En Las Vías: Suffering and Triage on the Central American Trail

Summary

Undocumented Central Americans migrating to the United States must first cross the entire country of Mexico. In order to make this clandestine crossing the majority of people ride on the tops of deadly freight trains and walk along train tracks that traverse hundreds of miles of remote Mexican wilderness. This perilous journey can last anywhere from weeks to several months. During this stage of migration people suffer from a variety of injuries and ailments including (but not limited to) physical and sexual assault, exhaustion, dehydration, infections, lacerations, and broken bones. Drawing on archaeological and ethnographic data collected by the Undocumented Migration Project in Chiapas, Mexico in the summer of 2015, we examine how Central American migrants deal with pain, injuries, and illness while en route through an analysis of pharmaceutical artifacts found along train tracks and at migrant camp sites. Comparing this suite of pharmaceuticals with those recovered from undocumented migrant camp sites along the Arizona-Mexico border, we posit that the archaeological record of these two stages of undocumented migration reflect unique environmental and social contexts, as well as distinct differences between the level and types of violence and suffering experienced by Central American and Mexican migrants.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 81st Annual Meeting, Orlando, FL (2016)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage