Overview
- An examination of civilian caves and oral histories from Indigenous families, this book shows that the social hierarchy, as well as employment, influenced civilians’ ability to find a cave and stock it with supplies
- Reveals that contemporary connections to karst defenses are harnessed by past political tensions between the U.S., Japan and Micronesia
- Argues that karst defenses were central to the Japanese defense strategy in the Pacific and modified extensively to serve several purposes such as command posts, hospitals, shelters, combat positions and storage units
Part of the book series: Contributions To Global Historical Archaeology (CGHA)
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Table of contents (7 chapters)
Keywords
About this book
This book is an archaeological study of the cultures of conflict through an examination of caves and tunnels used during the Pacific War. Referred to here as “karst defenses,” WWII caves and tunnels can be found throughout the karst landscapes of the Pacific. Karst defenses have been hidden, literally by the jungle and figuratively by history, for over 70 years.
Based on a study of karst defenses and their related artifacts and oral histories in Saipan, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, this book uses karst defenses to investigate the varied human experiences before, during and after the Pacific War. Historically, the book reveals new knowledge about the overall defense strategies used in the Pacific. Karst defenses were a central component of Pacific War defense and were constructed and used by civilians, the Japanese military and U.S. troops as early as 1942. Karst defenses also functioned as command posts, hospitals, shelters, storage units and combat positions.
The book sheds light on the social aspects that influenced the construction and use of karst defenses, including the fragmented relationship between the Imperial Japanese Navy and the Imperial Japanese Army, the social status of civilians under Japanese rule and the clandestine plans of the U.S. in Micronesia. The book also discusses the complex contemporary meanings of this dark, shared heritage.
Authors and Affiliations
About the author
Bibliographic Information
Book Title: The Archaeology, History and Heritage of WWII Karst Defenses in the Pacific
Book Subtitle: Cultures of Conflict
Authors: Julie Mushynsky
Series Title: Contributions To Global Historical Archaeology
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-67353-6
Publisher: Springer Cham
eBook Packages: History, History (R0)
Copyright Information: The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
Hardcover ISBN: 978-3-030-67352-9Published: 13 March 2021
Softcover ISBN: 978-3-030-67355-0Published: 14 March 2022
eBook ISBN: 978-3-030-67353-6Published: 12 March 2021
Series ISSN: 1574-0439
Edition Number: 1
Number of Pages: XV, 203
Number of Illustrations: 26 b/w illustrations, 39 illustrations in colour
Topics: Archaeology