It was a very common practice in Coastal South Carolina to place objects on African American graves. John Combes did a report on one cemetery back in the 70s that was published through the South Carolina Institute. The practice is less common in the interior. The examples I have seen date to the 19th and 20th centuries.

Pat Garrow

-----Original Message-----
>From: "Lyle E. Browning" <[log in to unmask]>
>Sent: Mar 23, 2012 5:14 PM
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: Ritual deposits on African-American graves
>
>I am working on a burial permit for a somewhat problematical graveyard containing 60-100 people in Southside VA. The earliest land ownership is in the 1770's with the last of the family out of the area by 1828. The marked graves have fieldstone headers and some footers. The presumption is that they are African-American slaves and descendants who were buried from the 1770's up to a totally unknown date, presumably well after the Civil War based upon the number of counted burials and the possibility of more that were not discernible as surface depressions.
>
>Some African-American graveyards have produced what can for once be correctly termed "ritual" deposits consisting of items placed in memory of the departed, glassware and other objects.
>
>My question is when this started? The earliest I have seen is solarized glass on a SC graveyard with objects up to the 1940's when the area became off-limits due to ownership.
>
>Some of the very much later objects were in trees and some were also obviously surface deposits which has implications for the top 6 inches of soil in the graveyard in question.
>
>Any information would be gratefully received.
>
>Thanks,
>
>Lyle Browning, RPA