Cemetery Unit Study and Meeting Plan
Ready to earn your Cemetery Badge? Cemeteries are one of the most overlooked historical resources in any community. The names, dates, and symbols carved into stone record who lived in a place, what they believed, and what mattered to them. Walk through an old cemetery with some basic knowledge, and you’ll find yourself reading local history that doesn’t exist anywhere else. In this unit study, you’ll visit a cemetery, learn how to read the markers you find there, explore how different cultures honor their dead, and discover what these peaceful places can teach us about history, family, and the passage of time. This study pairs well with badges such as Genealogy, U.S. History, Photography, Archaeology, and Veterans.
1. What Is a Cemetery?
A cemetery is a place set aside for burying the dead. The word comes from the Greek word koimeterion, meaning “sleeping place.” Cemeteries have been a part of human communities for thousands of years, and they look very different depending on the culture, religion, and time period that shaped them.
Most cemeteries are made up of individual graves, each marked with some kind of headstone, footstone, or grave marker. A headstone stands at the head of a grave and typically includes the person’s name, birth year, and death year. Many also include a short phrase, a symbol, or a design that reflects the person’s faith, personality, or profession. A footstone, when present, marks the foot of the grave and often shows just the person’s initials.
Cemeteries can be owned and operated by several different types of organizations. Many are associated with churches or other religious institutions and sit on land owned by that congregation. Others are municipal cemeteries, owned and maintained by a city or county. Some are privately owned and operated as businesses. Veterans’ cemeteries are a special category—these are maintained by the federal or state government and are reserved for those who served in the military. You’ll learn more about those in a later activity.
The closest cemetery to your home may be a small churchyard with only a few dozen graves, or a large city cemetery with thousands. Both have stories worth reading.
To Do: Visit your local cemetery. Walk through it and look at the headstones. Find the oldest grave you can locate. Write down the person’s name and calculate how old they were when they died. Sketch or photograph two or three headstones that catch your attention—look for interesting shapes, symbols, or inscriptions. When you get home, talk about what you noticed. What did the stones tell you about the people buried there?
Fulfills Preschool requirement #1*
2. How to Act in a Cemetery
Cemeteries are unlike most public places. They are quiet, often beautiful, and deeply meaningful to the families who visit them. A grave is not just a historical marker—it may be where someone comes to grieve, to remember a parent or child, or to feel close to someone they loved. Treating a cemetery with respect means recognizing that the space matters to real people, even when no one else is around.
Good cemetery etiquette is straightforward and easy to follow:
- Keep your voice low and your behavior calm. Running and loud play are not appropriate.
- Never sit or step on a grave or lean on a headstone. Walk between the graves carefully.
- Do not touch, move, or take anything left on a grave—flowers, flags, mementos, or stones placed on top of a marker are left there intentionally.
- If you see a grave that has tipped or been damaged, report it to the cemetery office rather than trying to fix it yourself.
- Follow any posted rules about hours, pets, or vehicle access.
- If someone is visiting a nearby grave, give them space and privacy.
Some visitors place small stones on top of a headstone when they visit. This is a Jewish tradition that has spread more broadly over time—it signals that someone came, that the person is remembered, and that the grave is being tended. If you see small stones stacked on a marker, you’ll know someone was there.
To Do: Before your cemetery visit—or as part of a discussion at home—go through the etiquette points above and talk about why each one matters. Then practice them on your next visit. Older participants: write your own brief guide to cemetery etiquette that you could hand to a younger child before a visit.
Fulfills Preschool requirement #2*
3. Reading Headstones
A headstone is more than a name and two dates. Once you know what to look for, a cemetery visit becomes a kind of puzzle—each marker offers clues about who the person was, what they believed, and when they lived. The symbols carved into stone were often chosen carefully by families who wanted to say something lasting.
Here are some of the most common symbols you may find and what they typically mean:
- Anchor – Hope, or a connection to the sea or Navy.
- Broken column – A life cut short before its time.
- Cross – Christian faith. Different cross styles reflect different denominations.
- Dove – Peace, purity, or the soul rising to heaven.
- Draped urn – Mourning and death, common in Victorian-era stones.
- Hand pointing upward – The soul ascending to heaven.
- Hands clasped – Farewell between the living and the dead, or marriage.
- Lamb – Innocence; commonly used on children’s graves.
- Laurel wreath – Victory or honor.
- Oak leaves or acorns – Strength and longevity.
- Sleeping figure or closed eyes – Rest; the idea of death as peaceful sleep.
