Dialectics of Modernity

The development of guerrilla warfare in Spain (1936–1952) has, until very recently, received very limited academic attention, especially from an archaeological perspective. This paper presents some results from an ongoing archaeological project regarding the guerrilla movement in northwestern Iberia. We specifically discuss how the archaeological record may inform understanding of a more general process, that of the emergence of industrial and modern societies in peripheral territories. We argue that by addressing the material remains of guerrilla warfare we can delve into the dialectic between guerrilla groups and the local peasant communities and trace their mutual impacts. The paper concludes that guerrilla warfare was an active agent in the introduction of different aspects of industrial and modern economies.