An Alternative Approach to Forensic Anthropology: Findings from Northern Uganda

Abstract

This article addresses how forensic anthropology can contribute to peace and reconstruction agendas in countries with legacies of structural and physical violence. The capabilities of forensic anthropological interventions have been debated in anthropological literature, often restrictively framed in terms of medico-legal or humanitarian endeavors. I argue that forensic anthropology should be reframed into an integrated approach that is informed by context-specific information, the presence of other interventions, and grave-related concerns. Specifically, this research relies on ethnographic data collected from two districts in northern Uganda in 2016 that are experiencing psychosocial, spiritual, economic, and other negative impacts related to improper burials from the Lord’s Resistance Army conflict. This reveals an overlooked capability of the field to contribute to the pursuit of sustainable peace through local level engagement—a rising concern in related literatures of transitional justice, peacebuilding, and anthropologies of violence.

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