This volume draws together the ground-breaking work of researchers and archaeological practitioners, working in multiple countries, to explore and understand the material and cultural impacts of the Pacific War.
The combat taking place in the Pacific region during the years 1941–45 was characterized by a brutality and violence unmatched in any other theatre of the Second World War. Described by indigenous Micronesians as a ‘typhoon,’ the war was an unstoppable force that rolled across the islanders’ homes, leaving only a trail of destruction in its wake, with physical, psychological, and cultural impacts that continue to resonate today. This difficult period is examined in a variety of ways through chapters that include targeted studies of archaeological sites, wider surveys of battlefield landscapes, and the ways in which we commemorate the experiences and legacies of both combatants and civilian populations. The translation of important research by Okinawan, Japanese, and Russian archaeologists brings into focus regions that have previously been neglected in Anglophone literature, and enriches this comprehensive exploration of the archaeology of the Pacific War.
This book will be of interest to archaeological practitioners, students, and members of the general public working in conflict studies or with an interest in the material culture, history, and legacies of the Pacific War.
"1. Introduction: A War of the Worlds; PART 1: 1942-43: 2. Bringing Together Divergent Experiences of World War II in the Aleutians; 3. Conflict Landscapes, Indigenous Landscapes, and Commemorative Landscapes: A PNG Perspective; 4. WWII in the Solomon Islands: Conflict and Aftermath; PART 2: 1944: 5. Chuuk Lagoon World War II Underwater Cultural Heritage: A Divers’ Paradise, a Chuukese Dilemma?; 6. Seeking a Shared Connection and Shared Heritage Through WWII Underwater Cultural Heritage in the Pacific; 7. ""You’ve Come a Long Way to Study Something That is Bad"": Human Remains, Ethics, and Community-Based Research in Conflict Archaeology in the Pacific; 8. Lives Encoded in Landscape: Unlocking Lost Narratives from the World War II Battle of Peleliu; PART 3: 1945: 9. The Current Situation of the Battlefield Archaeological Site Survey in Okinawa Prefecture; 10. Research, Conservation, and Utilization of War-Related Sites in Haebaru Town, Okinawa; 11. The Transition of Battery Positions on Okinawa Island; PART 4: AFTERMATH: 12. The Search and Identification of Burial places of Japanese Prisoners of War (POWs) in the Territory of Russia: Observations, Experiences, and Problems; 13. Himeyuri Peace Museum: The Personal Experience of War; 14. Negotiating Peleliu: Agency, Politics, and Place on the Battlefields of the Pacific War."
Ben Raffield is an Associate Professor of Archaeology at the University of Uppsala, Sweden. Yu Hirasawa is an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Human Sciences at University of East Asia, Japan. Neil Price is Distinguished Professor of Archaeology at the University of Uppsala, Sweden.
