World War II Archaeology in the Galápagos Islands: The Soldiers and Convicts at the Wall of Tears (1940–1959)

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Social Archaeologies and Islands" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

During the early years of World War II, the US government began actions to protect one of its most important investments in America, the Panama Canal. During the late 1930s, the US Navy and Army built several military bases along the Pacific coast of Central and South America to defend the canal zone. The Galápagos Islands were selected to build a military base, considering the strategic position between Panama and the Gulf of Guayaquil. The Baltra Beta Base started operations in 1942 and radar was an important technology implemented in the Galápagos to detect possible air attacks from the west. Several radar stations were built in the archipelago, mainly on Isabela Island. After the war, the Cerro Orchilla radar station was abandoned and re-occupied by the government of Ecuador to hold a penal colony. Today, the remains of these institutions are a touristic place known as the Wall of Tears. In this talk, we present the results of the Summer 2023 archaeological survey of the site, which was focused on exploring the layouts of the institutions, the domestic activities, and the possible ecological impacts caused by the male population that occupied both the radar station and the penal colony.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Social Archaeologies and Islands   •
• Society for American Archaeology 89th Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA (2024)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 38670.0