Archaeology and Political Commitment: The Archaeology of the Dissapeared

ACUTO, FÉLIX A.

Binghamton

Jornada; Radical Archaeological Theory Symposium; 2003

Binghamton University

Perhaps because archaeologists frequently study extinct societies they often believe that archaeological discourse have no political implications. Nevertheless, in recent years some scholars have began to suggest that archaeology also constitute a form of political praxis. Some few projects are now attempting to use archaeological narratives to defy some deeply rooted concepts and ideas that throughout contemporary history have helped to promote or support social inequalities. These projects often aim to recover the memory and voices of those minorities that official history has left aside or has intentionally silenced. I begin this paper by discussing and criticizing the validity and the degree of political commitment of some these projects. Then, I introduce a new archaeological project that attempts to use archaeology to recover the voices of those who were kidnapped and killed, and to actively preserve the memory of events that should not be forgotten. In this paper I present the archaeological study of a clandestine center of detention and torture. This is the archaeology of those who disappeared in Argentina during the last Military Dictatorship.