Anthropology

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Start date: 2020Subject: search.filters.subject.GIS

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    USING GEOSPATIAL INFORMATION SYSTEMS TO PREDICT THE FORM OF “ROADBEDS AND ROAD SEGMENTS” CLASSIFICATIONS FOR THE CHEROKEE TRAIL OF TEARS IN MISSOURI, 1837-1839
    (2024) Lester, Ansley; Palus, Matthew M; Anthropology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    This thesis aims to answer the questions, “How can we efficiently use the processes of categorization and Geospatial Information System (GIS) methods and analyses to help identify the ‘form’ that various segments on the Trail of Tears, specifically the listed National Historic Trail (NHT) of the “Cherokee Trail of Tears in Missouri, 1837-1839”? Can a predictive model be developed by looking at the spatial relationships between modern roads and the suspected paths taken by the Cherokee in 1837- 1839? If so, what other information can be gained from this approach?”The classifications are derived from the National Register of Historic Properties (NRHP) Multiple Property Documentation Form (MPDF) and discuss the classifications and criteria that segments of the Trail of Tears must meet to be considered contributing characteristics. The NRHP documentation form defines these different classes of the Trail of Tears into ‘three basic forms:1) Modern Roads, 2) Limited-Use, Passable Roads, and 3) Abandoned Roads. This thesis is limited to the segments of the Trail of Tears that fall within the Mark Twain National Forest (MTNF) boundaries. Though much of the Trail has been modified into modern roads, traces are still evident in many locations along these modern routes that hold integrity from the significant period of the late 1830s. Because the Trail of Tears passes through multiple states and traverses over 6,000 miles, managing the protection of its physical traces can be a logistical challenge for cultural resource managers. For this thesis, I developed a carefully constructed GIS model that is able to predict these classifications of various Trail of Tears segments using a sequence of geoprocessing methods, logical operators, and Boolean algebraic expressions. Using GIS, I determine the spatial relationship between the National Park Service’s Trail of Tears linear data and the extant roads that have been documented to date. I then use statistical analysis to assess the model itself and its findings. The results identified seventeen segments of the Trail that are likely to hold integrity in the roadbed and road segment form three: abandoned. This is important because this form is the most sensitive to any undertakings and includes the segments that hold the greatest amount of integrity. The results also confirmed that the Trail of Tears does have a spatial relationship with many modern and limited-use roads that are still used today. Basic statistical analysis confirmed that the sample segments used to develop the draft model are representative of the model’s outcomes when applied to a forest-wide scale and that a total of 68.94 miles of the Trail crosses through the Mark Twain National Forest. This thesis also emphasizes collaboration and consultation methods with the Cherokee Nation throughout the chapters as the way forward before this model is considered finished. The intent of this thesis is to provide a management tool for cultural resource managers to predict which segments of the Trail of Tears fall into the three classifications by using a specific set of geoprocessing methods. This tool can be helpful in identifying areas of the Trail that may hold more physical integrity than others and implementing specific protection measures from any undertakings. It also adds to our understanding of the Trail of Tears within the MTNF. This model can also contribute to our understanding of the Trail of Tears and the hardships the Cherokee faced during that time. It will also provide research and public education opportunities so we can adequately convey the significance that the Trail of Tears has in our history. This model is built to be flexible for adding additional parameters that may be added through future research or consultation. The methodology used to produce this model would stay the same if used in other areas where the Trail crosses. The input parameters are likely to differ, but the methodology would stand.
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    MINDING YOUR FEET: AN EXAMINATION OF CEMETERY RECORDATION AND ANALYSIS THROUGH GEOSPATIAL DOCUMENTATION IN FAIRFAX COUNTY, VIRGINIA
    (2024) Boyle, Colleen; Palus, Matthew; Anthropology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    Cemeteries are a wealth of information and are a vital cultural resource for the communities in which they reside. These spaces reflect the cultural and community practices, the evolution of public space, economic conditions, and religious traditions of those interred. This thesis seeks to answer the research question: can cemetery landscapes be understood using a phenomenological approach to interpreting cultural patterns and trends in a digital landscape? Understanding cemetery landscapes is vital to the understanding and preservation of the cultural landscapes of these communities, so clear and accurate documentation of these sites is possible and necessary when using modern geospatial technology. This thesis examines the results of the Fairfax County Park Authority’s Archaeology and Collections Branch cemetery survey using geospatial mapping methodologies to record cemetery boundaries and inventory grave and grave marker locations. Through the examination of each of the three cemeteries highlighted throughout this thesis, it was determined that a hybrid approach to cemetery analysis utilizing the theoretical framework of phenomenology in conjunction with the broader perspective offered through digital data and mapping allows for a greater understanding of a space and its use over time.
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    Rediscovering New Ireland: locating 17th - 18th century Irish settlements in Cecil County, Maryland
    (2023-05-15) Candiotti, Jack; Brighton, Stephen
    There has been little scholarship on the Irish in colonial American history. Fortunately, archaeology allows for the study of groups that are not well represented in the historical record through the analysis of their material remains. To initiate the study of this topic, the aim of this research was to locate archaeological sites associated with historically attested, late 17th and early 18th century settlements of Irish emigrants in Cecil County, Maryland. Historical information and aerial remote sensing data were analyzed in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) software to locate potential sites of buried and exposed structural remains in the areas where Irish settlement was recorded to have occurred. These sites were evaluated for their likelihood to be the remains of a structure built in the time period of Irish settlement. 23 sites of potential structural remains discovered in this study and 8 sites of structural remains discovered by previous research were determined significantly likely to be associated with the Irish settlements. Further archaeological research will be required to determine whether these sites actually contain structural remains dating to the late 17th or early 18th century. Archaeological excavation of the sites that contain these structural remains will yield information about the Irish emigrants who once occupied them. The level of wealth, diet, place of origin, and other information about the late 17th and early 18th century Irish community in Cecil County could be discovered. This new knowledge would contribute to the history of the Irish in America and the local history of Cecil County.
