Michigan Technological University Digital Commons @ Michigan Tech Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports 2019 THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF THE POSTINDUSTRIAL: SPATIAL DATA INFRASTRUCTURES FOR STUDYING THE PAST IN THE PRESENT Daniel Trepal Michigan Technological University, [email protected] Copyright 2019 Daniel Trepal Recommended Citation Trepal, Daniel, "THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF THE POSTINDUSTRIAL: SPATIAL DATA INFRASTRUCTURES FOR STUDYING THE PAST IN THE PRESENT", Open Access Dissertation, Michigan Technological University, 2019. https://doi.org/10.37099/mtu.dc.etdr/913 Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.mtu.edu/etdr Part of the Archaeological Anthropology Commons, Environmental Studies Commons, Geographic Information Sciences Commons, History Commons, Human Geography Commons, Other Anthropology Commons, and the Urban Studies and Planning Commons THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF THE POSTINDUSTRIAL: SPATIAL DATA INFRASTRUCTURES FOR STUDYING THE PAST IN THE PRESENT By Dan Trepal A DISSERTATION Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY In Industrial Heritage and Archaeology MICHIGAN TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY 2019 © 2019 Daniel J Trepal This dissertation has been approved in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY in Industrial Heritage and Archaeology. Department of Social Sciences Dissertation Advisor: Don Lafreniere Committee Member: Melissa Baird Committee Member: Krysta Ryzewski Committee Member: Sarah Fayen Scarlett Department Chair: Hugh S. Gorman To Joe and Mary TABLE OF CONTENTS PREFACE .......................................................................................................................vii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ..........................................................................................viii ABSTRACT ....................................................................................................................x INTRODUCTION..........................................................................................................9 CHAPTER ONE Historical Spatial Data Infrastructures for Archaeology: Towards a Spatio-Temporal Big Data Approach to Studying the Postindustrial City .........................................................88 CHAPTER TWO Understanding Cumulative Hazards in a Rustbelt City: Integrating GIS, Archaeology, and Spatial History ...........................................................................................................143 CHAPTER THREE Heritage Making Through Community Archaeology and the Spatial Humanities ..........................................................................................................................................174 CONCLUSION ..........................................................................................................................................211 vi PREFACE CO-AUTHORSHIP STATEMENT The following dissertation contains a manuscript that has been published in a peer- reviewed journal. Dan Trepal was the principal and corresponding author for the manuscripts. Dr. Don Lafreniere, Dr. Jason Gilliland, and Dr. Sarah Fayen Scarlett served as co-authors providing guidance, supervision, and review of the manuscripts. The following citations are provided to indicate the destinations of the manuscripts: Chapter One: Trepal, Dan, Don Lafreniere, and Jason Gilliland. “Historical Spatial Data Infrastructures for Archaeology: Towards a Spatio-Temporal Big Data Approach to Studying the Post-Industrial City.” Historical Archaeology (in press) 2020. Chapter Two: Trepal, Dan, and Don Lafreniere. “Understanding Cumulative Hazards in a Rustbelt City: Integrating GIS, Archaeology, and Spatial History.” Urban Science (submitted) (2019). Chapter Three: Trepal, Dan, Sarah Fayen Scarlett, and Don Lafreniere. “Community Heritage Making through Spatial History”. Journal of Community Archaeology and Heritage (accepted) (2019). vii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This dissertation is the result of a gradual and occasionally torturous entanglement of years of aspirations, experiences, personal and professional relationships, adventures, responsibilities, setbacks, blind alleys, musings, and reappraisals, peppered with occasional successes. Attempting a catalogue of the people and organizations that served as influences in this process is a fool’s errand. Convention compels the attempt, however, and so I will try. Archaeology is learnt by doing - with the important corollary that one never does it alone. For me, the doing began with Dr. Bob Mensforth, Dr. Phil Wanyerka and the members of the student anthropology club at Cleveland State University. My first, and memorable, field