Abstract
The archaeological study of “the West” and “the frontier” provides a bounty of research questions. However, as researchers delve into issues of culture contact, colonization, and conflict, they must consider the power embedded in the ideologies of the West and the frontier. As metaphors, these terms allow for the reflexive examination of one’s research questions. Using the Paoli Battlefield, a Revolutionary War site in southeastern Pennsylvania, as a case study, this analysis aims to challenge current notions of the West and the frontier. Specifically, by examining the cultural landscape in conjunction with a landscape of conflict, the study challenges the frontier metaphor. Moreover, by using geographic information systems (GIS) to map and model the cultural landscape, researchers glean interpretations of the Paoli Battlefield in an innovative manner that promotes new considerations for conflict archaeology.
Resumen
El estudio arqueológico del “Oeste” y la “frontera” estadounidenses proporciona una gran cantidad de preguntas de investigación. Sin embargo, a medida que los investigadores profundizan en temas de contacto cultural, colonización y conflicto, deben considerar el poder incrustado en las ideologías de Oeste y la frontera. Como metáforas, estos términos permiten el examen reflexivo de las preguntas de investigación. Usando como estudio de caso el campo de batalla de Paoli, un sitio de la Guerra Revolucionaria en el sureste de Pensilvania, este análisis tiene como objetivo cuestiona las nociones actuales sobre el Oeste y la frontera. Específicamente, al examinar el paisaje cultural junto con un paisaje de conflicto, el estudio cuestiona la metáfora de la frontera. Además, mediante el uso de sistemas de información geográfica (GIS) para mapear y modelar el paisaje cultural, los investigadores obtienen interpretaciones del campo de batalla de Paoli de una manera innovadora que promueve nuevas consideraciones para la arqueología de los conflictos.
Résumé
L'étude archéologique de « l'Ouest » et de la « frontière » fournit une profusion de questions de recherche. Cependant, alors que les chercheurs se penchent sur des questions relatives au contact des cultures, à la colonisation et aux conflits, ils doivent examiner le pouvoir dont les idéologies de l'Ouest et de la frontière sont imprégnées. En tant que métaphores, ces termes permettent une étude réflexive de questions de recherche. Nous appuyant pour une étude de cas sur le champ de bataille de Paoli, un site de la guerre révolutionnaire dans la partie sud-est de la Pennsylvanie, cette analyse a vocation à remettre en question les notions actuelles de l'Ouest et de la frontière. En particulier, par l'examen du paysage culturel conjointement à un paysage du conflit, l'étude remet en cause la métaphore de la frontière. De surcroît, par l'utilisation de systèmes d'informations géographiques (GIS) pour cartographier et modéliser le paysage, les chercheurs glanent des interprétations du champ de bataille de Paoli d'une manière innnovante venant promouvoir des considérations nouvelles pour l'archéologie des conflits.
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Notes
In this context, “frontiersman” is gendered in the original, where the myth and ethos of the frontier is characterized as a masculine and male-dominated space. The author does not intend to devalue or omit the active role that women and people of other identities played within the context of the frontier and the West; however, such a discussion is outside the scope of this particular research.
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Kalos, M.A. Exploring the Paoli Battlefield: The Cultural Landscape of Conflict. Hist Arch 56, 451–461 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s41636-022-00352-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s41636-022-00352-5