ABSTRACT
Tangible remains play an important role in our relationships with the dead; they are pivotal to how we remember, mourn and grieve. Cherished possessions can be passed down within families, while in other social contexts, the belongings of the dead are destroyed, as their continued presence makes it impossible to forget. Objects can stand in for the dead: monuments act both as substitute for and distraction from the decaying body below. Objects, and their role in the processes of grief and mourning, form the focus of this book.
In this introduction we set out the broader intellectual context for this book, and what it aims to achieve. First we offer a historiography of the anthropology and archaeology of funerary practices, before discussing the burgeoning awareness of the need for a proper consideration of the emotions. We then discuss recent theories about the agency of material objects. Our aim is to bring these themes, which are often pursued in isolation, into dialogue, to inform a deeper understanding of the specific roles played by objects in funerary contexts across historical and contemporary societies.
