Fremont Villages in Their Cultural Landscapes

Keywords

digital archaeology: GIS, Fremont, landscape archaeology

Abstract

Physical and cultural landscapes are integral aspects of everyday life; however, traditionally Fremont archaeologists have focused on studying sites or even features as discrete units instead of attempting to understand them in the broader context of their natural and cultural landscapes. Many Native American groups imbue the landscapes that surround them with cultural and religious meaning which are often materialized in rock art, alignment with celestial phenomena or prominent geographic features, and/or repeated use of meaningful locations. Discerning these meanings is difficult, particularly without ethnographic continuity, but we examine Fremont cultural landscapes from the perspective of several Fremont villages. More specifically, we examine the alignment of buildings within Fremont villages, which are strongly patterned but vary from one village to another, as well as the rock art and other sites in their immediate vicinity. These demonstrate that, as for societies across the Greater Southwest, cardinal directions and landscape features were important to Fremont worldviews.

Original Publication Citation

Katie K. Richards, James R. Allison, and Lindsay D. Johansson 2018 Fremont Villages in Their Cultural Landscapes. Paper presented at the 36th Great Basin Anthropological Association Conference, Salt Lake City, Utah. (presented by Katie Richards)

Document Type

Conference Paper

Publication Date

2018

Language

English

College

Family, Home, and Social Sciences

Department

Anthropology

University Standing at Time of Publication

Associate Professor

Link to Full Text

Share

COinS