Collaborative Approaches to the Archaeology of Political Violence: Rethinking the Caste War of Yucatan (1847-1901)

Conflict archaeology, which often focuses on a particular event of violent conflict or type of conflict-related site, would benefit from a theoretical and epistemological reorientation to the study of political violence. In this talk, Tiffany Cain defines political violence as the intersection of violent conflict with structural violence that creates conditions where different mechanisms of violence – both overt and covert – are at work, producing multiscalar material signatures that archaeologists would be apt to identify and unscramble. She builds on this by arguing for the interpretive value of civilian landscapes regarding past violence. These landscapes overlay violent conflict where structures of political and socioeconomic inequality and oppression have already embedded themselves. How does political violence impact civilian spaces and how can we rethink its consequences for everyday life? In this talk, she will present the preliminary findings of a collaborative heritage program, the Tihosuco Heritage Preservation and Community Development Project, that explores the postconflict landscapes of Quintana Roo, Mexico.