So admittedly I came to this class slightly interested in the subject, but more thinking "well I need to take it for my degree". I am leaving this class with an entirely different attitude about archaeology. This class has been truly more then I could hope for. Professor Erin McGuire is one of the greatest profs I have had, and this class one of the most amazing eye opening I have taken.
Truthfully I am not a person who is into archaeology very much, I am more of a cultural anthropologist, this classes interesting material, and approach to learning about death and burial really changed my my mind about archaeology and I am 100% sure my future attitude when approaching a archaeology class will be very different. I thoroughly enjoyed myself and found that the none testing of the material made me really have a chance to not worry about whether or not I could remember a thousand and one dates, but instead to understand the material and approach it will a "want" to learn rather than a "need" to learn urgency.
The guest speakers who came in were really amazing and I really saw a different side of archaeology where there is a component and piece more then just researching and looking at old sites. I especially was impacted by the Chinese burial speaker and her work, and presentation about ethics and the residential schools. Presenting topics and connecting theories to case studies helped exponentially and made this a thrilling journey and an experience.
It truly was an amazing awakening to archaeology and a chance to see potential in studying anthropology, with relevant agency in more then just cultural anthropology. There is an amazing quote that I thing sums up this class, "remember the past, live in the present, and look to the future." I think that this class has incorporated all of this and really was a true fantastic experience.
Friday, April 1, 2011
It's not what you got down there, it's what you believe in that counts
So about three years back I was in a New Age shop in Fan Tan Alley, and saw a very interesting thing. This thing was an article about a female shaman grave that was found in Israel in 2008. This archaeological find was a big deal, because in that area in particular it is very rare to find a spiritual leaders grave that is female.
This grave in Hilazon Tachtit, Israel, of a Natufian woman was 12,000 years old it is thought to be the earliest known grave of a female shaman. Inside her grave were found with offerings of 50 tortoise shells and a human foot. The burial site she was in contained at least 28 other graves, and the Shaman’s was separated by a circular wall of stones, with this wall were buried many different animal bones. She was about 45 years old. One other thing that is described that I found quite interesting and could possibly lead to help with an explanation for one of the other graves we looked at in class. Is the positioning of rocks on the head, pelvis, and arms of the buried individual, sound familiar? Well it should be, the burial we talked about in class could have similar meaning.
This big draw of this story for me is my own interest in gender and religion, especially about what a woman can do with regards to contact with a spirit world, or whatever the location of the divine or divinities may be. This is something that for me has always been of interest because of my involvement in religion. In my experience many times all genders of spiritual leaders that I have met have been quite amazing people. But to note that there is a woman with such power and respect within the archaeological record at this time, is something that I am quite inspired by and gendered archaeology is something I would like to explore more.
On one last note, regarding gender I would like to take a moment to wonder if the archaeological record may or may not reflect the changing acceptance in reform Judaism for who can become Rabbi’s in the recent year. I speak from this position as I am reform Jewish and I know more about the practices and religion. Recently women, gays, lesbians, African Americans, and many more diverse people are being allowed to enter the rabbinical circle. I would wonder would there be any difference to the graves, that tells the story of this shift, years from now?
Article about the female shaman: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,446407,00.html
Dancing and Stones
Well what do the living leave for the dead? Really what do different cultures leave for the dead as commemoration, or a gift? I wanted to also find out which of these offerings may or may not survive in the archaeological record. So I looked at Jewish contrasted with Malagasy traditions.
So to begin with I chose the example of the Jewish tradition of leaving stones on a grave, this to me is a familiar one, and one I have experienced a fair amount myself in the last four years. The reason for the stones being left on the grave is for two different purposes. One because in the ancient times, many times there were no grave stones to mark where the deceased were buried, the stones themselves became the markers to remember where loved ones where laid to rest.
The second reason came later in Jewish history, and this pertains to remembering the destruction of the two temples around 70 CE and a little earlier. I would like to add a third reason that I have heard talked about recently, a modern concept that the stones may be considered more environmentaly friendly, and as part of Tikun Olam (helping the world) in modern Jewish faith is present, this is a very good possibility. As to whether these would survive within the archaeological context, I think that they would do very well, however they may not be recognized for their exact meaning if there is no explanation of Jewish memorial customs present. 
