridge cases. Over 50 cartridge cases were recovered in the building's southern area so about 14% of those cartridge cases could be analyzed.

Table 1 identifies the case groupings that match. Evidence numbers 409 and 410 were deposited on the exterior of the building near a postulated window opening. Two cartridge case group matches, evidence numbers 10 and 301 and the group containing evidence numbers 302, 308, and 337 were found only in the building's interior. Evidence numbers 10 and 301 were found in the southern and northern corner of the building. Evidence numbers 302, 308, and 337 were found near the north corner and in the center area respectively.

There is also some evidence for firearm movement between the exterior and interior of the building. Evidence numbers 192B, 305, 327, and 334 define a single firearm. Number 192B and 334 were found near the doorway. Evidence number 305 was found among the skeletal remains near the building's center. One other firearm, represented by evidence numbers 322 and 354, also identify a firearm movement from the doorway (322) to the interior (354) somewhat inside the door.

Explosive Ordnance

Five fragments of a explosive device were recovered from the interior of the building. Four pieces appear to constitute the lead nose cap and portions of the fuse mechanism. The fifth piece is a steel cylinder that has exploded into a star shape. It appears to be a portion of a stabilizer tube. The device was not positively identified but appears to be parts to a rocket-propelled grenade.

Conclusions

The cartridge case firearms identification analysis from El Mozote indicates at least 24 individuals were responsible for the shooting. At least eleven individuals fired their weapons in the interior of the building. Of those at least two fired their weapons on the interior and exterior of the building. At least thirteen individuals fired their weapons on the exterior of the building, including the two who also fired in the building's interior. Given the large number of individuals and the small size of the structure it can be postulated that the individuals killed at the site were brought to the location in small groups perhaps also escorted by small groups of individuals who then did the shooting. The firearms identification evidence, indicating at least 24 shooters from a minimal sample of 34 cartridge cases, demonstrates that there was no formal execution-style squad, but a much larger group of persons responsible for the shootings (Scott 1993; Snow et al. 1993).

An important point that emerges from the results of the observations is that no corresponding bullet fragments were found in the outside west facade of the stone foundation wall of the Convent. All shots appear to have originated from the exterior of the building with the M-16 weapons being fired into the interior of the building.

The Truth Commission (1993) considered the evidence of site documentation, exhumation of human remains autopsy, and firearms identification analysis as sustaining proof that the victims were summarily executed, as the eye-witnesses had testified. The physical evidence from the exhumation of the convent house at El Mozote confirms the allegations of a mass murder. There is no evidence to support the contention that these victims, almost all young children, were involved in combat or were caught in the crossfire of combat forces. Rather the evidence strongly supports the conclusion that they were the intentional victims of a mass extra-judicial execution. The excavation documentation, exhumation data, autopsy reports, and firearms evidence were used by the Truth Commission to validate witness testimony and indict several senior military officers of the Army of El Salvador. In the El Mozote case, as well as several others, the findings of the Truth Commission lead to confessions by some of the perpetrators, but only after a general amnesty was proclaimed by the newly elected government for any human rights-related crimes committed by either faction during the civil war. In the end, with the help of archaeological techniques employed in forensic investigations the truth did out, and a measure of reconciliation was achieved.

References

Commission on the Truth for El Salvador (Truth Commission)
1993 From Madness to Hope: The 12-year War in El Salvador. Informe de la Comision de la Verdad Para El Salvador, United Nations, New York, NY.

Equipo Argentino de Antropologia Forense (EEAF)
1992 Argentine Forensic Anthropology Team 1992 Annual Report (English version). Equipo Argentino de Antropologia Forense, Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Harris, C. E.
1980 Sherlock Holmes Would Be Impressed. American Rifleman, 128(5):36-39, 82.

Hatcher, Julian, Frank J. Jury, and Jac Weller
1977 Firearms Investigation, Identification and Evidence. Stackpole Books, Harrisburg, PA.

Hoog, Ian V.
1982 The Cartridge Guide: The Small Arms Ammunition Identification Manual. Stackpole Books, Harrisburg, PA.

Huon, Jean
1988 Military Rifle and Machine Gun Cartridges. Ironside International Publishers, Alexandria, VA.

Scott, Douglas D.
1993 Firearms Identification for the Archaeologist. In From Chaco to Chaco, Archaeological Society of New Mexico, No. 15. Meliha S. Duran and Dabid T. Kirkpatrick, editors, pp. 15-31. Albuquerque, NM.

1993 Identificacion de Armas de Fuego en el Sito de Ejecucion de El Mozote. Anexo Tomo 1, From Madness to Hope: The 12-Year War in El Salvador, pp. 7-9, Informe de la Comision de la Verdad Para El Salvador, United Nations, New York, NY.

Snow, Clyde Collins, Robert H. Kirschner, Douglas D. Scott, Y John F. Fritzpatrick
1993 El Mozote: Informe de la Investigacion Forense. Anexo Tomo 1, From Madness to Hope: The 12-year War in El Salvador, pp. 1-3. Informe de la Comision de la Verdad Para El Salvador, United Nations, New York, NY.

Douglas D. Scott
Midwest Archeological Center
National Park Service
100 Centennial Mall North
Federal Building, Room 474
Lincoln, NE 68508