ae Lynn Clack ethnic groups historically have been lower class, several researchers became concerned with separating class from ethnicity in the archaeological record (Baker 1980; McGuire 1982; Otto 1950) ‘This study goos further by eonsidering how the interaction of ethnicity and class affeets material culture. In the first section of this article, ethnieity, class, and their relation to consumer choice will be explored in more detail After a discussion of specific theories of ethnicity drawn from anthropology ‘and sociology, a series of test implications will be presented, In order to evalu- ate the test implications, gravestones, as well as written and oral histories, from Broome County, New York, were utilized. The specific research strategy used will be presented, followed by a discussion of the analytical results, The last section of the study will evaluate these results in terms of the proposed theory. Ernvicrry, Cass, AND CONSUMER CHOICE, Class limits the number of choices a consumer ean make and also provides ‘more options to choose from. One limiting fuetor, regardless of elas, is lower Income. Lower income means individuals do not have sufficient disposable income to purchase any memorial they desite. However, this does not mean that individuals with greater ineame have an unlimited range of alternatives 1 choose from. As stated earlier, individuals in a status-based society follow conventionalized rules of behavior that limit the consumer choices they ean make. Higher-class individuals follow the socially prescribed rules for more pres- tigious behavior. If an individual wishes to climb socially, then these same rules are adopted. In this way, lower-class individuals gain status in others’ ‘eyes, which equates with greater prestige. Individuals who cannot gain oither prestige or income follow an alternate set of behavioral rules (Barth 1969). It is possible, then, for these lower-class individuals to gain a certain amount of prestige in each other's eyes, even though their behavior is not considered prestigious by higher classes. ‘As moro lower-class individuals emulate the behavior of the higher elass- es, this behavior becomes modified. In order to preserve class distinetions, the ‘upper class must keep its behavior separate from that of the lower classes (Fallers 1973; Miller 1982). Upper-class individuals seleet new alternatives, ‘thereby opening up additional consumer choices for themselves and for those cho will eventually emulate their behavior. Ethnicity also both limits and expands consumer choices. Traditions brought. by immigrants introduced additional alternatives to the field of choice. However, since these new ulternatives wore associated with immigrant behavior, they were not considered prestigious (Steinberg 1981). These new ‘options were not used by nonethnics for the same reasons upper-class indi viduals would nat choose options associated with lower-class behavior. Just as lower-class individuals may strive to become upper elass, ethnic16 Gravestones Reflectors of Ethnicity or Class? LYNN CLARK Ivrropucrion When we walk through a cemetery, we see in each gravestone the end result of a series of choices made by the individuals who purchased the stones, We see differences in the size, shapo, material, and decoration of each gravestone, and we assume that the consumer was able to choose freely from all the available options. All possible choices, however, are mot open to every consumer. The complex interaction of the individual's ethnicity and class standing acts as a constraint on the available options. The selections a consumer makes, in turn, ‘modifies the interaction of othnieity and class. This relationship between eth nicity and class will be explored by studying its effect on the consumer choices available for gravestones, ‘The ethnic groups dealt with here were found in America asa result of the Buropean immigrations of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Indi- viduals who were not part, or whose ancestors were not part, of those immigra- tions are considered “nonethnic.” Ethnic individuals share customs and a world view that are different from the dominant nonethnie society around , they also share lower-class standing (Steinberg 1981) determined by income to a certain extent, but more sportantly by status. The prestige associated with life-style, formal educa- tion, and oceupation all contribute to an individual's standing in others’ eyes, According to Weber (Runciman 1978), societies where status is an important ‘consideration are regulated by convention. In a status-based society such as the United States, people are bound to follow the conventionalized rules, hence free choice is limited. In this way, class structures the interaction between individuals and between individuals and material culture. Problems of ethnicity and class are not now to historical archaeologists Since the 1970s, researchers have become increasingly interested in delineat ing the material remains of racial groups and ethnic groups (McGuire 1982; Otto 1977; Schuyler 1980; South 1974). Since members of those racial and Lymm Clark (]Departient of Anthropology, State University of New York, Binghamton, NY 13801