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AGS Members have a variety of interests--genealogy, history, folk art, religion, commemorative art, historic preservation, anthropology-and some members just like the ambiance of cemeteries and enjoy walking through them on a balmy afternoon.

What is the meaning of the designs carved on old gravestones?  This question is often asked by both the interested layman and the serious student of gravestone art.  A great deal of casual speculation and considerable scholarly research have been devoted to finding answers. 

Speculative interpretations of some of the more obvious designs can safely be made by the insightful observer.  The winged hourglass, for example, tells us that time flies; the hourglass on its side, that time has stopped for the deceased; the broken flower or tree, that life has been cut short. Hundreds of other designs invite this kind of easy, simplistic interpretation, and a number of lists have been prepared which suggest to the reader what the symbol probably means.  The best of these is included in a handsome book of gravestone photographs by Francis Duval and Ivan Rigby, Early American Gravestone Art in Photographs.

Unfortunately, not all designs on gravestones can be interpreted in such a neat, uncomplicated way, and attempts to do so are fraught with the likelihood of error.  Professional scholars disagree sharply about the meaning of particular designs; they even debate the extent to which it is possible to determine their meaning and significance.  This healthy persity of opinion stimulates interest and further study.

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