The opposite example I came across was dancing with the dead and rewrapping them in a new shroud as they decompose. This is a custom given to the dead of the Malagasy people in Madagascar it is called Famadhana. This is now frowned upon as predominant Christian religion, dancing a jig with the bones of a relative is usually not accepted in the Christian burial traditions. This tradition is fairly new to Madagascar, and the use of shrouds has been on the decline due to price of silk in the last while. The dancing is thought to be similar to traditions in Southeast Asia where it is believed that the soul can’t leave the body until the body is decomposed completely, the dancing is told to be to celebrate the kinship. This quote from a Malagasy man to BBC should sum it up “It's important because it's our way of respecting the dead. It is also a chance for the whole family, from across the country, to come together.”
As to whether this would all carry on and be foreseeable in the archaeological record years from now, that is debatable. The shrouds and cloth if it is not too far into the future may be noticeable in the archaeological record. The dancing however will only be seen if stories are taken in as evidence of burial ritual, and/or people are present that are still keeping up the traditions.
So to leave this entry with a question, I want you, the reader, to ponder what you give to the dead? Do you give anything back to the dead?
Jewish Grave Photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/catsplay/3368908766/
Famadhana Photo and info: http://www.weirdworm.com/7-strange-funeral-customs/2/
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Luck o'the Dead
So I came across something while looking for something else for a blog entry, oh the random tangents we go on in life. Superstitions are always ingrained into society and when it comes to the dead there are a lot of them. The Irish I must say have some of the most interesting uses for people after they are dead and superstitions I have come across.
So cutting off and using dead the hand of the dead is very popular in superstitions.
It can be used for:
-Making butter (not kidding)
-Facilitating effective robberies with a candle placed in a dead hand if carried into the house when the inhabitants are asleep, the inhabitants will not wake as long as the hand is under their roof.
-A Dead unbaptized infants hand taken fresh from the grave is apparently a powerful charm
-A dead hand can also cure most diseases if it is laid on the ill
The Other thing that is taken from the dead is a corner of the shroud in which they are placed in the ground with. This is said to be used to cure headaches if tied around the head, and cure-swollen limbs if tied around the affected area.A piece of skin taken from the arm of a corpse is a powerful love charm if tied to the arm of the person whom the practitioner fancies. The skin is then removed after a time before the sleeper wakes. As long as the skin is with the practitioner the love will hold.
The skin can also be used by being placed under a pillow and if so is done the sleeper will see their future spouse in a dream.
After all this I think it is archaeologically relevant to note that after the unburial to gain these morbid objects, there is a reburial or secondary burial of the corpse, absent of something that it had before.
Dangers to the Dead
So through both my nonacademic readings, and my research for the case study I thought of an interesting idea for this entry. In many horror films there is a very present idea of how the dead are dangers to the living, zombies, vampires, reverants, malicious spirits etc... But something that is not present are the stories, of the dangers to the dead themselves, as once a person is no longer corporeal, well that's not the end of the fear of extinguished existence. I have located two cultural stories that are present through grave art and ornamentation in the archaeological record to illustrate this point.
The first of these creatures is Ammit or Ammut (Devourer); she is the Egyptian female demon with a crocodile head and a body that is part lion, part hippopotamus, and crocodile. She eats the hearts of the dead who do not pass the test of the scales of justice in the Egyptian Underworld, extinguishing their souls forever. When researching for the case study I found that some of the paintings from Nefertari’s grave exhibited Ammut in her traditional place near the scales.
The second creature is Satan or Lucifier or the devil within Christian religious traditions. The basic story is Satan is a male ruler of Hell that takes the souls of the damned to be tortured. Though I was not able to locate any images of Satan directly on a grave, I was able to locate a representation on an item that is in the same historical monestary complex as many burials. Within the Gelati Monastery near Kutaisi, Imerteti, western Georgia, there is an icon that has a representation of Satan and hell depicted on it, and there are 10 inidividuals buried here were all important to church and state,
• Demetre I of Georgia
• David IV of Georgia
• Solomon I of Imereti
• Solomon II of Imereti
• George III of Georgia
• Vakhtang II of Georgia
• Bagrat VI of Georgia
• George V of Georgia
• Alexander II of Imereti
• George of Chqondidi
The first of these creatures is Ammit or Ammut (Devourer); she is the Egyptian female demon with a crocodile head and a body that is part lion, part hippopotamus, and crocodile. She eats the hearts of the dead who do not pass the test of the scales of justice in the Egyptian Underworld, extinguishing their souls forever. When researching for the case study I found that some of the paintings from Nefertari’s grave exhibited Ammut in her traditional place near the scales.