- Star of David – Jewish faith.
- Willow tree – Grief and mourning, very common in 18th and 19th century stones.
Stones also show changes in fashion and material over time. Very old stones from the 1700s were often made of sandstone or slate and may be so worn they are hard to read. Marble became popular in the 1800s. Granite, which is more durable and weather-resistant, became standard in the 20th century. In veterans’ cemeteries, you will also see flat government-issued markers, which are uniform in size and shape and include the person’s branch of service.
To Do: Visit a cemetery and find at least three headstones with symbols on them. Use the list above to identify what each symbol means. Record your findings in a notebook—draw the symbol, write what it means, and note the approximate date of the stone. Can you spot any patterns? Are certain symbols more common in older or newer sections of the cemetery? Did you find any symbols you did not recognize? Research them and find out what they usually mean.
Fulfills Level 1 requirement #1*
4. Where Are Cemeteries and Who Owns Them?
Cemeteries don’t end up where they are by accident. Their locations reflect the history, religion, and laws of the communities that built them—and understanding that can tell you a lot about the area where you live.
In early American communities, cemeteries were almost always attached to a church. If a congregation built a church, they typically set aside land nearby for burials. This is why churchyard cemeteries are common in older towns, particularly in the Northeast. As towns grew larger and more diverse, municipalities began setting aside separate public land for cemeteries not connected to any one church. The rural cemetery movement of the mid-1800s popularized the idea of large, park-like cemeteries on the edges of cities—places designed to be pleasant enough that families would visit regularly. Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge, Massachusetts, opened in 1831, was one of the first and most influential examples.
Today, cemeteries may be owned by a church or religious organization, a city or county government, a nonprofit organization, a private company, or the federal government (in the case of national cemeteries). Some historic family cemeteries on private land are still in use or protected by preservation agreements.
To Do: Find out who owns the cemetery nearest your home. You can often find this information on a sign at the entrance, by calling the office, or by searching online. Is it a church cemetery, a municipal cemetery, or something else? Then look at a map of your town or county and see how many cemeteries you can find. Are they spread out, or clustered in certain areas? Talk about why you think they ended up where they did.
Fulfills Level 1 requirement #2*
5. The History of Cemeteries
People have been burying their dead with care and intention for a very long time. The history of cemeteries stretches back tens of thousands of years and reflects how human understanding of death, community, and the afterlife has changed across cultures and centuries.
Here is a brief timeline of how cemeteries developed:
- Prehistoric times – Archaeological evidence shows that Neanderthals buried their dead as early as 60,000 years ago, sometimes with flowers or tools placed alongside the body. Early Homo sapiens burial sites suggest intentional arrangement and ritual.
- Ancient Egypt (3100–30 BCE) – Egyptians developed elaborate burial practices including mummification and pyramid tombs. The dead were buried with goods believed necessary for the afterlife. Burial was reserved for those who could afford it; common people were often buried in simple pits in the desert sand.
- Ancient Greece and Rome – Greeks and Romans typically cremated the dead or buried them outside city walls, as laws often prohibited burial within city limits. Romans built elaborate roadside tombs along major roads outside cities like Rome.
- Early Christian era (100–600 CE) – Christians preferred burial over cremation, believing in bodily resurrection. Burial in or near churches became common. The word “cemetery” itself comes from this era—from the Greek used by early Christians to describe their burial grounds.
- Medieval Europe (500–1500 CE) – Churchyards became the standard burial place in Europe. Being buried close to the church building was considered more sacred; wealthy families paid for burial inside the church itself.
- 18th–19th century – As cities grew, overcrowded churchyards became a public health problem. Many European cities began requiring burials in municipal cemeteries outside city limits. The garden or rural cemetery movement created park-like burial grounds designed for both the dead and the living.
- American Civil War (1861–1865) – The massive scale of battlefield deaths led to the creation of the first national cemeteries. Gettysburg National Cemetery, dedicated in 1863, is one of the most well-known.
- 20th–21st century – Lawn-style cemeteries with flat markers became common for easier maintenance. Cremation increased significantly. Green or natural burial options, where bodies are buried without embalming or vaults, have grown in popularity as an environmentally minded alternative.
To Do: Using the timeline above as a starting point, create your own timeline of cemetery history. You can draw it on a long strip of paper, make a folded booklet, or design it however works best for you. Add at least one drawing or image for each era. Older participants should add additional research to expand on any two or three entries that interest them most.
