The answer to your question about flattened bullet shells lies in the  
forensics of your artifacts and the context from which they were recovered. If  you 
have hammer marks, then you have the answer. What is the shape of the  
underside of the shell? Bullet shells crushed between vehicles (tractors and  farm 
vehicles, trucks, and old autos) and gravel pavement should exhibit small  
indents from the harder rock fragments (quartz, for example). If the kid  hammered 
the shells on a blacksmith anvil or piece of a railroad tie, the  underside 
might be smooth. But how much fun is there is hammering bullet shells  flat? It 
sounds kind of boring to me. Then again, I once examined a 1918 vintage  cabin 
in Libby, Montana in which cowboys hammered .22 caliber bullet shells into  
the log ends just for the fun of it. But just maybe someone cleaned up the  
litter on a gravel road and dumped it in the pit (a secondary deposit with no  
contextual connection to the shape of the shells). 
 
Ron May
Legacy 106, Inc.



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