ABSTRACT
In Guatemala, the application of the techniques and methods of forensic anthropology and archaeology was born out of an overwhelming need. Civilian victims of extrajudicial arbitrary executions, killed during the civil war that ended in 1996, were disposed of in clandestine graves throughout the country; these graves needed to be located and the human remains identifi ed. In the early 1990s, survivors groups contacted experienced forensic anthropologists from North America and existing forensic teams in Latin America and requested assistance in locating and identifying the dead. It is from these early beginnings that the fi rst Guatemalan forensic anthropology team was formed, trained by the international experts in order to develop an incountry capacity to deal with the forensic identifi cation of the deceased.