Need ideas for making fun timelines? Check out our blog 9 Fun Timelines to Make History Come Alive
Fulfills Level 2 requirement #2*
6. Cemeteries Around the World
Walk into a cemetery in Japan, Mexico, or West Africa, and you will find something that looks very different from what most Americans are used to. The way a culture cares for its dead reflects its deepest beliefs about life, death, family, and what comes after. Not every culture uses cemeteries at all—and even among those that do, the practices vary widely.
Here is a look at several burial traditions from around the world:
- Mexico – Día de los Muertos: Many Mexican families maintain graves as active gathering places. On the Day of the Dead (November 1–2), families decorate graves with marigolds, candles, food, and photos of the deceased and spend the night there in celebration and remembrance. The atmosphere is festive rather than somber.
- Japan – Buddhist and Shinto traditions: Japanese cemeteries are often attached to Buddhist temples. Graves are typically marked with a vertical stone tablet inscribed with the person’s posthumous Buddhist name. Family graves are maintained carefully and visited regularly, with offerings of incense, water, and flowers.
- Ghana – Fantasy coffins: In the Ga culture of southern Ghana, the dead are sometimes buried in elaborately carved and painted coffins shaped like objects that reflect the deceased’s life—a fish for a fisherman, a plane for a frequent traveler, a cob of corn for a farmer. The coffins are considered a celebration of life.
- Tibet – Sky burial: In Tibetan Buddhist tradition, the body is returned to nature after death by being placed on a mountaintop and left for birds of prey. This practice reflects Buddhist beliefs about the impermanence of the body and the importance of giving to other living things. Because of this, traditional Tibetan culture does not use cemeteries.
- Indonesia – Toraja people: The Torajan people of Sulawesi hold elaborate multi-day funeral ceremonies and bury their dead in caves or rocky cliffs. Effigies called tau tau—carved wooden figures meant to represent the deceased—are placed outside the burial site to watch over the living.
- Jewish tradition: Jewish law traditionally requires burial in the ground, without embalming, in a simple wooden coffin so the body can return to the earth. Gravestones are typically simple. Visitors place small stones on top of a grave marker rather than flowers. Cemeteries are considered sacred and are maintained carefully.
- Islamic tradition: Islamic burial involves washing the body, wrapping it in white cloth, and burying it as soon as possible—usually within 24 hours. Graves face Mecca. Markers are typically simple, as Islam discourages elaborate monuments. Cremation is not permitted.
To Do: Choose two burial traditions from the list above—or find one that is not listed—and compare them to what you have observed in your local cemetery. Create a venn diagram showing the similarities and differences. Then discuss: why do you think burial practices matter so much to people? What does the way a culture treats its dead tell you about what that culture values? Click the image below to download a printable PDF.
Fulfills Level 3 requirement #2*
7. National Cemeteries
There is a category of cemetery in the United States that was created specifically because of war—and because of the belief that those who died in service to their country deserved a particular kind of honor. National cemeteries have a distinct look and feel: rows of identical white markers, immaculately maintained grounds, and a sense of order that reflects military tradition.
The U.S. national cemetery system was established during the Civil War, when the scale of battlefield deaths made clear that there was no organized system for burying soldiers. Congress passed legislation in 1862 authorizing the purchase of land for national cemeteries, and 73 had been established by the end of the war.
Today, the Department of Veterans Affairs operates 155 national cemeteries in 42 states and Puerto Rico, and the Department of the Army oversees 32 more, including Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia. Together they hold the graves of veterans from every American war, including the Revolutionary War.
Generally, any veteran discharged under other than dishonorable conditions — along with their spouse and dependent children — is eligible for burial. The VA provides the headstone or marker at no cost. Arlington is the most visited, with more than 400,000 buried there, including presidents, astronauts, and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, which is guarded every hour of every day of the year.
To Do: If there is a national or state veterans’ cemetery near your home, try to visit it. Notice how it looks different from a private or municipal cemetery. Walk through and compare it to the local cemetery you explored earlier in this study. Notice the markers — are they uniform or varied? What information do they include that a standard headstone might not? Look for markers from different wars and see how far back you can find. If you cannot visit in person, use Google Earth or the VA’s national cemetery locator at cem.va.gov to explore one virtually. Older participants: research Wreaths Across America and discuss how the program connects to national cemeteries.
