I find it interesting that archaeologists have only recently begun to look at memory. Considering it is the study of what is left behind by the living for the dead, you would have thought that studying how people remember or forget the dead would have been an integral part of archaeology. I think that archaeologists have been studying memory, they just weren’t aware of it. For is that not what Egyptian monuments are? Or the large burial mounds and cairns? Are they not ways for the living to remember and commemorate the dead? These have always been studied in archaeology, it has only been recently that they have begun to recognize it.
There are numerous ways for the living to commemorate the dead which show up in the archaeological record. These include monuments, gravestone, tombs, churches and many others which are not mentioned here. Another way for the living to remember the dead is through heirlooms. These sometimes can be found in the archaeological record when grave goods are found to be a lot older than the grave and person. Although it is possible that there are other reasons for this, heirlooms may be one of the reasons that this occurs.
I think that the quote below is an interesting argument for the creation and continuation of heirlooms.
“Our ancient ancestors may have discovered that, in defending territorial claims or legitimating unequal rights to land or other critical resources, heirlooms, as tangible links to their ancestors, were their most powerful weapons of all” (Katina 1999).
Although this may be part of why the use of heirlooms started, another important aspect is that they help those left to remember the deceased and a part of their lineage. Although harder to tell through the archaeological record what is an heirloom or what isn’t it is important to try and recognize them.
Lillios Katina T. 1999. “Objects of Memory: The Ethnography and Archaeology of Heirlooms” Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory Vol. 6:3 pp. 235-262.
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