The Historical Archaeology of Nineteenth Century American Cultural Landscapes: A Review

Abstract

This article reviews how historical archaeological investigations have increased our understanding of nineteen century and early twentieth century American cultural landscapes. This article is particularly concerned with how archaeological research has increased our understanding of ways historic cultural landscapes expressed class, ethnic and gender relationships, as well as changing cultural ideology and values. This selective review includes archaeological research at two scales: 1) spatial arrangements of cultural and natural features in individual site landscapes, from gardens to playgrounds and parks, and 2) the spatial arrangement of buildings and green spaces into townscapes and cityscapes, and 3) regional settlement patterns. Some archaeological studies bridge these three scales of research by reconstructing individual site landscapes within their larger cultural landscape context.