Fulfills Level 4 requirement #2*
8. What Cemeteries Tell Us About Local History
A local cemetery is one of the best history books you will ever find—and most of the information in it is free and open to anyone willing to walk through and pay attention. The names, dates, and patterns you find in a cemetery reflect the real history of the community around it: who came, when they came, what hardships they faced, and who they were.
Clusters of graves from the same year may mark an epidemic, a mine disaster, a flood, or a war. A section of very small stones indicates a time when childhood illness was common. A section with graves labeled in a language other than English tells you when and from where immigrants arrived. The age at death on older stones often shows that life expectancy was much shorter in earlier centuries—you may find many people who died in their twenties and thirties from illnesses that are now preventable or treatable.
Many cemeteries also reflect segregation. In communities across the American South—and in some Northern towns as well—there were separate cemeteries for Black and white residents well into the 20th century. Some of those separate sections still exist within the same cemetery grounds today. Recognizing this is an important part of reading a cemetery honestly.
To Do: Visit your local cemetery with a notebook. Walk through and collect the following information from at least 20 graves: name, birth year, death year, and age at death. Record your data in a simple chart. Then look for patterns. Were there years with many deaths clustered together? What was the average age at death for people born before 1900 compared to those born after 1950? Are there sections of the cemetery that look noticeably different from others? What does the cemetery tell you about the history of your community?
Click the image below to download a printable PDF.
Fulfills optional requirement #3 and #4
9. Headstone Materials and Designs
The material a headstone is made from tells you something about when it was made, where it was made, and how much the family could afford to spend. Some stones have survived for 300 years and are still readable. Others from the same era have crumbled beyond recognition. Understanding why helps you appreciate what goes into making a lasting marker.
Here is a guide to the most common headstone materials:
- Sandstone and slate (1600s–early 1800s) – These were the most common materials in early American cemeteries. Sandstone weathers relatively quickly and may be hard to read. Slate is more durable and holds carved detail well; you can often still read slate stones from the 1700s. Both materials were locally available in many parts of the country.
- Marble (1800s–early 1900s) – White marble became popular in the 19th century because it was associated with classical ideals of beauty and permanence. However, marble is actually quite soft and weathers poorly in acidic rain. Many marble stones from the 1800s are now illegible.
- Granite (late 1800s–present) – Granite is extremely hard and weather-resistant. As quarrying and transportation technology improved in the late 1800s, granite became the dominant headstone material. It holds both carved and etched designs well and maintains legibility for hundreds of years. It comes in a range of colors including gray, black, pink, and red.
- Bronze – Bronze markers are often used as flat grave markers set flush with the ground, particularly in lawn-style cemeteries. Veterans’ cemeteries use bronze markers for many grave identifications. Bronze is durable but will develop a greenish patina over time.
- Wood – Wooden markers were used in early cemeteries, particularly by those who could not afford stone, or in frontier settings where stone was unavailable. Very few survive because wood decays. Some graves that appear unmarked may once have had wooden markers.
To Do: In the cemetery you have been visiting, try to find examples of at least three different headstone materials. Look at the condition of each—how readable is the inscription? How detailed is the carving? Feel the surface if appropriate. Create a simple comparison chart listing the material, approximate age, current condition, and any design details you notice. Optional: research grave rubbing and, if permitted by the cemetery, try making a rubbing from a stone with an interesting design. You will need thin paper and a crayon or charcoal. Make sure to get permission before doing any rubbings.
Click the image below to download a printable PDF.
Fulfills optional requirement #5
10. Mausoleums and Crypts
Not everyone is buried underground. Some of the most striking structures in older cemeteries are mausoleums—freestanding buildings designed to hold the remains of one person or an entire family. The word comes from Mausolus, a ruler of ancient Caria (in present-day Turkey) whose tomb was so grand it became one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.
A mausoleum is an above-ground building that contains burial chambers. Family mausoleums were common in American and European cemeteries from the mid-1800s through the early 1900s, particularly for wealthy families. They range from small stone structures the size of a garden shed to elaborate marble buildings with stained glass windows, carved columns, and bronze doors.
A crypt is a burial chamber—it may be inside a mausoleum, beneath a church floor, or cut into a rock face. The term is sometimes used interchangeably with mausoleum, but technically a crypt is the chamber itself rather than the building around it. Catacombs are an extended version of the same idea—networks of underground tunnels used for burial, most famously in Rome and Paris. The Catacombs of Paris hold the remains of more than six million people, relocated there from overcrowded Parisian cemeteries in the 18th century.
