Infant and Child Graves at Ross Bay Cemetery

Our monument analysis assignment led us to Ross Bay cemetery, where we decided to take a look at infant and child graves. In my experience, coming across graves of young individuals triggers such a feeling of sadness as well as gratitude for my health. Throughout our visit to the cemetery, we kept asking "why?". How did these infants and children die? Was it illness, disaster, murder? In some cases, it appeared as though as whole families died at similar times. This led us to formulate three potential research questions:


1)  Is there a noticeable difference in the ornamentation on the graves of children compared to the graves of infants? Is one type more elaborate than the other?
2)  Is there a pattern for which children and infants are buried with their parents? Is it mostly infants or mostly children that are buried this way? Is there a specific time period when this is most common?
3)  Some headstones have clearly been changed or altered since they were first erected. Is there a pattern for which tombstones have been replaced?


While I won't be answering all the above questions in this blog post, I will be taking a look at what fascinates me most about these questions and see how they associate to the monuments we looked at. We looked at a total of 16 monuments, which was quite thorough but did not provide quite enough evidence to draw firm conclusions for our questions. However, those 16 monuments did provide a nice base for discussion and analysis. We considered 0 months-2 years to be an infant, and 2 years-10 years to be a child.
Let the analysis begin!


Here is a look at our Google Map...



View Anth 392 Assignment - Monument Analysis in a larger map 


 1) Children Versus Infant Graves


From our somewhat random selection of graves, 7 were single children graves, 6 were single infant graves and 3 were a combination of infants and children. We thought we would notice that infant graves would be less ornamented, as perhaps the parents would have had less time to get to know them. Child graves, we imagined, would be more ornamented and "personal".
Contrary to our predictions, there were no noticeable differences in the ornamentation of children versus infant graves within our small sample. In my opinion, the monuments were more so a reflection of the wealth and time investment of the family who buried them rather than a reflection of the individual's age.
For example, the grave of D.B. Campbell (17 months) was very elaborate, and is comparable (in terms of detail) to the graves of Dottie Robertson (5 years) and Leila J.E. Engelhardt (9 years, 10 months).

         Grave of D.B. Campbell - 17 months

       Grave of Dottie Robertson - 5 years

Grave of Leila J.E. Engelhardt - 9 years, 10 months

2) Presence of Parents


Six of the 16 monuments did not have parents or relatives mentioned on the graves, nor were they buried in close proximity to other noticeable family members. For example, the grave of Mary Anne Bryant:

" In

 Memory of

Mary Anne Bryant 

Born Honolulu Hai.

April 17. 1885

Died Nov. 30. 1893
---------
Asleep in Jesus "

Other graves seemed to be family burials, where many family members had all passed away and were included on one single grave. This was the case with the Anderson Family grave, which lists the passing of a 57 year old male, a 39 year old female and their children, one aged 4 years and the other 4 months. 

IN MEMORY 

OF
HENRY ANDERSON
BORN JUNE 28, 1845
DIED DEC 11, 1902
SARAH CAMERON
WIFE OF H. ANDERSON
BORN NOV 8, 1851
DIED FEB 2 1890
H. ANDERSON
SON OF H & S ANDERSON
BORN JAN 23, 1879
BORN JAN 23, 1883
M. V. ANDERSON
DAUGHTER OF
H & S ANDERSON
BORN JUNE 4, 1888
DIED SEPT 26, 1888

3) Replacement and Modification of the Graves

Without further research or documentation, it is very hard to determine which graves have been replaced or moved and which have not. I can, however, take my best guess based on observation. 

For example, it can be inferred that the grave of Taketo Osawa and Genkichi Osawa was replaced, as it was in excellent condition considering they died in 1910 and 1913. 

Child of Genkichi Osawa
November 10 1910
Taketo Osawa
Died Age 2 May 9 1913 

Something else I found interesting was that we could see what appeared to be earth marks on some of the graves. It was as if they were directly in the ground before, and have been moved up onto another piece of stone. Perhaps they had sunk/shifted in the ground? A great example of this was the grave of M.J. Gerow. You can see what we think may have been the soil line at the bottom from where it had been in the earth previously: 

M. J. Gerow
Died
July 7, 1887
Aged 6 years
(unknown) (unknown) children
to come unto me


There is a lot of further research that could be done at Ross Bay Cemetery involving infant and child graves. A larger sample size may have helped in allowing us to identify trends. All in all, it was a fascinating project to do. It was my first time going to Ross Bay Cemetery and it is a genuinely neat place. I will certainly be going back in the future to dip my feet into the past and put my life into perspective. 

