Abstract
Archaeology in the colloquial sense studies the remains of material culture. It arranges catalogues and verifies often established theses. This perception of the discipline can be misleading and hurtful. Over the centuries, archaeologists have recognized subtly visible elements that may indicate a hidden message. These include certain objects identified as grave offerings, how the deceased was laid out and the location of a particular object on a skeleton. The dead did not bury themselves. This was done by the participants in the funeral. Therefore, consciously or not, they created the image of the deceased that we see at the excavation stage. Certain actions may have manifested themselves through mnemonic procedures. These were intended to give the deceased peace of mind and to protect the living from themselves. Sometimes they expressed concern and feelings of grief and emptiness for the deceased. Some grave furnishings may have carried a range of information. The appropriate arrangement or complete absence of furnishings is a deliberate act or an unintended effect? Post-mortem concentration made any activity around the deceased much more difficult. There was a taboo that was strictly adhered to. The aforementioned procedures were in place from the Palaeolithic to modern times. In this paper, I focus on a few selected examples from different eras, which can testify to the use of mnemonic methods. I consider materials from the centenarians. They are placed in an appropriate cultural and historical context to fully demonstrate the cognitive and interpretative possibilities
Presenters
Patrycja GodlewskaStudent, PhD, Doctoral School in the Humanities, Theology and the Arts, Academia Artium Humaniorum Nicolaus Copernicus University, ToruĊ , Kujawsko-pomorskie, Poland
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
KEYWORDS
Archaeology, Mnemonics, Funeral Rites, Pathopsychology, Fear
