Exhumation vs. Excavation: The Armenian Genocide and Our Ethical Responsibilities

Summary

Records of human rights violations precede biblical times and have shown no signs of decelerating despite the contemporary measures taken to clearly define such atrocities. In the case of the Armenian Genocide, committed by the Ottoman Empire during WWI, the Young Turk government took great care as to restrict the publication of photographs and reports that would expose the widely condoned practice and to this day claim to have no responsibilty or knowledge of such occurrences.

The physical evidence obtained from the remains of victims that are exhumed from mass graves is delicate and controversial. We will discuss the various ways that archaeologists and physical anthropologists attempting to recover and restore historic memories that had been selectively recalled have undertaken a twofold endeavor; the exhumation as well as the excavation of mass graves. The initial and unarguably integral mission of these specialists is to identify the remains of individuals associated with human rights violations so as to be repatriated to family members. Secondly, the obligation towards collecting scientific evidence that is unable to be dismissed so that historic acknowledgement of the enormous human and material loss occurs. We will examine the nuanced process in which these endeavors are undertaken.

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This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 80th Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA (2015)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage