Archaeology and the Construction of Identities in Past and Present Rwanda.

Abstract

The political history of Rwanda has been marked by violence caused by racial and ethnic divisions between Bahutu and Batutsi. In 1994, between 800.000 and 1 million people were killed during the hundred days of genocide, mainly the ethnic minority Batutsi. The current government seeks to eradicate ethnic identities and replace these with a uniting, national identity. This thesis discusses the relationship between given political contexts, more specifically those of colonialism, independence and post-genocide, and interpretations of the past.