ABSTRACT

As humans, we live in a present shaped by our consciousness of the past. Our sense of the past exists in our memories-in our visual, auditory, and olfactory images and sensations. Athletes also speak of a “body memory” that allows them to carry out elaborate, fine-tuned sequences of action. But memory goes far beyond our minds and our bodies. Writing systems and, more recently, computer technologies store memory externally. Anthropologists speak of collective memories-particularly memories of traumas, such as the events of September 11-that are held by a group rather than being the property of an individual. Objects and places can also embody memory; most families have heirlooms that carry a memory and a direct connection to previous generations (Lillios 1999).