Monument Analysis

My group members Arrianna D'Orsay, Ian Weekes and myself studied grave markers at Ross Bay Cemetery with an emphasis on markers ranging from the 1800 to early 1900 and on ornate crosses. our group questions are as follows:

1. What might the ornamentation and style of these cross grave markers reveal about the identity of the deceased?
2. Within the different religious areas, how does cross ornamentation and style vary? What might be the reason for the differences?
3. How is gender depicted on cross grave monuments? Differences?


     To answer the first two questions, I found that the ornamentations and styles of cross grave markers were a result of the deceased's religious orientation. however I am not skilled in the artistic styles of each religious section and thus I believe to further answer both questions further research should be undertaken. Generally I saw that in the Presbyterian section, the crosses  were very simple with little or no engravings or ornamentation. The General portion that my group and I looked at contained either simple styles that had some variation or  very ornate. The Anglican area had many ornate and engraved Celtic crosses while the Roman Catholic section was probably the most ornate area of all. 

     Gender did not seem to come through on the grave markers for me, mainly I found the monuments religious based. Another thing to consider is that some of the markers have more than one individual placed there and the monument placed may be more of a reflection of the first person interned.  It must also be taken into consideration that the deceased persons may have had no say in what was placed on their grave marker let alone any for of gender representation. For further research I would have to also think about what was thought of as symbols of feminine and masculine during the death year of the deceased and if those symbols come through at all, also I would use a larger sample size as well as focus on a specific section rather than look the entire graveyard.


Below is the map and pictures of our monument analysis.

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?vps=1&hl=en&ie=UTF8&oe=UTF8&msa=0&msid=215637000176331328252.0004b87653db1e7bd2987

Diamonds made from cremation ashes

Hello again,
   I have found something very interesting, that I think is truly amazing. It turns out that with the technology we have today, we can turn ashes into diamonds. While poking around on the internet about unusual or unique funerary practices, I stumbled upon a site that will actually take a portion of cremated remains and turn them into a diamond. The amazing part is it actually looks like real diamond! They come in colour too! The process does take weeks to complete and depending on what you want in the diamond it can get very pricey quick, though the site likes to enforce that this will be a cherished object of memory for generations to come. It makes me think about how we actually remember a person, I mean sure this diamond will be of great importance to the person who is having it made for them however I don't know if it would be something that future generations would want to keep. In fact it could be that when someone inherits this diamond they could sell it off.
   One way to look at it is that the cremated person now has become an object of wealth and could become a funerary object that someone is buried with. If someone had the money too, I'm sure that they could use all the ashes of the cremated person and sell the diamonds. It is a very different perspective on what the human body can become. Rather than becoming  putrefied remains the body can become a shiny valuable object that in North America is a sign of wealth and eternity- "Diamonds are Forever".

 here is the link to the website:
 http://www.cremationsolutions.com/Cremation-Diamonds-Made-From-Ashes-c39.html

Hello All

Hi,
   I am Kayla Crouch and this is my blog on death and archaeology in anthropology. Death has always been a topic of interest and is generally not talked about in our society. To me there has always been something strange yet mystical about the ritualistic practices of funerals in other cultures which for me has also stemmed from literature. I hope that I will learn more about past practices and current ones, so that I may further my knowledge of the society I live in and also learn something about myself along the way.