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Working as a Forensic Archaeologist and/or Anthropologist in Post-conflict Contexts: A Consideration of Professional Responsibilities to the Missing, the Dead and Their Relatives

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Ethics and the Archaeology of Violence

Part of the book series: Ethical Archaeologies: The Politics of Social Justice ((ETHARCHAEOL,volume 2))

Abstract

This chapter examines the professional responsibilities of the forensic archaeology/anthropology practitioner and some of the ethical dilemmas that are associated with locating, collecting, recording and preserving physical evidence of human rights abuses involving single or mass killings in post-conflict contexts. Initially the development of the discipline of forensic archaeology and anthropology is outlined. This is followed by a discussion about the ways in which physical evidence recovered by forensic archaeologist/anthropologists can be used for humanitarian, legal, historical and/or political reasons and what this means for how forensic archaeologists/anthropologists undertake their work. The chapter then considers the forensic archaeology/anthropology practitioner’s professional responsibilities as related to a number of different themes including work opportunities and choices, communication with the families of victims, standards and local capacity and occupational health and safety. The chapter concludes that unlike the practitioners of traditional archaeology whose work is not implicated in the struggles of living people, archaeologists and anthropologists who choose to work in post-conflict areas are significantly influenced by the living in where, why and how they work. Combined with the political sensitivities associated with investigating the location of graves and identifying the deceased, the wide ranging needs of the surviving families and wider communities play an important part of the forensic archaeologist/anthropologist’s professional responsibilities.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Organisations such as the Guatemalan Forensic Anthropology Team (FAFG), Peruvian Forensic Anthropology Team (EPAF), Physicians for Human Rights (PHR), the International Commission for Missing Persons (ICMP), the Centre for International Forensic Assistance (CIFA), the International Forensic Centre of Excellence for the Investigation of Genocide (Inforce Foundation) (see Juhl and Olsen 2006:418–419 for more details) and the International Committee of Red Cross (ICRC) which has had a Forensic Unit since 2004.

  2. 2.

    While forensic archaeology and anthropology are viewed as separate disciplines in the UK, there is no such sharp division throughout Latin America. In the USA, the Physical Anthropology section of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences is working on a name change to acknowledge the role of archaeology as used by forensic anthropologists as the majority of practitioners receive training in both fields (Congram, personal communication).

  3. 3.

    Exactly what constitutes “complete” is open to discussion. I am grateful to Derek Congram for raising this important question.

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Acknowledgements

I am grateful for comments on this chapter provided by Jon Sterenberg and Luis Fondebrider. I also thank Derek Congram who provided a range of comments and brought my attention to some useful references. Kerry Johannes was very helpful in locating a number of references.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine/Department of Forensic Medicine, Monash University, 65 Kavanagh Street, Southbank, VIC, 3006, Australia

    Soren Blau

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  1. Soren Blau
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Correspondence to Soren Blau .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Heritage Laboratory, Spanish National Research Council, Santiago de Compostela, Spain

    Alfredo González-Ruibal

  2. University College, London, London, United Kingdom

    Gabriel Moshenska

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Blau, S. (2015). Working as a Forensic Archaeologist and/or Anthropologist in Post-conflict Contexts: A Consideration of Professional Responsibilities to the Missing, the Dead and Their Relatives. In: González-Ruibal, A., Moshenska, G. (eds) Ethics and the Archaeology of Violence. Ethical Archaeologies: The Politics of Social Justice, vol 2. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-1643-6_13

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