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The Past Inside the
Present:
Interviews on Archaeology and the Contemporary World with Adam
Fish
Archaeology Serving Justice
Adam Fish interviews forensic
archaeologist Mercedes Doretti
Since 1984, the Argentine organization
Equipo Argentino de Antropologia Forense (EAAF), or Argentine
Forensic Anthropology Team, has applied the forensic sciences,
particularly forensic anthropology and forensic archaeology,
to the investigation of human rights violations. The work involves
genetics, ballistics, radiology, and computer sciences. Using
these tools and techniques, EAAF exhumes bodies to establish
the cause of death and to identify skeletal remains of victims.
Through its work, EAAF assists the relatives of the victims
to recover the remains of their disappeared loved ones. This
work contributes to the historical reconstruction of atrocities
that offending governments seek to minimize, hide, or deny.
EAAF's investigations produce criminal evidence useful in the
courts and have proven critical in the pursuit of justice. Since
1986, local or international human rights organizations and
judiciary branches have asked EAAF to assist with human rights
investigations in Chile, Bolivia, Paraguay, Brazil, Venezuela,
Peru, Colombia, El Salvador, Guatemala, Panama, Honduras, Haiti,
The Philippines, Romania, Croatia, Iraqi Kurdistan, Ethiopia,
French Polynesia, and South Africa. In this interview with TAC’s
Adam Fish, recorded via telephone on 15 January 2005, Moretti
tells the remarkable story of the EAAF, its origins, its activities,
and its future.
The Interview:
To hear the interview, click
on the bandwidth for your player below.
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Mercedes Doretti
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Mercedes (Mimi)
Doretti is a world leader in using forensic archaeology
to defend human rights. Mimi was born and raised in Buenos
Aires, Argentina, and earned an advanced degree in Anthropological
Sciences in 1987 from the National University of Buenos
Aires. She is the co founder of EAAF, where she is a full
time researcher and the Coordinator for EAAF’s New York
Office. She is also President of the Latin American Association
of Forensic Anthropologists.
As a forensic archaeologist or expert witness, she has
worked at every known location of genocide and mass murder
in the late 20th and early 21st centuries, including the
Philippines, Chile, Venezuela, Guatemala, El Salvador,
Iraq, Brazil, Croatia, Ethiopia, Haiti, Panama, French
Polynesia, South Africa, Ethiopia, the Democratic Republic
of the Congo, Bosnia, Herzegovina, East Timor, Zimbabwe,
Ivory Coast, Indonesia, and Mexico.
She conducts training seminars throughout the world and
has lectured at Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute
of Technology, Columbia University, State University of
New York at Purchase, New School for Social Research,
Rutgers University, Amnesty International, The Carter
Center, and several meeings of the World Archaeology Congress.
Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, and the United
Nations regularly use her investigations in reporting
on human rights. In addition, she is a film-maker and
co producer of “Following Antigone: Forensic Anthropology
and Human Rights Investigations” (EAAF Witness production
2002).
To learn more about EAAF and how you can contribute and
volunteer please see their website.
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Adam Fish
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Adam Fish is
an audio journalist for Archaeological Legacy Institute
who is collecting interviews for our online audio program
series, The Past inside the Present: Interviews
on Archaeology and the Contemporary World. He is an anthropologist
of the American West and has worked on archaeological
sites throughout the world. His research focuses on the
similarities between film-making and archaeology with
a focus on the use of digital visual media in projects
of Native American cultural preservation. He is the Executive
Director of the Center
for Landscape & Artefact, a not for profit organization
dedicated to fusing applied archaeology with the digital
arts. For more information on Adam, please see his personal
page.
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The Web links below
are selected websites for exploring this and related subjects.
These include sites that we regard as informative and reliable.
Argentine
Forensic Anthropology Team (Equipo Argentino de Antropologia
Forense)
Asociation
LatinoAmericana de Antropologia Forense
Forensic
Anthropology and Human Osteology Resources (ForensicAnthro.com)
Forensic
Archaeology (Chicora Foundation)
Guatemalan
Forensic Anthropology Team (Fundacion/Equipo de Antropologia
Forense de Guatemala)
The
Missing–A Major ICRC Initiative (Red Cross)
Witness
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