DISASTER ARCHAEOLOGY, By Richard A. Gould

DISASTER ARCHAEOLOGY,
by Richard A. Gould
(Professor of Anthropology, Brown University, Providence, RI),
University of Utah Press, 2007.
ISBN 978-0-87480-894-0
288 pp

A major, mass-fatality disaster will occur somewhere foreseeable future. What happens after first responders like firefighters, rescue teams, and medical personnel have done their best to preserve lives and property? Disaster Archaeology addresses this question head-on by looking at how trained field archaeologists apply their skills to locate, record, and recover remains of disaster victims and collect evidence during the aftermath of a disaster event.

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Expecting the unexpected.

This is the mantra of emergency services everywhere whenever they train, but nowhere is it already more important than in archaeology. Academic and professional archaeologists often encounter situations in the human past that have no modern counterpart. These cannot be explained as ancient examples of modern-day behavior and must be studied and accounted for in their own terms. Every archaeological site is different and so is every disaster scene. Archaeologists are frequently challenged to adapt their basic principles and skills to unusual and demanding situations. Disaster Archaeology examines how this works.

At disaster scenes, however, the orderly and controlled conduct of archaeology may take place under chaotic and stressful circumstances. Special training is needed in health and safety, and team development is vital. There are also protocols to be followed in relation to the authorities and other agencies at the scene. Disaster Archaeology reviews this component of an effective archaeological response and the training required to put a team in place while ensuring its safety and its effectiveness in relation to the overall recovery effort.

Precursors to disaster archaeology.

The second half of Disaster Archaeology reviews different kinds of forensic science that have evolved to provide credible medico-legal conclusions in both the “court of law” and in the “court of history.” Although driven by recent events, archaeology has been used as an investigative tool by detectives at crime scenes for many years. Forensic archaeologists have also engaged in “human-rights archaeology” by excavating mass graves and investigating cases of genocide in places like Rwanda, the former Yugoslavia, and Iraq since the 1990s. Teams of archaeologists and forensic anthropologists have been recovering remains of U.S. military personnel from past wars, mainly in the Pacific and Southeast Asia, for identification and repatriation to their families. There are also examples of underwater crime-scene investigations of shipwrecks by archaeologists. In addition to these approaches, Disaster Archaeology also looks at how forensic anthropologists and archaeologists examine the controversial issue of ancient and modern cannibalism.

What next?

The paradox of disaster archaeology. Another major, mass-fatality will occur eventually. It may be natural, accidental, or intentional. Archaeologists can be passive and wait for events to overtake them, or they can be pro-active and try to prepare intelligently and compassionately. Disaster archaeology is a pro-active choice, but it is also paradoxical. Archaeologists are drawn to this difficult and emotionally stressful work for compelling humanitarian reasons, but in order to be effective they must apply rigorous scientific methods and controls that force them to stand apart from their subjects. This seemingly contradictory combination of compassion and science is the essence of disaster archaeology.