Monuments, Memory, and Commemoration

Part of: Society for Historical Archaeology 2020

This collection contains the abstracts of the papers presented in the session entitled "Monuments, Memory, and Commemoration," at the 2020 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology.

This session examines public monuments, grand and modest, with a view towards understanding the cultural factors that shape their creation, maintenance, and removal. Why are some events and individuals commemorated and others forgotten or erased? What factors drive the erection of monuments and other forms of commemoration? How does the public interact with monuments? How do monuments reflect and shape our national mythology? This session aims to bring archaeological and cultural heritage perspectives to bear on a category of highly visible artifacts imbued with meaning and meant to convey information to future generations.