 Consequentialist theory  Focuses on consequences of actions  Hard Universalist/Absolutist theory  The theory that one ought to maximize happiness and minimize the unhappiness of as many people as possible  Epicurus (341-270 B.C.E.) Greek philosopher who advocated a life free of pain  Coined the term utilitarianism  Believed that it is good for an action to have a utility (to make people happy)  Developed Hume’s theory of utility into a moral theory to reform the British legal system  Believed that all humans are hedonists  Developed Hedonistic Calculus  Calculates probable consequences of actions  Produces a rational solution to any problem  Rediscovered the paradox of hedonism  The more you search for pleasure, the more it will elude you  Refined Bentham’s theory  Higher and lower pleasures  Harm Principle  The only purpose of interfering with the life of someone is to prevent harm to others Act Utilitarianism  Always do whatever act that will create the greatest happiness for the greatest number of people  Only focuses on consequences of present decision  Always do whatever type of act (based on a rule) that will create the greatest happiness for the greatest number of people  Focuses on consequences of others applying that same rule Rule Utilitarianism CemeteryAnalysis Massachusetts has a unique archaeological resource in its many colonial graveyards. These contain a large number of precisely dated “artifacts” in the form of headstones and provide an opportunity for studies of the ways in which different aspects of British colonial and Euro- American culture have changed over time. For this assignment, you will visit a local cemetery of your choosing and use the headstones and other associated material culture to address questions aimed at understanding demographic, social, symbolic, or technological issues in the past. This assignment does not require any archaeological excavation, and your instructor and federal, state, and local laws expressly forbid you from doing any! The project also does not require you to do any additional background research, although you are welcome to do so. Please respect these cemeteries, the individuals buried therein, and any visitors you may encounter during your study. You must follow these steps: 1) Chooseagraveyardwithheadstonesdatingtothe1600s,1700s,or1800s. There are several good graveyards in downtown Boston and many more scattered around the city and suburbs. The downtown locations have been studied at length as they are all regularly served by the MBTA. Several “off-the-beaten-track” locations, such as the Tollgate Cemetery in Forest Hills, is also served by transit and has not been visited by my students in the past. While everyone has their own time pressures, I encourage to think .

1. minimize the unhappiness of as many people as
possible
-270 B.C.E.) Greek philosopher who
advocated a life free of pain
(to make people happy)
al theory
to reform the British legal system

2. edonism
you
is to prevent harm to others
Act Utilitarianism
that will create the
greatest happiness for
the greatest number of
people
consequences of present
decision

3. of act (based on a rule)
that will create the
greatest happiness for
the greatest number of
people
of others applying that
same rule
Rule Utilitarianism
CemeteryAnalysis
Massachusetts has a unique archaeological resource in its many
colonial graveyards. These contain a large number of precisely
dated “artifacts” in the form of headstones and provide an
opportunity for studies of the ways in which different aspects of
British colonial and Euro- American culture have
changed over time. For this assignment, you will visit a local
cemetery of your choosing and use the headstones and other
associated material culture to address questions aimed at
understanding demographic, social, symbolic, or technological
issues in the past. This assignment does not require any
archaeological excavation, and your instructor and federal,
state, and local laws expressly forbid you from doing any!
The project also does not require you to do any additional
background research, although you are welcome to do so. Please
respect these cemeteries, the individuals buried
therein, and any visitors you may encounter during your study.
You must follow these steps:
1)
Chooseagraveyardwithheadstonesdatingtothe1600s,1700s,or180

4. 0s. There are several good graveyards in downtown Boston and
many more scattered around the city and suburbs. The
downtown locations have been studied at length as they are all
regularly served by the MBTA. Several “off-the-beaten-
track” locations, such as the Tollgate Cemetery in Forest Hills,
is also served by transit and has not been visited by my students
in the past. While everyone has their own time pressures, I
encourage to think outside the downtown core and visit a site
which is not on every tourist route. Be sure to get permission if
the graveyard is not regularly open to the public. If you do not
know how to find an appropriate cemetery or do not have a
neighborhood one that you know about, try using these on-line
resources for finding cemeteries in
Massachusetts’s counties:
Massachusetts Cemetery Directory
https://www.mass-
doc.com/mass_cemetery_guide.htm
Interment.net: Cemetery Records Online
http://www.interment.net/us/ma/index.htm
D’Addezio.com: Directory of Cemeteries in the United States,
Canada, and Australia
http://www.daddezio.com/cemetery/junction/CJ-MA-NDX.html
I Dream of Archaeology: Massachusetts
Cemeteries
http://www.idreamof.com/cemetery/ma.html
2)
Collectinformationonatleast35stonesthatareclosetogether. Make
sure that each stone in your sample records a death
before 1900. Be sure that all the stones you select are
legible. Do not use widely separated burials plots.
Make a sketch map of the graveyard illustrating the location of

5. the 35 stones you have selected. Label each gravestone clearly
and identify any major features such as a church, gate, or
pathway. Your map should also denote the outer boundaries of
the graveyard.
1
Then record for each stone the information requested on the
attached data table, which is also available as an Excel
spreadsheet on Blackboard under “Course Materials” . Use the
sheet as your field data form but be sure to fill in a digital or
typed version when submitting the final version of this
assignment.
An overview on how to identify the most common type of
tombstones, materials, and symbols found on colonial era
graveyards in New England has been included with this
assignment. Please read it closely along with the article by
Edwin Dethlefsen and James Deetz (1966) and David E.
Stannard’s (1979) chapter on death and burial in Puritan New
England, which can be found on Blackboard (see “Course
Materials”). Reading these texts is required for the successful
completion of this assignment; it is expected that your finished
work will use elements of these articles to support your
assertions.
4)
Usethegravestonedatatoanswerthequestionsattheendofthishandou
t. Some quantification may be required.
Your final assignment must include:
(a) Typed responses to the questions about your data
(b) The sketch map (include your name, the date drawn, and the
name and location of the cemetery)
(c) A typed copy of the data table you completed in the field
(d) Photographs, digital photos, or other sketches of the area
and headstones (e) Any additional tables used to analyze your
findings (optional)

