Mantelpieces and the Homemaking: Exploring memory through the small and ordinary, 20th century, Ireland

Summary

This is an abstract from the session entitled "Global Materialities: Tracing Connections through Materiality of Daily Life", at the 2023 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology.

To a 20th century Irish islander, mundane objects on the mantelpiece above the fireplace are not just humdrum keepsakes, economic tools, common items, or assets; rather these objects provided a point of entry into the emotional landscape of memory, identity, and belonging in the Irish home. The display, placement, and use of objects helps people define their homes, their family history, and makes their past meaningful. Humans create, and recreate, homes around idealized vision of how space is organized and filled by the mundane through the placement and use of the material world during everyday life. Drawing upon ethnoarchaeological, archaeological and oral history research in Ireland, this presentation explores the intersection of homemaking, mantelpieces, and the creation of identify and place through the objects displayed.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for Historical Archaeology 2023   •
• Global Materialities: Tracing Connections through Materiality of Daily Life

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Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Nicole Haddow