• Demetre I of Georgia
• David IV of Georgia
• Solomon I of Imereti
• Solomon II of Imereti
• George III of Georgia
• Vakhtang II of Georgia
• Bagrat VI of Georgia
• George V of Georgia
• Alexander II of Imereti
• George of Chqondidi
Memories
Today we looked at memorialization of the dead and celebration of the survivors, what we were talking about became very personal when I apply the ideas to my own experience on March of the Living (MOTL) in 2008.
Here is a link for those who are not familiar with MOTL
http://www.marchoftheliving.org/mol2009/09intro.html
As the locations in Poland may change with each different MOTL journey on the 2008 one I went on I went to numerous cemeteries, Auschwitz, Birkenau, Majdanek, Treblinka.
MOTL itself is an experience that is a memorialization of both the dead and the living. One of the things that MOTL tries to do every time they take people to Poland is to go to a place where this is memorial, this memorial is one that is not as well known or in some cases completely forgotten.
In my experience on the 2008 MOTL we went to a small memorial between Lubin and Warsaw. This memorial was for the people who were murdered and shot while running from the Nazi’s when the raid came on the small town. While we were there a elderly man came to see what was going on at the memorial, as it is rarely visited by anyone outside of the town. When our coordinators told the man about our experience, he began to speak to us and our guide translated. He told us how he had been a young child when the raids came through, and how he remembered hearing everything. This single memorial that was hidden within a forest was one of the ones that I remember the most from the experience.
In contrast to the cemeteries in Poland that we visited were mostly filled with those who had died of natural causes, and therefore where some of the most peaceful places I have ever been in. They were testaments to the great people who lived their lives and passed before the war.
The third type of memorial we experienced is one that was in Israel rather then Poland on Yad Vashem.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yad_Vashem
This memorial was all about the living and those who helped people to survive. What I am talking about are the memorials of the “gentiles” (none Jewish people) who helped hide, save, or protect Jewish people during WW II. This memorial is in the form of a garden where trees are planted in the name of those righteous people. Interestingly enough this is a perishable memorial rather then a permanent one, yet it is fairly synonymous with thoughts about Yad Vashem.
The purpose of March of the Living is for the living to remember and be able to pass on their memories to the next generation, and to celebrate the survivors. In my opinion I do think that through this program, and the testaments from those who have gone on the journey, the memory is not forgotten, the dead as well as the survivors are not forgotten
Here is a link for those who are not familiar with MOTL
http://www.marchoftheliving.org/mol2009/09intro.html
As the locations in Poland may change with each different MOTL journey on the 2008 one I went on I went to numerous cemeteries, Auschwitz, Birkenau, Majdanek, Treblinka.
MOTL itself is an experience that is a memorialization of both the dead and the living. One of the things that MOTL tries to do every time they take people to Poland is to go to a place where this is memorial, this memorial is one that is not as well known or in some cases completely forgotten.
In my experience on the 2008 MOTL we went to a small memorial between Lubin and Warsaw. This memorial was for the people who were murdered and shot while running from the Nazi’s when the raid came on the small town. While we were there a elderly man came to see what was going on at the memorial, as it is rarely visited by anyone outside of the town. When our coordinators told the man about our experience, he began to speak to us and our guide translated. He told us how he had been a young child when the raids came through, and how he remembered hearing everything. This single memorial that was hidden within a forest was one of the ones that I remember the most from the experience.
In contrast to the cemeteries in Poland that we visited were mostly filled with those who had died of natural causes, and therefore where some of the most peaceful places I have ever been in. They were testaments to the great people who lived their lives and passed before the war.
The third type of memorial we experienced is one that was in Israel rather then Poland on Yad Vashem.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yad_Vashem
This memorial was all about the living and those who helped people to survive. What I am talking about are the memorials of the “gentiles” (none Jewish people) who helped hide, save, or protect Jewish people during WW II. This memorial is in the form of a garden where trees are planted in the name of those righteous people. Interestingly enough this is a perishable memorial rather then a permanent one, yet it is fairly synonymous with thoughts about Yad Vashem.