Some famous mausoleums from around the world:
- Taj Mahal, India – Built between 1632 and 1653 by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan for his wife Mumtaz Mahal. It took approximately 20,000 workers more than 20 years to complete. The Taj Mahal is considered one of the finest examples of Mughal architecture and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
- Lenin’s Mausoleum, Moscow, Russia – Built in 1924 following the death of Vladimir Lenin. His preserved body is displayed inside. The structure sits in Red Square.
- Grant’s Tomb, New York City – The largest mausoleum in North America, containing the remains of President Ulysses S. Grant and his wife Julia. It is maintained by the National Park Service.
To Do: Look for a mausoleum in the cemetery you have been studying—many older or larger cemeteries have at least one. Sketch or photograph it and describe what you observe: what material is it made of, what decorative details can you see, and how does it differ from the standard grave markers around it? If your local cemetery has none, look up images of one of the famous mausoleums listed above. Then discuss: why do you think some families chose above-ground burial structures instead of underground graves?
Fulfills optional requirement #7
11. Choosing a Famous Cemetery
Some cemeteries have become historical sites in their own right—not just because of who is buried there, but because of the stories those burials tell about American and world history. Visiting or studying a famous cemetery is a way to connect biography, history, and place in a concrete, meaningful way.
Here are a few notable cemeteries worth exploring:
- Arlington National Cemetery, Virginia – Home to over 400,000 graves including presidents John F. Kennedy and William Howard Taft, civil rights leader Medgar Evers, astronaut Gus Grissom, and thousands of soldiers from every American war. The Changing of the Guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier takes place every hour on the hour.
- Mount Auburn Cemetery, Cambridge, Massachusetts – Opened in 1831, it was the first garden cemetery in the United States. Buried there are Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Winslow Homer, Buckminster Fuller, and Mary Baker Eddy. It is also a well-known bird-watching site during migration season.
- Père Lachaise Cemetery, Paris, France – One of the most visited cemeteries in the world. Buried there are writer Oscar Wilde, composer Frédéric Chopin, painter Camille Pissarro, and singer Édith Piaf. The cemetery was opened in 1804 and covers 110 acres.
- Boothill Graveyard, Tombstone, Arizona – A small frontier cemetery dating to the 1880s where many of the town’s earliest residents—including those killed in the famous gunfight near the O.K. Corral—are buried. The informal markers and handwritten inscriptions give it a very different character from formal cemeteries.
To Do: Choose one of the cemeteries listed above, or find a different famous cemetery that interests you. Research two people buried there. For each person, write a short biography that includes who they were, what they did, and why they are worth remembering. Then write a sentence or two about why you chose that particular person from among all the people buried there.
Fulfills optional requirement #10
12. Vocabulary of Death and Burial
There is a whole vocabulary used in funeral homes, cemeteries, and religious traditions around death and burial—and knowing the terms helps you understand what you are seeing and hearing. Many of these words come from Latin or Greek and have been in use for centuries.
- Casket – A box in which a body is buried. Technically different from a coffin (which tapers at the shoulders and feet); caskets have four straight sides and a hinged lid.
- Ossuary – A container or room where skeletal remains are kept, often after a grave has been cleared to make room for other burials.
- Crypt – An underground or above-ground burial chamber, often beneath a church or inside a mausoleum.
- Mausoleum – A freestanding building designed to house one or more burial chambers above ground.
- Urn – A container that holds cremated remains (ashes).
- Columbarium – A structure with small niches designed to hold urns containing cremated remains. Found in cemeteries, churches, and some standalone facilities.
- Niche – A single compartment within a columbarium designed to hold an urn.
- Crematory / Crematorium – The facility where cremation takes place. The furnace itself is called a retort.
- Interment – The burial of a body in the ground.
- Inurnment – The placement of cremated remains into an urn.
- Entombment – Placement of a body (or urn) in a mausoleum or crypt above ground.
- Disinterment – The removal of a body from a grave, typically for identification, relocation, or investigation.
- Re-interment – The re-burial of a body after disinterment.
- Biodegradable urn – An urn made of natural materials designed to break down over time, often used for burial at sea or in the ground in a natural burial setting.
- Scattering garden – A designated area in a cemetery or memorial park where cremated remains can be scattered.
To Do: Play Cemetery Jeopardy to learn the vocabulary. Print the full game with questions and answers using the button below. Or create a vocabulary matching game using index cards or slips of paper. Write each term on one card and its definition on another. Mix them up and match them.
Fulfills optional requirement #17
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