Gravestones, cemeteries, and memorial markers offer fixed points in time to examine Americans’ changing attitudes toward death and dying. In tracing the evolution of commemorative practices from the seventeenth century to the present, Sherene Baugher and Richard Veit offer insights into our transformation from a preindustrial and agricultural to an industrial, capitalist country.

Paying particular attention to populations often overlooked in the historical record, African Americans, Native Americans, and immigrant groups, the authors also address the legal, logistical, and ethical issues that confront field researchers who conduct cemetery excavations. Baugher and Veit reveal how gender, race, ethnicity, and class have shaped the cultural landscapes of burial grounds.

From the practices of historic period Native American groups to elite mausoleums, and from alms-house mass graves to the rise in popularity of green burials today, the authors provide an overview of the many facets of this fascinating topic.