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The Dead Yet Speak: 17th and 18th Century Gravestones in the Virginian Colonial Triangle
Williams, Courtney
Williams, Courtney
Abstract
For this honors thesis, 17th and 18th century cemeteries were surveyed within the Virginia Colonial Triangle, which includes the Williamsburg, Jamestown, and Yorktown colonies. In this region, 11 cemeteries and 117 gravestones were reviewed. This thesis builds on the theorization of Barbara J. Mills and William H. Walker's "Memory Work" that suggests the practices of communicating social memory are materialized in the archaeological record, and thus, by studying these gravestones, we can better understand what cultural and religious values the colonists held about death and the afterlife. In framing the argument, the thesis presents statistical analyses of these gravestones' inscriptions. Based on these tests and a review of documentary sources, it is concluded that temporal changes in their epitaph phrases stem from the Great Awakening's transformations in religious and cultural values, similar to the conclusion proposed by archaeologists James Deetz and Edwin Dethlefsen for New England's colonial gravestones.
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Thesis is part of Honors ETD pilot project, 2008-2013. Migrated from Dspace in 2016.
Date
2012-05-01
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Keywords
Gravestones, American Religious History, Early American Colonies, Great Awakening, Archaeology
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Department
Anthropology