Project 2: Landscape Contexts

Maps and images of the John Brown House property convey valuable information about the property’s landscape transformations and activities over the centuries. In a site report, it will be vitally important to include as much visual context as possible in order to interpret our contemporary archaeological maps and excavation data to the fullest extent.

For this project, you will research and collect as many maps and illustrations of the property as possible, spanning four centuries and various scales of resolution. The majority of your research will take place on campus, especially in the Hay Library maps collection. The other source for your research will be the Providence Historic GIS database designed from these historical maps to track settlement and landscape changes over time.

Begin by accessing the Providence Historic GIS Database (Ben Ford 2003). Then locate the maps listed under the resources (previous page), historical images, and any other maps depicted in historical records that you might come across. The resources on the previous page are not comprehensive. Your goal should be to assess the transformation in the John Brown House and surrounding landscapes from the 17th century to the present. You may organize your approach to this however you see fit.

*Most importantly, obtain photocopies or digital files of these maps!! They will be included in our site report.

Viewing the maps and images, note the changes to the landscape at the following levels:

1. John Brown House Property (size, structures, other modifications)

2. College Hill Landscape (settlement patterns, types/uses of structures, roadways)

3. Providence Landscape (settlement patterns, size, waterways)

Write up a short but detailed description addressing each of these three scales for each map. You do not have to do this for each image, but instead can reference the image within a description of a map that dates to a similar time period. Then, write an interpretation based on your descriptions addressing the following questions:

• What do the changes in the John Brown House landscape communicate about changing social status and prosperity over time?

• Do these changes correspond to particular owners?

• Do these changes correspond to any degree with wider transformations in the landscape of College Hill and Providence? How?

• Are there any former structures on the landscape that you think may be reflected in the archaeological record?

• What is the most dramatic landscape transformation, in your opinion, to the John Brown House property?