The sad truth is, there is very little information in the archaeological
literature on cemetery refuse. Oh sure, we see the occasional note by someone
interested in a can or jar found on a Chinese grave or a neat ceramic piece
on a Christian grave, but to my knowledge no one has gone out and done
studies of tombstone offerings, talked to survivors, talked to cemetery
staff, interviewed groundskeepers, and attempted to stratify these findings
by religion, ethnicity, labor group, economic status, etc. I suspect many
archaeologists would feel uncomfortable cataloguing plastic flowers, broken
bottles, common rocks, balloons, cosmetic artifacts, and notes. Yet, why does
the National Park Service save items placed on the Viet Nam memorial and who
is researching that issue? What a fascinating aspect of historic archaeology
that we seem to have passed by until now.

Ron May
Legacy 106, Inc.