Evidential Regimes of Forensic Archaeology

Abstract

Evidence excavacated from mass graves and clandestine burials has played an important role in the international prosecution of human rights abuses as well as in individual criminal cases. The archaeological dimension of forensic anthropological work is focused on the grave site and its immediate surrounding environment, making the work very visible and sometimes contentious. This review traces the ways in which forensic archaeological evidence is composed and evaluated, exploring how anthropologists have negotiated the sometimes competing demands and claims of the courts, scientific practice, and relatives of the dead.