In Small Things Remembered II: An Archaeology of Affective Objects and Other Narratives

Part of: Society for Historical Archaeology 2023

This collection contains the abstracts of the papers presented in the session entitled "In Small Things Remembered II: An Archaeology of Affective Objects and Other Narratives," at the 2023 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology.

James Deetz’s assertion that “the past can be seen most fully by studying the small things so often forgotten,” transformed material culture studies in historical archaeology. By focusing analytical attention on the incidental objects of everyday life, Deetz urged archaeologists to explore the reciprocal entanglements of human life and material culture, confronting distortions of history by revealing subaltern narratives. For the Milwaukee County Poor Farm Cemetery Project, these affective objects serve as vital windows into the lives, deaths, and burials of more than 2,400 poor, institutionalized, and unidentified individuals interred from 1882 through 1925. Papers in this session explore how a selection of small things transform our holistic insights and understandings of the individuals, histories, and narratives of this site.

Other Keywords
Historic Cemeteries • Mortuary archaeology • Poor Farm Burials • Coffins • Archival Research • Coffin Hardware • Gender • entanglement • medical archaeology • childhood

Geographic Keywords
Midwest USA • North America, Midwest, Great Lakes Region, Milwaukee • North America-Midwest

Resources Inside This Collection (Viewing 1-5 of 5)

  • Documents (5)
Documents
  • The Can: Clandestine Infant Burials in Plain Sight (2023)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only B E Charles.

    This is an abstract from the session entitled "In Small Things Remembered II: An Archaeology of Affective Objects and Other Narratives", at the 2023 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology. Mortuary treatment in a capitalist society can be cost-prohibitive and a source of shame or guilt for those unable to pay for a proper burial. Coroner reports from Milwaukee County describe the recovery of miscarried, stillborn, or infant remains from outdoor locations, often concealed...

  • The Iron Coffin: An Artifact Out of Place and Time Recovered from the Milwaukee County Poor Farm Cemetery (2023)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Nicholas W Richards. Patricia B Richards.

    This is an abstract from the session entitled "In Small Things Remembered II: An Archaeology of Affective Objects and Other Narratives", at the 2023 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology. For the poor and indigent buried at the Milwaukee County Poor Farm Cemetery (MCPFC), it was the Board of Supervisors of Milwaukee County who, by the late 1800s, contracted local undertakers to supply the MCPFC with burial containers. This practice of contracting for construction of coffins...

  • The Scrapbook: A "Conundrum of the Archives" (2023)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Shannon K. Freire. Catherine R. Jones.

    This is an abstract from the session entitled "In Small Things Remembered II: An Archaeology of Affective Objects and Other Narratives", at the 2023 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology. Analysis of the twice-excavated Milwaukee County Poor Farm Cemetery (MCPFC) has documented several types and varieties of postmortem skeletal interventions attributed to autopsy and medical dissection. These interments have been associated with the local medical establishment, including...

  • The Suture: Medical Entanglements at the Milwaukee County Poor Farm Cemetery (2023)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Jessica L Skinner. Patricia B Richards. John D Richards.

    This is an abstract from the session entitled "In Small Things Remembered II: An Archaeology of Affective Objects and Other Narratives", at the 2023 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology. Amid the incidental objects that shape everyday life, medical devices and implants stand out as artifacts that are so integral as to be subsumed within the body entirely yet reach beyond the individual to the world at large. These sweeping entanglements span both space and time, extending...

  • Thumb Screws: Decorative Mortuary Hardware Recovered from the Milwaukee County Poor Farm Cemetery (2023)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Patricia B Richards.

    This is an abstract from the session entitled "In Small Things Remembered II: An Archaeology of Affective Objects and Other Narratives", at the 2023 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology. Coffin hardware recovered from historic cemetery excavations serve as temporal, economic, and social markers. The Milwaukee County Poor Farm cemetery burials were carried out by County officials as part of a county-mandated and county-funded program. While most coffins and coffin hardware...