Presentation Type
Oral Presentation
Abstract/Artist Statement
Archaeological praxis necessarily requires at least one object (an artifact; a piece of technology or something that functions as an object) to articulate and explain ideologies from the past. The problem is that the object of ideological desire is abstract and difficult to locate in the archaeological record in reified form. Historical Archaeologist Mark P. Leone attempted to locate such an object several times while conducting archaeological investigations into historical Mormonism, Mormon historical ecology, and technologies employed by Mormons in the arid American West. It is posited here that the object of Mormon ideological desire in the archaeological record within capitalism can be identified and located if certain assumptions and definitions are accepted from philosopher Slavoj Žižek and if one deconstructs a myth. There is a presupposition that if one deconstructs a myth, one stands an increased chance of discovering evidence of the truth behind it. Historical landscape archaeology landscape analysis of LiDAR imagery in GIS facilitated the interpretation of a local legend (a myth), archival maps, records, and Mormon land-use patterns in two historic landscapes‒Grovont, Wyoming/Mormon Row Historic District (48TE1444) and the Little Colorado River basin in Arizona‒leading to the identification and location of the sublime object of Mormon ideology.
Mentor Name
Dr. Richard Sattler
Of Ruptures and Raptures: Locating Ideology with LiDAR Imagery
UC North Ballroom, Presentation Pod 1
Archaeological praxis necessarily requires at least one object (an artifact; a piece of technology or something that functions as an object) to articulate and explain ideologies from the past. The problem is that the object of ideological desire is abstract and difficult to locate in the archaeological record in reified form. Historical Archaeologist Mark P. Leone attempted to locate such an object several times while conducting archaeological investigations into historical Mormonism, Mormon historical ecology, and technologies employed by Mormons in the arid American West. It is posited here that the object of Mormon ideological desire in the archaeological record within capitalism can be identified and located if certain assumptions and definitions are accepted from philosopher Slavoj Žižek and if one deconstructs a myth. There is a presupposition that if one deconstructs a myth, one stands an increased chance of discovering evidence of the truth behind it. Historical landscape archaeology landscape analysis of LiDAR imagery in GIS facilitated the interpretation of a local legend (a myth), archival maps, records, and Mormon land-use patterns in two historic landscapes‒Grovont, Wyoming/Mormon Row Historic District (48TE1444) and the Little Colorado River basin in Arizona‒leading to the identification and location of the sublime object of Mormon ideology.