The Moai of Easter Island

When I was quite young, before learning anything about archaeology and anthropology, large monuments created by ancient people baffled me. How could these amazing things be created by people who are less advanced than we are now? How did they carve stone and build mounds without modern tools?


I have since learned that (obviously) ancient people were not "dumb", and that I should never doubt the power of time and powerful leaders to get stuff done. Case in point: the Moai of Easter Island. As I learned from PBS, 887 of these stone monuments were made, with the largest statue standing at nearly 72 feet tall. I would love to be able to see these Moai in person to be able to grasp how enormous these things are. I think that when you have the opportunity to see a massive monument, things are put into perspective. The thought of the sheer size and the time investment that must have been put into the Moai makes me feel humbled, and reminds me that there is so much more to existence than our modern tools and buildings.

Source

Alternative Funerary Practices

It has never crossed my mind that there would be alternatives to the standard funerary practices. After we discussed "green" burials yesterday in class, I was intrigued and almost relieved that we may not have to be pin-holed into one or two ways of disposing our bodies after death. 

This is why, after watching Jae Rhim Lee's TED talk about mushroom burials, I was floored! This is genius! Her talk really raised my awareness about how cremation can be detrimental for the environment, as well as how many nasty chemicals are being pumped into the bodies of the deceased. She also brought up an interesting point which has kept me thinking since I watched the video: the way that our culture uses formaldehyde and other preservatives as well as makeup to preserve and present bodies is a testament to our denial of death. How can our funerary methods help us to come to terms with the fact that we're dying? It's hard to think of dying (understatement of the century?). There is no doubt about that. But, somehow, I feel more at peace knowing that there are natural options available and that even more are likely being created (such is the case with Jae Rhim Lee). It is a pleasant thought for me to think that my dead body can go through it's natural processes of decomposing, and be fed back into the earth. 

After watching the video, I did a little research. I came across many inventive ways to use human ashes. Unfortunately these methods do not provide alternatives to cremation itself, however they still are interesting. One that caught my eye was a company called Eternal Reefs , which blends human ashes into reef balls. These reef balls are then lowered into the sea and provide habitat for many coral reefs and fish, therefore enriching the ecosystem. I think that this is a really neat and symbolic idea, and the way that they phrase it on their website really sums it up nicely: "We believe that the greatest celebration of life is to provide the opportunity for new life."

                                       Source: http://www.eternalreefs.com/about/gallery.html

Relating to the people we're reading about

One of the reasons that I like archaeology and anthropology is because it gives us a chance to learn more about others from the past and apply these learnings to our own lives. Usually, it is quite easy to draw comparisons between what we study and ourselves, but other times it seems almost impossible.
Reading "Funeral of a Rus' " this week really got me thinking about this. I feel like it is so hard to relate to the people and actions described in the reading. Why on earth would they kill horses, a rooster, hens and slave girl in the most gruesome fashion? Assuming that the account given by Ibn Fadland is true and accurate, I feel like these people are a different species from myself and the people I know today.
I know that it can be unfair to judge other people's actions if you aren't in the same frame of mind as they are. It is impossible to know the exact motives and reasonings of a culture unless you have lived in the culture yourself.
Still, I can't help but attempt to draw comparisons between myself and what I'm learning. I guess with a perspective like mine, I have to accept that I'll be surprised and challenged in my effort to see how we're all connected.

Introduction

Hello ANTH 392 classmates! I have to admit that I'm not all that savvy when it comes to blogs, although I do read one or two on a constant basis. I never really envisioned having a blog of my own, but now I do... and it's about death, nonetheless! It's been nice reading many people's comments and knowing that I'm not the only "newbie" to the blogging world. It will be a new adventure for many of us!


I'm currently in my third year, although it is my first at Uvic. I'm a visiting student from the University of Calgary, and I'm doing a BSc in Anthropology (focus in primatology) and a minor in Biology. I love Victoria (it's like one, huge outdoor playground!) and so far I have been delighted with all the courses I have taken here.


I look forward to enjoying this course and getting to know many of you!

I am very interested in primatology. What's not to love! Source