The Final Cut: Death and Burial Through the Ages

DOCUMENT Citation Only Katherine Hicks.

Material shifts among decorative coffin fittings reflect how past populations conceptualized death, memory, and social status.  Coffin plates recovered during the excavation of four burial vaults (ca. 1820-1843) associated with the Spring Street Presbyterian Church, New York City, were simple and uniform in design, inscribed only with the names, ages, and death dates of the individuals with whom they were interred.  This paper examines the socio-economic and ideological elements that may have...

DOCUMENT Citation Only Brooke L. Drew.

Continuing bioarchaeological and archival research on the Milwaukee County Institution Grounds Cemetery collection is presented.  As reported elsewhere, the beginning stages of a multidisciplinary analysis of this late 19th and early 20th century institutional cemetery has led to the identification of a number of the 1,649 individuals excavated.  Included in this discussion will be new case studies that continue to demonstrate not only the interpretive potential of an integrated archaeological,...

DOCUMENT Citation Only Hilda E. Maclean. Megan E. Springate.

The coffin was the centerpiece of the Victorian-era funeral and the most expensive material purchase made by the family or friends of the deceased. As with all events played out in public, the coffin was subject to the dictates of fashion. Beginning with the origins of mass-produced coffin furniture in eighteenth century England, this paper explores two divergent histories of coffin decoration through the Victorian era. An analysis of materials recovered from Brisbane, Australia looks at...

DOCUMENT Citation Only Lauren R. Hosek.

This paper will examine how 22 burials, labeled "deviant" due to their unusual burial positions, fit into the social context of early medieval Bohemia. Libice nad Cidlinou is a large fortified settlement site in what is now the Czech Republic. Multiple excavations have uncovered a cemetery dating from the late 9th through early 10th centuries and consisting of 212 graves. Of these, 22 deviate from the normal extended burial position. The unusual burials have been analyzed using a...

DOCUMENT Citation Only Matilda H Duncker.

The presence of Egyptianizing designs in nineteenth century cemeteries can be attributed at least in part to the global reach of British politico-economic interest and the appropriation of ancient cultures that this facilitated. However, the presence of these forms within a heterogeneous monumental landscape that also included designs taken from an imagined national past and from Classical architecture encourages us to consider not only how Egyptianizing forms were encountered and developed by...

DOCUMENT Citation Only Ani Chenier.

Along with large-scale trade and migration, 19th and early 20th century globalization was marked by the circulation, transformation, and global integration of social imaginaries, and the resulting development of structures that would ultimately channel and constrict further movements. The expansion of Chinese diaspora communities across the Pacific and into the Americas was one of the major population movements of this period. The networks that made it possible for individuals to participate in...

DOCUMENT Citation Only Katherine R. Cook.

This paper will explore the impact of colonization on family identity and heritage through the analysis of mortuary material culture in the United Kingdom and the Caribbean from the 17th to 20th centuries. Although colonial families are traditionally represented as static, immobile and passive, a more systematic and dynamic understanding of this period of unprecedented movement and interaction can be accessed through alternative sources of history. Cemeteries provide such an opportunity because...

DOCUMENT Citation Only Stephen A. Hammack.

This paper will address historical research and the delineation of several 19th and 20th century historic cemeteries in the State of Georgia in the Southeastern United States. It will also address the ethical aspects of these kinds of projects, and suggest avenues for working together with clients, employers, government agencies, and concerned families in order to successfully complete potentially problematic cemetery and graveyard projects.

DOCUMENT Citation Only Jennifer Hildebrand.

In 1852, a congregation of Anabaptist Mennonites from the Canton of Bern, Switzerland, immigrated to the United States to escape religious persecution, and settled in what is now Berne, Indiana. They established a new community, while retaining their religion, traditions, and heritage. The need for a cemetery was recognized, and the Old Berne Mennonite Cemetery served the community until 1896. The cemetery was recently excavated and relocated.  This provided a unique opportunity to conduct an...