Pam Richardson wrote:
 
"I am interested in ... possibly studying the status of the individuals
buried there."
 
Be careful not to fall into the trap of thinking that the burial goods,
methods, or markers are accurate reflectors of  the status of the
individual buried there!  There are a number of factors that screw up any
attempt to look at the status of the individual buried within.  I can come
up with a few, but there are many many more:
 
Often it is a reflection of a perceived or hoped-for status of the interred;
 
a "considered status" of the folks who arranged the burial and picked out
what they considered to be appropriate or socially uplifting adornment,
 
a fellow who was rich until the week before he died,
 
a rich fellow whose wealth was inaccessible,
 
a poor fellow who saved all his life for a fancy funeral,
 
...
 
 
Dan W.
 
 
 
 
   ________________________________________________
                                       Don't forget to check out
DAN WEISKOTTEN'S HISTORY AND ARCHAEOLOGY HOME PAGE at:
                  http://www.erols.com/weiskotten/weiskotten.html
 
 
      Since I'm STILL desperate for work in the Richmond/Penninsula area,
 take a look at my resume at http://www.erols.com/weiskotten/resume.html
 or my more detailed CV at http://www.erols.com/weiskotten/dansvita.html
 
                     also note that I have a new e-mail address:
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