Case Studies in Forensic Anthropology: Hawaiian Burials, Cultural Renaissance and Independence Movements

This talk will give an overview of the field of forensic anthropology and delve into real life scenarios from the field in Hawaii. In 1893, the Hawaiian Kingdom was overthrown in a bloodless coup d'etat by U.S. businessmen backed by the U.S. military. Ever since that time, indigenous Hawaiians have been adapting to an imposed, western economic system. This talk explores the historical role of the treatment and discovery of Hawaiian burials, initially as objects of scientific, anthropological curiosity, but, more recently, as powerful symbols and legal instruments of indigenous human rights. Critical case studies are presented that demonstrate how the changing treatment of human skeletal remains in the islands has served as a major catalyst for cultural renaissance and sovereignty movements that continue to this day in Hawaii.

About the Speaker: Christopher M. Monahan, Ph.D., has worked as an archaeological consultant in the Hawaiian Islands for more than 20 years and is currently adjunct faculty at Keene State College. He received his Ph.D. in Anthropology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison based on archaeological research in East Africa of 1.5-million-year-old archaeological sites at Olduvai Gorge created by Homo erectus. Before moving to Keene in 2017, he taught at the George Washington University, Rutgers University, Loyola University, the University of Maine, and the University of Hawai‘i. His first professional experience in Hawai‘i was working as a Forensic Archaeologist for the U.S. military to travel to locations throughout the world where the human remains of U.S. military personnel might be (e.g., plane crash sites from WW II, the Korean and Vietnam wars, etc.) as part of a recovery/excavation team that then studied the remains to identify them and return them to their families for proper burial. His current, primary research involves archaeological, cultural and historical studies in Hawai‘i, including identifying, documenting, and protecting human burials and human skeletal remains in Hawai‘i.

This hybrid event is part of a 2024-2025 series on "Forensics and Genocide" being offered by the Cohen Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies at Keene State College. The event is free and open to all; however, you must register in order to join. Registration will be available soon.

This event is part of the Cohen Center calendar.