experience took place under the watchful eyes of Cleveland Museum of Natural History archaeologists Brian Redmond, Mark Kollecker, and Jim Bowers. During my years as a National Park Service archaeologist I met and worked with many wonderful people, especially Logan Hovis, Ted Birkedahl, and the cultural resources staff in the NPS Alaska Regional Office. Special thanks are due to Katie Ringsmuth and Sarah Venator, friends and colleagues with whom I shared many memorable adventures. As a student in the Industrial Archaeology program I have had the pleasure of working with a diverse group of scholars including Carl Blair, Kim Hoagland, Larry Lankton, Carol MacLennan (thanks for the “pre-writing” advice!), Lee Presley, Fred Quivik, Terry Reynolds, Tim Scarlett, Bruce Seely, Steve Walton, and LouAnn Wurst. I am grateful for the stimulating discussions, feedback, advice, and mentorship. Pat Martin is the individual most responsible for my growth from a student with an interest in the past to a fully-fledged archaeologist. Susan Martin remains a constant inspiration as a model scholar, citizen, and giver of sage advice. Pat and Susan’s mentorship and friendship has since extended far beyond my professional life; thank you so much for everything. The Industrial Archaeology program alumni remain a wonderfully tightknit group, and over the years they have been my fellow students, coworkers, supervisors, collaborators, and of course, friends: among them are Alessandra Brignola, Marley Chynoweth, Carmelo Dávila, Seth DePasqual, Tim Goddard, Amanda Gronhovd, Cameron Hartnell, Arron Kotlensky, Rachel Letter, Rob McQueen. Leonor Medeiros, Julie Molina, Bode Morin, Eric Nordberg, Eric Pomber, Steve Sarich, Dan Schneider, Scott See, Erin Timms, Tim Tumberg, and Craig Wilson. Thanks to all for the fellowship and shared wisdom. Four colleagues and friends require special mention for going above and beyond. Liz Hartnell, née Norris, is as real a person as one can be. Please never change. Paul White’s inimitable sense of humor, penetrating intellect, and indomitable spirit are unique. I’ve enjoyed many a laugh over the absurdities of life with him. John Arnold always found the humor in every situation, however trying, and pressed on. Sean Gohman has absorbed by far the greatest volume of my complaints, pet peeves, and insecurities viii during my years as a student, and still he remains – though he gave as good as he got. With friends such as these, you’ll never walk alone. My dissertation research would not have been possible without crucial support, financial and otherwise, from the following organizations: the National Endowment for the Humanities, National Science Foundation, Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, Michigan Tech Graduate School, Michigan Space Grant Consortium, Michigan Tech Social Sciences Department, Keweenaw National Historic Park, Isle Royale National Park, and Keweenaw Heritage Partners. Very special thanks are owed to the members of my dissertation committee: Melissa Baird, Krysta Ryzewski, and Sarah Fayen Scarlett. Your comments, advice, and guidance have been invaluable as I developed my dissertation research. I owe a great debt of gratitude to my advisor Don Lafreniere for his tireless efforts as advisor and mentor, whether it be support, guidance, knowledge, experience, constructive criticism, encouragement, or steadying presence. To my family: this has been quite a journey, but you have unselfishly supported me from the very beginning. Thank you. Most importantly of all, to Amy Bastion: I can hardly do justice in a sentence to your unwavering support, infinite funds of patience and positivity, and willingness to share my burdens. Thank You. I could not have made it without you. ix ABSTRACT Postindustrial urban landscapes are large-scale, complex manifestations of the past in the present in the form of industrial ruins and archaeological sites, decaying infrastructure, and adaptive reuse; ongoing processes of postindustrial redevelopment often conspire to conceal the toxic consequences of long-term industrial activity. Understanding these phenomena is an essential step in building a sustainable future; despite this, the study of the postindustrial is still new, and requires interdisciplinary connections that remain either unexplored or underexplored. Archaeologists have begun to turn their attention to the modern industrial era and beyond. This focus carries the potential to deliver new understandings of the industrial and postindustrial city, yet archaeological attention to the postindustrial remains in its infancy. Developments in the ongoing digital revolution in archaeology and within the social sciences and humanities have the potential to contribute to the archaeological study of the postindustrial city. The development of historical GIS and historical