The Archaeology of Historic Battlefields: A History and Theoretical Development in Conflict Archaeology

Abstract

In the last two and a half decades there have been many advances in the technology available to archaeologists. As new technologies have been used to challenge previously held hypotheses and expand the capabilities of current research, they also have assisted the expansion of archaeology to include conflict archaeology. Although there has been a long history of interest in the material remains of conflict, it is only recently that the necessary tools, methodology, and theoretical approaches have been combined to allow serious scientific contributions to the holistic study of past human conflict. This article provides an overview of the origins of conflict archaeology and research that has helped consolidate the subfield into its present form. We examine the current state of conflict studies and consider what lies ahead for conflict archaeology.

Historical Archaeologies of the American West

“…Archaeological research associated with the Little Bighorn Battlefield has contributed greatly to the numerous histories of that battle and demonstrated the relevance of systematic archaeological research to forensic firearms analysis, military history, Native American studies, and Western history (Fox 1993;Scott et al 1989, p. xiii;see also Scott 2005;National Park Service 2012). Interdisciplinary studies of these and other battlefields Scott and McFeaters 2011;Scott et al 1998;Wakeman and Laumbach 1997) are stark reminders of the many ways of remembering and documenting just one event, with ''some of the most striking examples of individuated perspectives on the landscape'' coming from archaeological analyses of battlefields (Pauls 2006, p. 70). Indigenous histories of those battles provide compelling evidence that demonstrates such individuated perspectives (e.g., Neihardt 1979, pp.…”

Small Finds and Roman Battlefields: The Process and Impact of Post-Battle Looting

“…Archaeological study has now been conducted at a range of battlefield sites, primarily from the later medieval period onward, within a thriving sub-discipline of conflict archaeology (e.g. Scott and McFeaters 2011). Battlefields from antiquity have struggled to make an impact within the discipline.…”

Reflexiones críticas sobre los abordajes teórico-metodológicos en la Arqueología de Buques de Guerra y Campos de Batalla Acuáticos

“…En la medida en que este tipo de arqueología es aplicable a la investigación de períodos de inestabilidad civil, el descriptor arqueología del conflicto resulta aún más apropiado e inclusivo (Sutherland & Holst, 2005: 1-2). Scott & McFeaters (2011) también hacen referencia a la definición de la arqueología del conflicto y los campos de batalla, y coinciden en que la primera forma es más inclusiva y ofrece una perspectiva más amplia, en la medida en que exhorta a los estudiosos a considerar decisiones y consecuencias que tienen lugar más allá de los confines del campo de batalla. Acorde con Broadwater (2011: 177, traducido por el autor) "…las batallas navales solo pueden ser plenamente interpretadas y sólo se les puede conferir sentido histórico, al estudiarlas como eventos individuales enmarcados en un contexto más amplio en el que otros eventos naturales, militares y políticos estaban teniendo lugar".…”