Abstract
The excavation of historic cemeteries often incorporates a variety of sources not available to prehistorians, including written documents, headstones, and oral history. One important source of information that is rarely included in these analyses is the performance of traditional narratives. The relocation of graves at the Albert J. Phillips Memorial Cemetery (41GV125), an AfricanAmerican burial locale in southeast Texas, provided numerous opportunities for interaction between archaeologists and members of the descendant community. The social context of these interactions and their contribution to understanding the archaeological record were the foci of this analysis. The contextual analysis of traditional narrative performances, including family and occupational lore, "catch questions" and other narratives related to the exhumation of graves at the site, demonstrated that the narratives reflected both past and present conflicts within the community and between community members and the archaeologists conducting the cemetery relocation. Recognition of the mnemonic-cognitive presence of historic cemeteries within descendent communities can enable archaeologists to further their understanding of dynamic historical processes and can enhance the accessibility of their research by making it relevant to the communities in which they work.
Powell, Leah Carson (1998). Folk narratives, archaeology, and descendant communities: a case study of the Albert J. Phillips Memorial Cemetery (41gv125), Galveston County, Texas. Master's thesis, Texas A&M University. Available electronically from
https : / /hdl .handle .net /1969 .1 /ETD -TAMU -1998 -THESIS -P69.