The purpose of March of the Living is for the living to remember and be able to pass on their memories to the next generation, and to celebrate the survivors. In my opinion I do think that through this program, and the testaments from those who have gone on the journey, the memory is not forgotten, the dead as well as the survivors are not forgotten
Friday, February 11, 2011
Memorial Monument Analysis Post
1. The data set used was children graves within Ross Bay Cemetery, Victoria, BC, Canada, with child being classified as an individual from age 0-10 years. Out of 21 graves that were photographed, 12 were chosen that met our requirements and presented interesting imagery.
2. We were trying to find out the material memory and imagery that is left on the graves of children who have been buried in Ross Bay Cemetery. Another part of the question was also how many, in which area, and what time period did most of the childrens' graves fall.
3. Too the first question, what was the material memory and imagery that is left on the grave of children who are buried in Ross Bay Cemetery? there were a variety of answers. Of the imagery that we viewed there was a childs' chair and shoes, sleeping baby, angels, lambs, plants and flowers, and some graves without imagery. When looking at these pieces I could not help but notice that much of the imagery focuses on the symbols of religious importance, innocence, and purity. As Pearson points out these different aspects of the grave are very much created in the mindset and understanding of adults rather then children (Pearson, 2008, pg. 103). I would infer that, that is why there is far more adult understanding and association with symbols of religion and innocence, then say toys or other artifacts that a child may have held more dear.
To the second question, how many, in area and what time period did most of the childrens' graves fall? We discovered some interesting results. We found 21 graves, however 12 fit the profile for which we were searching for. These 12 graves ranged from the 1800s and 1900s, these graves were mostly located in the area of the cemetery that was in the older area. This could be according to the history and heritage records of Victoria, BC, Canada, diseases and epidemics were prevalent during that point in time, many of which effected both the children and the elderly a great deal, especially the small pox in 1882 (Canadian encyclopedia). Childrens' life expectancy was also very short at that point in time, due to the rougher living of people in Victoria.
Bibliography
Canadian Encyclopedia, 2011, http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1ARTA0005203, History of Medicine.
Pearson, Parker, Mike. The Archaeology of death and burial. 2008, Texas A&M University Press; USA.
Map of the Monument analysis of Child Graves in Ross Bay Cemetery, Victoria, BC, Canada:
View Children's Graves Ross Bay Cemetary in a larger map
2. We were trying to find out the material memory and imagery that is left on the graves of children who have been buried in Ross Bay Cemetery. Another part of the question was also how many, in which area, and what time period did most of the childrens' graves fall.
3. Too the first question, what was the material memory and imagery that is left on the grave of children who are buried in Ross Bay Cemetery? there were a variety of answers. Of the imagery that we viewed there was a childs' chair and shoes, sleeping baby, angels, lambs, plants and flowers, and some graves without imagery. When looking at these pieces I could not help but notice that much of the imagery focuses on the symbols of religious importance, innocence, and purity. As Pearson points out these different aspects of the grave are very much created in the mindset and understanding of adults rather then children (Pearson, 2008, pg. 103). I would infer that, that is why there is far more adult understanding and association with symbols of religion and innocence, then say toys or other artifacts that a child may have held more dear.
To the second question, how many, in area and what time period did most of the childrens' graves fall? We discovered some interesting results. We found 21 graves, however 12 fit the profile for which we were searching for. These 12 graves ranged from the 1800s and 1900s, these graves were mostly located in the area of the cemetery that was in the older area. This could be according to the history and heritage records of Victoria, BC, Canada, diseases and epidemics were prevalent during that point in time, many of which effected both the children and the elderly a great deal, especially the small pox in 1882 (Canadian encyclopedia). Childrens' life expectancy was also very short at that point in time, due to the rougher living of people in Victoria.
Bibliography
Canadian Encyclopedia, 2011, http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1ARTA0005203, History of Medicine.
Pearson, Parker, Mike. The Archaeology of death and burial. 2008, Texas A&M University Press; USA.
Map of the Monument analysis of Child Graves in Ross Bay Cemetery, Victoria, BC, Canada:
View Children's Graves Ross Bay Cemetary in a larger map
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