Using ArcMap to Create a Database for an Historic Cemetery in Northeast Pennsylvania

Summary

As a program designed to integrate and analyze geospatial data, ArcMap has the potential for broad archaeological application. Here we employ ArcMap to create a database for research and management of the historic cemetery at Stoddartsville, a 19th century milling village built along the upper Lehigh River in northeast Pennsylvania. Specifically, we use ArcMap to integrate: (1) spatial data from a total station survey of individual grave markers and cemetery boundaries; (2) descriptive data from grave marker inscriptions and attributes; (3) personal data for buried individuals from archival research; and (4) geophysical data from a ground-penetrating radar survey of the cemetery. As we demonstrate, this map and database provide a useful research tool for examining the Stoddartsville cemetery as a microcosm of the associated historic site, allowing us to explore the changing social composition of the village, evolving funerary customs, and demographic trends. Additionally, we have shared this interactive map and database with the Stoddartsville Preservation Society to aid in their preservation and management of the cemetery. Finally, we have made this resource available online to potentially serve others interested in learning about Stoddartsville, including descendants of those buried in the cemetery decades ago.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 83rd Annual Meeting, Washington, DC (2018)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 21519