http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultural_memory
"Memory can, for instance, be contained in objects. Souvenirs and photographs inhabit an important place in the cultural memory discourse."
"Products, according to Terdiman, have lost 'the memory of their own process' now, in times of mass-production and commodification."
"Stewart explains how our souvenirs authenticate our experiences and how they are a survival sign of events that exist only through the invention of narrative."
"Catherine Keenan explains how the act of taking a picture can underline the importance of remembering, both individually and collectively."
"Others have argued that photographs can be incorporated in memory and therefore supplement it."
Some on the memories from my childhood (I often realize) are actually from me later seeing photographs of a particular event and not me actually remembering the event itself.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memory
"memory is the process in which information is encoded, stored, and retrieved"
