CAS AR101, Introduction to Archaeology, students visit two late 17th/18th c. burial grounds in Boston
Professor Robert Murowchick took some students from CAS AR101 (ones interested in a meet up – going on their own time, on a Saturday) to visit two late 17th/18th c. burial grounds in Boston, the Granary Burial Ground and King’s Chapel Cemetery, to look first-hand at the the type of archaeological seriation that Edwin Dethlefson and James Deetz undertook for their seminal article:
Dethlefson, Edwin & James Deetz 1966. “Death’s Heads, Cherubs, and Willow Trees- Experimental Archaeology in Colonial Cemeteries.” American Antiquity 31 (4) (Apr., 1966), 502-510.
The weather was gorgeous with the leaves just beginning to turn, and the students had a good time looking for subtle changes in gravestone iconography, and the range of death-related symbolism that can be found if you look with a careful eye. The trip ended with a fine lunch at Hei La Moon, a classic Hong Kong-style mega-restaurant in Chinatown with endless varieties of dim sum offerings.