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The Archaeology of Baseball: Landscape and the Power of Place

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Abstract

That material culture is constitutive of culture as well as being one of its outcomes plays out especially strongly when one looks at the relationships between human communities and their landscapes. Cultural landscapes are created by communities, which in turn adapt to the landscape’s physical and social dimensions. This paper explores the dynamics of the landscape of American baseball through the eyes of the archaeologist, thereby creating an archaeology of baseball.

Résumé

Le fait que la culture matérielle est à la fois constitutive de la culture et un produit de la culture est particulièrement manifeste lorsqu’on examine les relations entre les communautés humaines et leur paysage. Les paysages culturels sont créés par des communautés qui, en retour, s’adaptent aux dimensions physiques et sociales du paysage. Cet article explore la dynamique du paysage du baseball aux Etats-Unis au travers du regard de l’archéologue, créant ainsi une archéologie du baseball.

Resumen

Que la cultura material es un constituyente de la cultura, así como es también uno de sus resultados se despliega especialmente de forma potente cuando se consideran las relaciones entre las comunidades humanas y sus paisajes. Los paisajes culturales son creados por las comunidades, que a su vez se adaptan a las dimensiones físicas y sociales del paisaje. El presente documento explora la dinámica del paisaje del béisbol americano a través de los ojos del arqueólogo, creando de este modo una arqueología del béisbol.

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Acknowledgments

I would like to thank my brother, Gary, a professor of art and professional photographer, who contributed importantly to this paper through his insights about the concepts of form and beauty and the visual components of landscapes.

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Correspondence to Stanton Green.

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Green, S. The Archaeology of Baseball: Landscape and the Power of Place. Arch 8, 313–329 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11759-012-9207-y

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