In my Mortuary Anthropology class we’ve been focusing a lot
on identity – what the graves say about the people in them, and what the graves
say about those that buried the dead. Archeologists tend to focus on grave
goods when studying identity in a funerary context. It’s really interesting
what information Archeologists are able to interpret from grave goods – they
can draw conclusions on the deceased’s preferences, social status, profession,
familial role or where they may have travelled. It all gets a bit messy though
when you really consider that the deceased did not bury themselves. It seems
really obvious – but those burying the dead could represent the dead in a way
that was not attune to their living identity.
The professor of my Mortuary Archeology class posed a
question asking us what we would like to be included in our burial, and what
our friends and family may choose to include in our burial. I had never thought
about my own burial – I found this question difficult! How can I properly
express my identity in a few material items? It was sobering – I realized that
I have developed the habit of making absolute deductions about the identity of
the deceased that I’ve studied, based on their grave goods. It’s important for
me to remember that I am analyzing complex and unique individuals.
Even though I have my doubts about completely
expressing my identity to future archeologists through grave goods, I am up to
the challenge. I asked friends and family what they would include in my grave:
My mother: after her initial alarm about my question, she said
she would include my running shoes, cinnamon sticks and a world map because of
my love of travel. I loved all of her suggestions. I really enjoy running (I’m
training for my first half-marathon right now!) and I feel like it is a big
part of my identity now – I consider myself a runner. I am cinnamon obsessed
(my portions of cinnamon will burn your tongue) and I love to explore new
places – I’ve always been travel obsessed. All of her suggestions said
something about my aspirations, preferences and past times. Good job mom!
My father: He was not alarmed by my question, which to me is
alarming in itself. Anyway, he said he would bury me with “those weird seedy
things you eat that look like bird food” (I think he means chia seeds), Disneyland entrance
passes and books. These are fabulous
suggestions too – I am quite health conscious, and the chia seeds represent
that (super food!). Some of my happiest memories with my family are at
Disneyland. My dad and I would ride the Matterhorn for hours. The books are a
great suggestion too. I am a vicarious reader (well, as much as my University
work load will allow) and I’d like to somehow represent my love for reading in
my grave. My dad nailed it.
My boyfriend: I think he thought this was a test or
something when I asked him what he would bury me with. I think he thought I had
read in a magazine that told me this question would provide insight to our
relationship. Too funny. He said he would bury me with my yoga mat, dark
chocolate, and some of the pictures that he’s drawn for me. I was really fond of
his suggestions. I practice Bikram yoga and I really enjoy it. I also absolutely
love dark chocolate so including it in my grave is a must. The pictures were a
wonderful suggestion too – I love them so much.
My roommates/best friends: I’m live with four girls, and
they are some of my best friends. I posed the question to all four of them, and
they seemed way too into it (which is worrisome). Aside from their silly
suggestions, they said they would bury me with white wine, tea, coffee (but the
coffee has to be buried with me in some way so the archeologist know that I drink
it black) and my big scarves that I love so much. Their suggestions were very
liquid focused, but spot on. I drink countless cups of tea a day, and I pretty
much consume a trough of coffee every morning. I do love my scarves, but I am
not sure I would want to be buried with them. I think I’d rather go for a nice
dress or something.
All in all, my friends and family seemed to hit the nail
spot on. I don’t know what else I would include in my grave to express my
identity. Except for sushi – I would include sushi. A lot of sushi. It wouldn’t
keep well of course, but having it in there is a must. It will be a full grave –
but I don’t want to part with anything that my family and friends suggested.
I don’t know how much these grave goods would express my
identity. They certainly show what I love to do with my time, and what some of
my aspirations are. It’s just weird to express something as complex as identity
in grave goods. I’m also concerned about how this will all be interpreted by future
archeologist – maybe they’ll think that I’m an aritist-extraordinare, yoga-guru, with strong Japanese ties when I’m
really a leisurely yogi with a nice boyfriend that eats too much sushi. We will
see though. I don’t want my apprehensions come off as me having little faith in
archeological interpretation – I think what archeologists do is amazing, critical
and incredibly important. I believe that archeologists make correct and astute
interpretations from mortuary finds. But I think it’s natural to feel a little
nervous when it is your own identity that is being interpreted. This thought
exercise has delivered an important archeological lesson for me – I so often so
at grave goods and think about them in a group context (e.x. what does this say
about the society that this individual is part of?) rather than analyzing grave
goods in an individual context and really thinking about what the grave goods
say about the person. I’ll work on that though – I am sure there is a happy
medium between group and individual interpretations.
