Here's the situation...

Ok so imagine I were to die an untimely death tomorrow night in my apartment. I"m just hanging out, munching on some wine gums and watching a new episode of Archer when BAM! I've spilt water all over my laptop which is plugged into the wall. In my rushed and sloppy attempt to save my computer I end up electrocuting myself. My last breath is exhaled as the thought "Ah shit, this is how its gonna be" crosses my mind.

I'm dead.

Ok so far so good. Now I'm trying to play with the idea of what my parents would choose in terms of material items to represent my short life in grave goods.

I'm betting my mother will choose my most prized possession (a feminist power pin that was given to me as a baby by one my mother's hard core second wave feminist friends) as an ode to my feminist ambitions and politics.

 

(This is what it looks like but on a pin.)

She will probably choose this in a grief stricken attempt to not only please my feisty spirit but to also cherish our feminist bond. After all, it was my mother who first helped guide me along my political awakening rooted in feminism. 

My father, on the other hand, will most likely choose a basketball. Yes, a rubber ball perfectly signifies my relationship with my father. It was basketball that helped bond and strengthen my relationship with my father. It was an activity that we spent hours doing. An activity that was just ours. And it was through basketball that my father taught me how to accept criticism and failure. This is how I imagine he will want to represent our relationship and my spirit. 

Now imagine... it's thousands of years later. Future archaeologists are digging up my grave (because despite my last post, if I die before I get a chance to make my will then my parents have full reign over my funeral and burial). Based on these two grave goods, chosen by my parents, I'm a 100% positive that their archaeological interpretation will not capture the complexity behind these material remains. The history of my relationships with both of my parents and the history of my own life are far too intangible to be illustrated in the archaeological record. Especially as they relate to human choices involving such an emotional experience as death. 

As much as archaeological theory keeps evolving and creating a more nuanced discussion of mortuary practices, I don't think we will ever know for sure. And maybe this is exactly the fun of archaeology. The endless possibilites and the endless chances to be the one who got it right.