This study provides an examination of landscape perceptions, specifically geopiety or sacred landscape perceptions, at Mounds State Park. Through archival analysis I traced 2000 years of landscape perceptions at the park and found that geopiety has been an underlying influence in shaping perceptions. I further examine contemporary perceptions at Mounds state Park through participant observation and ethnographic interviewing and have determined that geopiety continues at the park in the form of nature-centered, historical/cultural and recreational perceptions. Finally, I examined the influence of modernity on geopiety and have determined that the level of geopiety is determined by the degree an individual is influenced by modernity. Modernity exists in varying degrees from traditional to progressive with the majority of individuals couched within the “inbetweeness” of modernity. / