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Title: Examining Segregation Between Chinese and Euroamerican Examining Segregation Between Chinese and Euroamerican Residences Using Suitability Modeling Within the Built Residences Using Suitability Modeling Within the Built Environment at Terrace, Utah: A Cas

Citation Type: Dissertation/Thesis

Publication Year: 2021

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Abstract: Suitability modeling is a useful approach for exploring human interactions with their environments (Mitchell 2012; Malczewski 2004). Within a geographic information system (GIS) environment, locations are weighted relative to applied criteria, resulting in a landscape hierarchy that displays regions coded from least to most suitable. Suitability modeling is used in various disciplines, from urban planning to natural resources, but a gap exists in research concerning social human behavior. This method can especially contribute to the investigation of social inequality at archaeological sites by quantitatively assessing multiple attributes at an intra-site level. Examining intrasite spatial association and material distributions can inform on human behavior, including social organization (Earle et al 1984; Carr 1984). In this thesis, I discuss the use of this method for determining social inequality at the historic townsite of Terrace along the Transcontinental Railroad in Utah, focusing on iv historic and archaeological evidence gathered in past research. My analysis shows that Chinese railroad workers lived amongst the least suitable regions of the site while Euroamerican railroad workers lived amongst the more suitable regions. By investigating social inequality at Terrace, I address various overarching questions: First, how does archaeological material within the site indicate segregation between the Chinese and Euroamerican cultural groups, and what is the nature of this segregation (voluntary vs. forced)? Second, how can spatial patterning of residential segregation at Terrace inform on nineteenth century urban planning and ethnic interactions within a larger context of American West expansionism along the Transcontinental Railroad. Due to ongoing research on the Chinese occupation along the Transcontinental Railroad during the late nineteenth century, there is a multitude of historical and archaeological evidence supporting the presence of segregation and social inequality between the Euroamerican and other cultural groups, including Chinese immigrants (Voss 2018; Merritt et al 2012). By developing a spatial analytic method for documenting social inequality at Terrace, I hope that archaeologists can apply this technique in similar settings. In doing so, archaeologists can expand the suite of methods and theory used for analyzing social inequality and social hierarchies at archaeological sites.

Url: https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=9469&context=etd

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Authors: Jimenez, Kelly N

Institution: Utah State University

Department: Archaeology and Cultural Resource Management

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Publisher Location: Logan, Utah

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Data Collections: IPUMS NHGIS

Topics: Housing and Segregation

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