Out of the Box: Thinking of Cemeteries as Collections Storage Facilities

Summary

When the archaeological community thinks of collections and collections based-research our minds frequently leap to serried ranks of boxes and the assemblages housed within them. It is less common for our minds to leap to cemeteries, yet the collections of tombstones located in them, cumulatively represent one of the largest datasets utilized by historical archaeologists.  This paper considers whether a shift in perspective is needed.  Instead of regarding cemeteries as landscapes replete with individual data points, how does our understanding of them change if we consider them as collections storage sites? What new research opportunities does this idea open? How does this idea change our approach to the management and preservation of these sites?

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Boxed but not Forgotten (Again!): The Importance of Collections-Driven Research   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2018

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Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): 1019