Archaeology of State Terrorism: Exploring the Territorial Strategies of Clandestine Repression in Argentina (1976–1983)

Abstract

In Latin America, the Archaeology of the Contemporary Past focuses on investigation of the massive human rights violations perpetrated by the authoritarian regimes that ruled the countries in this region between 1960s and 1980s. These military governments instituted terror regimes in order to achieve a de-politicization of civil society through fear. To ensure their success, they displayed the most extreme forms of repression, including imprisonment, forced exile, murder and the disappearance of thousands of political opponents. This paper examines the regional particularities of the clandestine repression in Argentina, specifically in the military jurisdiction known as Area 211, which was subordinated to the II Defense Zone Command. Taking an archaeological and territorial approach, I applied the analysis tools provided by Geographic Information Systems (GIS), combining historical and spatial information to investigate the modes by which repressive systems administered the bodies of their victims.