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Iron gun barrel, 1700s.
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Iron gun barrels, such as the one illustrated here, were sometimes used by native peoples to inflict ritual torture on captives.

Credit: Courtesy of the State Museum of Pennsylvania, Archaeology

Iron gun barrels, such as the one illustrated here, were sometimes used by native peoples to inflict ritual torture on captives. George Alsop, an Englishman residing in Maryland, described the mid-17th century Susquehannock torture of a captive in the following manner: While they are at this [removing the scalp from a victim's head] several others are preparing pieces of iron and the barrels of old guns which they make red hot to sear each part and lineament of their [victim's] bodies…. If a captive showed great bravery during torture, his body might be butchered and eaten after death. This act, considered a tribute, was believed to capture the victim's strength and spirit.

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