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    THE CLOISTERED INFRASTRUCTURE OF THE OHIO & ERIE CANAL: AN ANALYSIS AND INVENTORY OF THE CANAL WITH A THEORETICAL LANDSCAPE ARCHAEOLOGY AND HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEMS APPROACH
    (2022) Waugh, Mason Richard; Palus, Matthew M; Anthropology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    The period of the 1820s and 1830s experienced a burst of canal construction across Ohio. The Ohio & Erie Canal connected the Cuyahoga River to Akron, and thence southward to Portsmouth along the Ohio River. The opening of the canal allowed early settlers within Ohio to easily transport products, effectively lowering the costs of goods and increasing the profitability of businesses utilizing the thoroughfare. Towns near the canal flourished as commodities previously difficult to obtain were now brought from long distances. These improvements that the Ohio & Erie Canal brought, as well as the context and significance of the canal, have been thoroughly documented in historical literature. A few intact portions of the Ohio & Erie Canal are currently included on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) and listed on the Ohio State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) online Geographic Information System (GIS) mapping system. Several Cultural Resource Management (CRM) compliance surveys have also identified and documented canal remnants. However, most portions of the canal are not inventoried or listed on the SHPO online GIS mapping system. Few components of the canal are listed on the NRHP and within Scioto County there are only two locks represented on the NRHP. The general location of the Ohio & Erie Canal is well documented on historical maps; however, the placement of stream crossings and ancillary components (culverts, weirs, bridges) are poorly understood or perhaps cloistered, communicating little to the outside world as they are currently known. A series of plat maps was recorded in the early 1900s by the Canal Commission of the State of Ohio. Plat maps of the Ohio & Erie Canal in Scioto County were obtained for this project and were provided by the Ohio History Connection (2022). No large-scale effort to my knowledge has been made to georeference the plat maps of the Ohio & Erie Canal and analyze archaeological potential using Historical GIS (hGIS), which uses historical documents such as plat maps to answer questions about the past or to inventory canal features based on their location. To address the lack of recorded ancillary structures on the southern descent of the Ohio & Erie Canal, a total of 35 separate portions of the canal plat maps were georeferenced to the modern landscape to identify archaeological potential, ancillary structure locations, and to support recommendations for new contributing resources to the NRHP-listed historic districts. Seven separate categories of ancillary canal components or features which could be extrapolated from the canal plat maps were assigned GPS coordinates. The seven categories consisted of aqueducts, buildings, bridges, culverts, inlets, locks, and waste weirs. These components represent 70 individual features correlating to what was indicated on the canal plat maps through stations 1770-2660 in Scioto County. The inventory of these features breaks down the Ohio & Erie Canal component types and lists coordinates to increase accessibility of the information for future researchers and planners. A cross comparison of the portions of the canal currently listed on the NRHP and the SHPO online GIS mapping system is also completed and contained in this thesis. With the previously inventoried canal components and the newly georeferenced portions of the canal analyzed, this thesis assists further studies in assessing archaeological potential along the canal. Lastly, a recommendation is made suggesting which ancillary components along the canal could be contributing elements to the discontinuous or incomplete NRHP listing. This thesis attempts to provide interested researchers a better understanding of the ancillary components of the canal and how these components should be evaluated for NRHP eligibility. The Ohio & Erie Canal was not simply a historical waterway providing transportation of commodities, but also an early historical engineering feat containing a culmination of various structures whose design was to maintain water levels and one of the first mass engineering attempts in Ohio to manage the landscape and communities around the canal. Culverts along the canal are not only important, but they are also necessary for understanding how the Ohio & Erie Canal operated, how it adapted to certain topographical challenges, and were essential to the functioning of the canal. Removing culverts along the canal would not have allowed the canal to function due to the necessity of proper water levels. The public dissemination of the georeferenced data included in this thesis is intended to be a lasting benefit to gongoozlers, historians, researchers, and planners alike. As such this data will be made available by allowing the georeferenced maps and associated layers available through ArcGIS Pro. The map package in ArcGIS Pro is available upon request by contacting the author of this thesis.
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    WRITTEN IN STONE: A LANDSCAPE APPROACH TO EXAMINING OHIO PETROGLYPH SITES
    (2021) Goodrich, Christopher; Lafrenz-Samuels, Kathryn; Anthropology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    A petroglyph study was completed using a novel combination of landscape theory and GIS spatial analysis in Ohio. Building on the knowledge base of James L. Swauger’s 1984 publication of Petroglyphs of Ohio, petroglyph site data was checked against the Ohio State Historic Preservation Office Archives. These data were then compared with regional and local geology, hydrology, and known cultural sites using a GIS database. Significant insights were discovered linking petroglyph site locations to Ohio’s unglaciated plateau, “open areas consisting of sandstone,” and to waterways. These insights have contributed to the development of a new baseline of petroglyph knowledge in Ohio, paving the way for future petroglyph research in the state.Keywords: petroglyph, GIS, spatial analysis, landscape archaeology, Ohio archaeology