Although the group monument analysis project was due near the second week in February (which is nearly a month and a half ago), I wanted to take a moment to look back and reflect upon the exercise in a blog entry.
To be honest when we were first given the assignment I was quite worried about participating in it and not because it was a group exercise but because the assignment was looking at memorials and monuments found around Victoria and within cemeteries.
I lost both of my grandparents, from my dad's side, nearly ten years ago and up until now I have had trouble going to the cemetery to visit them and put flowers on their graves. I hate to say it but I think I could probably count, on one hand, the number times in which I have gone. I drive by the cemetery quite often and think about them regularly, but I actually haven't gone to visit in quite a while. And before completing the monument analysis I thought about them even more.
My group was very lucky on the day that we met to conduct the field work portion of the monument analysis because the days which preceded our group outing were rainy, windy and very miserable. However, when I picked everyone up at UVic there was no need to use the windshield wipers or defrost the windshield. The sky was slightly overcast but the clouds seemed to clear up as we got closer to the water and closer to the Ross Bay Cemetery. We chose to investigate a section of children's graves within Ross Bay Cemetery that Emily and I had learned about during a lecture in our Anthropology 312: Introduction to Medical Anthropology course.
Once we parked and wandered over to the cemetery, we really had no idea where to look so we split into groups and began searching for children's graves. All we had been told was that they were located in the southern corner of the cemetery.
I found myself having a constant internal battle with myself while I was working on the group project at the Ross Bay Cemetery. On the one hand, I was feeling very much like an archaeologist conducting field work. I was very objective, methodological and precise. I took notes, made a map and sketched all of the burials. As well, I found it fascinating how many different types of graves (single/multiple, size, shape etc.) and burial markers (type, size, engravings etc.) there were within our small sample.On the other hand, I was feeling quite emotional and upset. I found myself looking at the cemetery very subjectively. Because I've been privileged enough to grow up in the Western world, I was uncomfortable knowing that these children had to be buried by their parents. I don't think that parents should ever have to bury their children.
Since completing the monument analysis, I have thought about and spoken about the exercise quite regularly - particularly with my group. Although we have not yet, we plan on getting together (hopefully next week) to go back to the cemetery and put flowers on all the graves that we surveyed. We want to acknowledge their presence and thank them for being a part of our study. I think that in doing so, our group will be contributing to and providing good ethics within the archaeological discipline.
IMGP0095, a photo by naked&beheaded on Flickr.
("Naked and Beheaded" group picture after completing the preliminary work for our monument analysis.)To be honest when we were first given the assignment I was quite worried about participating in it and not because it was a group exercise but because the assignment was looking at memorials and monuments found around Victoria and within cemeteries.
I lost both of my grandparents, from my dad's side, nearly ten years ago and up until now I have had trouble going to the cemetery to visit them and put flowers on their graves. I hate to say it but I think I could probably count, on one hand, the number times in which I have gone. I drive by the cemetery quite often and think about them regularly, but I actually haven't gone to visit in quite a while. And before completing the monument analysis I thought about them even more.
My group was very lucky on the day that we met to conduct the field work portion of the monument analysis because the days which preceded our group outing were rainy, windy and very miserable. However, when I picked everyone up at UVic there was no need to use the windshield wipers or defrost the windshield. The sky was slightly overcast but the clouds seemed to clear up as we got closer to the water and closer to the Ross Bay Cemetery. We chose to investigate a section of children's graves within Ross Bay Cemetery that Emily and I had learned about during a lecture in our Anthropology 312: Introduction to Medical Anthropology course.
Once we parked and wandered over to the cemetery, we really had no idea where to look so we split into groups and began searching for children's graves. All we had been told was that they were located in the southern corner of the cemetery.
I found myself having a constant internal battle with myself while I was working on the group project at the Ross Bay Cemetery. On the one hand, I was feeling very much like an archaeologist conducting field work. I was very objective, methodological and precise. I took notes, made a map and sketched all of the burials. As well, I found it fascinating how many different types of graves (single/multiple, size, shape etc.) and burial markers (type, size, engravings etc.) there were within our small sample.On the other hand, I was feeling quite emotional and upset. I found myself looking at the cemetery very subjectively. Because I've been privileged enough to grow up in the Western world, I was uncomfortable knowing that these children had to be buried by their parents. I don't think that parents should ever have to bury their children.
Since completing the monument analysis, I have thought about and spoken about the exercise quite regularly - particularly with my group. Although we have not yet, we plan on getting together (hopefully next week) to go back to the cemetery and put flowers on all the graves that we surveyed. We want to acknowledge their presence and thank them for being a part of our study. I think that in doing so, our group will be contributing to and providing good ethics within the archaeological discipline.
IMGP0095, a photo by naked&beheaded on Flickr.
I feel that as a result of taking this class and completing the readings and assignments (particularly the monument analysis) I now have a better understanding of death and mortuary practices. And maybe, just maybe, I will feel more comfortable talking about the subject and will be able to go to the cemetery to visit my grandparents without feeling quite as sad.
Despite the fact that this class does not have a final, I think I will give myself one final assignment to complete, a take home assignment. I am going to try to go and visit my grandparents in the cemetery within which they are buried by next Friday April 8, 2011. I also hope that I will find the strength to continue visiting them more frequently in the future.
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