Memories from Darkness: Archaeology of Repression and Resistance in Latin America (Contributions To Global Historical Archaeology)

"The study of Archaeology in Latin America has been strongly affected by the socio-political setting of the region. The history of state repression in the 1960s-1980s is particularly challenging to study, with many holes in the traditional accounts of events. Several dictatorships (especially military governments) emerged during this period dominated by the development of the Cold War and the consequences of the Cuban Revolution. Repressive regimes remained in power for decades, until internal and international changes allowed democracy to take over a firm hold. State terrorism included censorship, exile, detention, torture, murder, and forced disappearance. Written documents on political violence are scarce and fragmentary, with many of these sources deliberately destroyed by government authorities. New archaeological methods must be employed to reconstruct the history of the period, helping to disclose the silenced voice of victims, relatives and society as a whole. The contributions in this important volume show the socio-political commitment of Archaeology in Latin American to shed light on the specific case of dictatorship and repression in the region. The techniques described will also provide a valuable resource for archaeologists working to understand the nature of political violence worldwide and reconstruct other historical periods without reliable written sources."--Library of Congress Examines the specific case of Repression in Latin America. This book describes the techniques that offers a valuable resource of information for archaeologists working to reconstruct other historical periods without reliable written sources, and shed light on the nature of political repression worldwide. The study of Archaeology in Latin America has been strongly affected by the socio-political setting of the region. The history of military repression in Latin America in the 1960s-1980s has been particularly challenging to study, with many holes in the historic accounts. Several Latin American dictatorships emerged during this period, particularly during the Cold War and the Cuban Revolution. Military regimes remained in power for decades, until internal and international changes allowed democracy to take over a firm hold. Due to military and governmental upheaval, written sources on clandestine repression are scarce and fragmentary, with many of these sources destroyed deliberately by repressive governments. New archaeological methods must be employed to reconstruct the true history of this period, helping shed light on repressive mechanisms, to recover missing history. Not only will the contributions of this important volume shed light on the specific case of Repression in Latin America, but the techniques described will be a valuable resources of information for archaeologists working to reconstruct other historical periods without reliable written sources, and shed light on the nature of political repression worldwide Torture, Truth, Repression And Archaeology / Alejandro F. Haber -- Archaeology And Left In Colombia / Carl Henrik Langebaek -- The Archeology Of Conflict In Brazil / Pedro Paulo A. Funari And Nanci Vieira De Oliveira -- An Archaeological View Of Political Repressionin Uruguay (1971-1985) / José María López Mazz -- Forensic Archaeology And Anthropology : A Balance Sheet / Luis Fondebrider -- The Materialization Of Sadism : Archaeology Of Architecture In Clandestine Detention Centers (argentinian Military Dictatorship, 1976-1983) / Andrés Zarankin And Claudio Niro -- They Must Have Done Something Wrong- : The Construction Of Subversion As A Social Category And The Reshaping Of Identities Through Body And Dress (argentina, 1976-1983) / Melisa A. Salerno -- Scratching Behind The Walls : Graffiti And Symbolic Political Imagination At Cuartel San Carlos (caracas, Venezuela) / Rodrigo Navarrete Sánchez And Ana María López -- The Archaeology Of A Search : An Archeological Search : The History Of The Finding Of Che Guevara's Remains / Roberto Rodríguez Suárez -- Mexico, 1968 : Among Olympic Fanfares, Government Repression And Genocide / Patrica Fournier And Jorge Martínez Herrera -- Revealing Memoris From Darkness / Martin Hall. Pedro Funari, Andrés Zarankin, Melisa Salerno, Editors. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Front Matter....Pages i-xxviii Front Matter....Pages 1-1 Torture, Truth, Repression and Archaeology....Pages 3-8 Archaeology and Left in Colombia....Pages 9-23 The Archaeology of Conflict in Brazil....Pages 25-31 An Archaeological View of Political Repression in Uruguay (1971–1985)....Pages 33-43 Front Matter....Pages 46-46 Forensic Archaeology and Anthropology: A Balance Sheet....Pages 47-54 Front Matter....Pages 56-56 The Materialization of Sadism; Archaeology of Architecture in Clandestine Detention Centers (Argentinean Military Dictatorship, 1976–1983)....Pages 57-77 Front Matter....Pages 80-80 “They Must Have Done Something Wrong...”: The Construction of “Subversion” as a Social Category and the Reshaping of Identities Through Body and Dress (Argentina, 1976–1983)....Pages 81-103 Scratching Behind the Walls; Graffiti and Symbolic Political Imagination at Cuartel San Carlos (Caracas, Venezuela)....Pages 105-125 Front Matter....Pages 128-128 The Archaeology of a Search: An Archaeological Search; The History of the Finding of “Che” Guevara’s Remains....Pages 129-144 “Mexico, 1968”: Among Olympic Fanfares, Government Repression and Genocide....Pages 145-174 Back Matter....Pages 176-191 To Write What one Could Not Tell Anyone You who live in all tranquility So warm and comfortable in your houses, You who come home at night to find The table laid and friendly faces around you, Consider if this is a man, He who toils in the mud, Who knows no rest, Who fights for a crust of bread, Who dies for the slightest reason. Consider if this is a woman, She who has lost her name and her hair, And even the strength to remember, Her gaze blank and her bosom chilled, Like a frog in winter. Do not forget that this happened, No, do not forget it: Engrave these words in your heart. Think of them in your home, in the street, When you sleep, when you rise; Repeat them to your children. Or else your house will crumble, You will be overcome by illness, And your children will turn away from you (Levi 1987:9, the translations is mine). At Auschwitz, Filip Müller was assigned to the Sonderkommando. Every day, with his fellow prisoners, he emptied the gas chambers of their piles of defiled corpses and loaded them into the crematorium furnaces of the extermination camp.