Material Manifestations of Identity in Prisoner of War Camps

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Material Aspects of Global Conflict" session, at the 90th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

While archaeological questions pertaining to the study of identity have been asked about groups living in historic times to the neolithic, archaeological studies have looked at the material manifestations of identity in locations of confinement from contemporary sites. In doing so, the question becomes not “how do these individuals identify” but instead “how do these individuals use the materials around them to assert their identity”. The materiality of contemporary sites of confinement (like Prisoner of War [POW] Camps or like places of incarceration), combined with the historical record, allows for the study of how individuals and communities maintained their identity in spaces meant to erase, suppress, or change it. This paper lays out a theoretical argument demonstrating the roles of places of confinement in the archaeological study of identity, with comparative analysis on select locations that demonstrate how the materiality (either hidden or not allowed, tolerated, and permitted) allows for the expression of community or individual identity in such locations, thus allowing for a discussion on resistance and identity in periods of stress and/or confinement.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Material Aspects of Global Conflict   •
• Society for American Archaeology 90th Annual Meeting, Denver, CO (2025)

Keywords

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 51909