6. 2
AquickguidetoidentifyinggravestonesincolonialperiodNewEngla
ndcemeteries
For material type
Slate is fine-grained, breaks in flat sheets, and is usually black
or grey. Granite is coarse-grained and usually grey, white, or
pink – many curbstones in the Boston area are made of granite,
so look at them for an example. Marble is usually white, but is
sometimes pink or black, and often sparkles. Sandstone
is grainy and often brown or gray in color.
For design
Standard New England headstone designs include cherubs
(angels), winged death’s heads, and urn-and-willow images.
3
Figure1:Death'sHead
Figure2:Urn&Willow
Other variants and gradations exist such as crosses, hourglasses,
hearts, and doves, but these general guidelines will help you
describe what you see. You will undoubtedly also encounter
inscriptions of various sorts – such as poetry, sayings, Bible
verses – and you can include those in this column or in the
“Comments” section.
For type
You should use codes and terms that follow in your field and
data table.
Headstones (H) are the flat, usually thin, upright
monuments that are very common today and in the past.
Common shapes are provided below in an image.
Markers (M) are low monuments that can cover entire

7. graves (ledger), be rectangular (flat), have a metal plate
(plaque), or be in the shape of a book (book), scroll (scroll)
or tree stump (stump).
Obelisks (O) are narrow, often tall four-sided
monuments with pyramidal tops that look like the
Washington Monument in DC or the Egyptian obelisks you
may have seen.
Pedestals (P) are usually rectangular, boxy, and
decorative with panels and sometimes statues on the
top.
Crosses (C) are obvious, but they may be Celtic, Latin,
rustic, etc.
Sarcophagus (S) refers to the box-like structures with
bodies buried inside, while
mausoleum (M) refers to buildings large enough to
walk into.
Other (O) monuments you might encounter can be
described as you see fit, and you can do this in the “comments”
section of the table. Please see the common headstone shapes
below:
Professor Nedra Lee
ANTH 107—Introduction to Archaeology
Commonheadstonetypes
4
Dataanalysisquestions
1. Identify the name of the graveyard that you visited. In 5 to 7
sentences, briefly summarize the history of the cemetery. Note
the years when it was in use and list the names of any notable
figures buried in the graveyard. State whether the graveyard is

8. associated with a particular ethnic or racial group or a
military, municipal, or religious institution. Describe how the
cemetery is currently used.
2. List the three most common types of material or stone used
for the grave markers in your sample. Please indicate any
evidence of preferred materials changing over time. For
example, gravestones of the colonial period are often of slate,
whereas nineteenth century markers often use sandstone.
3. Did the graves made of these types of material or stone show
any evidence or signs of weathering? If yes, describe the
signs of weathering observed (i.e. chipping, flaking, fracturing,
the growth of moss or lichen, dissolution of text or actual
material).
• What types of material or stone showed the greatest evidence
of weathering or erosion?
4. What was the most common type of grave marker (i.e.
headstone, obelisk, pedestal) represented in your
sample? How many markers of this type did you observe? What
percentage of the markers you observed were of this type?
5. What was the least common type of marker (i.e. headstone,
obelisk, pedestal) represented in your sample of 35 tombstones?
Indicate the number and percentage of markers of this type that
you observed.
6. What were the oldest and newest grave markers that you
recorded?
7. What was the average age of death for the people in your
sample? How did this number differ for males and females?
How do these numbers differ from the average ages of death by
sex
today?
• How many children’s headstones did you encounter in your
survey of 35 tombstones?
8. Based on the death dates observed in your sample, were
certain seasons or years particularly deadly for people? Why do
you think this was the case? Can death dates be seen to cluster
around events such as the Boston Smallpox Epidemic of 1721 or

9. Boston Cholera outbreak of 1849?
9. How many different symbols did you encounter in your
survey of the cemetery? List each type of symbol you observed
and indicate the number of times you observed each symbol.
10. Make a timeline that identifies the range of usage for the
three most commonly observed symbols in your sample.
• What do these symbols suggest about changing attitudes
towards death?
5
image2.png
image3.png
image1.png
Main DataYour Name:Cemetery Name:Cemetery
Location:BiographyDemographyGravestone DesignAdditional
InformationSurnameFirst Name(s)SexBirth DateDeath
DateAgeTypeShapeSizeMaterialConditionDesignComments1234
56789101112131415161718192021222324252627282930313233
3435Birth / Death Date =mm/dd/yyyySize =small, large, etc.
(just be sure to define what you mean by those
categories)Material =slate (dark, platy texture), granite (gray or
dark, rough texture), marble (light, uniform texture), sandstone
(brown or gray, sandy texture)Type =H (headstone), M
(marker), O (obelisk), P (pedestal), C (cross), S (sarcophagus),
X (mausoleum)Shape =for headstones: see image; for markers:
ledger, flat, plaque, scroll, book, stump
Graphs
—theory of moral duty
niversalist theory

10. good will
what we are inclined to do
sed on intentions
become universal law
rule/universal law?
gic and
all react rationally, we will come to the
same moral and intellectual

11. conclusions.
talking about consequences
duties
en duty and inclination
4. Who is rational?
and that our brains work essentially the
same way
5. Does not allow for exceptions
even if the consequences
are horrible

12. to an end
reason