MAKING THE DEAD COME TO LIFE—USING CEMETERY STONES TO TEACH ARCHAEOLOGICAL GEOLOGY

Cemeteries are useful instructional resources for archaeological geology. Their close proximity to most campuses and their relevance to local human and geological history make them ideal venues for examining key concepts related to provenance, building materials, tool technology and construction of trade routes. In addition, exercises in local cemeteries can teach students how to design and test research questions as well as teach them basic descriptive and analytical statistical techniques.

I have developed an integrative field and lab exercise for my archaeological geology course that examines local cemetery stones within the Cuyahoga Valley, northeast Ohio. This area was settled by Europeans in the early 19th century. Major trade routes were established in the early 1830's when the Ohio-Erie canal was completed, followed by the railroad in the 1850's. In this exercise, students work in teams to develop hypotheses and gather data on stone lithology, headstone morphology, decoration and weathering, as well as birth/death dates. They learn to use a simple spreadsheet and statistical package to analyze their data. External data from previous classes are integrated into their analysis and compared their own datasets. They also are required to locate historical information about the area including census reports. A final report and presentation of the data to the class allows the student to have a complete research experience within a single semester.

Through these studies, several patterns have emerged regarding settlement and stone usage in northeast Ohio. Prior to the completion of the Ohio-Erie canal, most stone used in the Cuyahoga Valley was from a sandstone facies of the local Sharon Sandstone. After the canal was built, marble stone from New England was used until the railroad was completed, which brought in granite stone. These basic seriation patterns can be seen in most cemeteries in the area, although individual cemeteries have specific variations. In addition, survivorship curves generated from the birth/death statistics correspond with historical accounts of outbreaks of small pox and yellow fever, especially related to the canal building period. This type of exercise allows students to gain easy access to their local history while also learning geoarchaeological techniques.