Representations of childness: the memorialisation of children in the Australian cemetery 1836 – 2018

ABSTRACT

This paper explores the cultural conceptualisation of children’s social identity and status through memorialisation, based on the study of children’s grave markers and plots in five South Australian cemeteries (from colonisation to the present), with an age range from infant (including stillborn) to 20 years. The idea of childness, the differing conception of being or being labelled a child, was used as a measure to identify the degree of variation in child identity realised by child-only and family grave markers, showing both change and continuity in the representation of children through family choices of form, style, wording, motif, spatial arrangement and grave furniture. Archaeological evidence of childness was observed through representations of smallness, innocence, domesticity, play, temporality and the distinct emotional nature of the parent-child relationship. Notably in the latter period of study, within the context of lower child mortality, revised understandings of child identity and status were observed representing the social re-evaluation of prenatally deceased and stillborn children.

KEYWORDS:

• Cemeteries
• children
• childness
• identity
• memorialisation

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Correction Statement

This article has been corrected with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Stephen Muller

Stephen Muller is an archaeologist with a primary interest in the archaeology of death and burial, cemetery studies and the symbolism of cultural landscapes. He received his Ph.D from Flinders University. His career in archaeology has included teaching at Flinders, working as a consultant in the area of Australian First Nations cultural heritage management in different parts of Australia, and First Nations heritage work for the South Australian Government.