Contributions To Global Historical Archaeology, 2010, Part 3, 57-77, DOI: 10.1007/978-1-4419-0679-3_6

The Materialization of Sadism; Archaeology of Architecture in Clandestine Detention Centers (Argentinean Military Dictatorship, 1976–1983)

Andrés Zarankin and Claudio Niro

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Abstract

On May 9, 1976, I arrived at Vesubio, a clandestine detention center at Camino de Cintura and Richieri highway (Mantanza Department). Four individuals following Suárez Mason’s orders got me out of a Ford Falcon. I was hooded and my hands were tied behind my back. Meanwhile, the four individuals insulted me and hit me, forcing me into a room. Once inside, they made me stand against a wall with my legs extended. Several torturers kicked me in the testicles again and again. This procedure was called ablande. It was intended to intimidate the prisoner before taking him/her into the torture room.
All these events took place at House 3. The clandestine detention center was composed of three areas, each one serving a different purpose. House 1 contained the headquarters; that is to say, the head office and the manager’s house. The torture rooms –usually called operating theaters or infirmaries– were at House 2. House 3 contained the prison cells or cuchas (literally, doghouses).

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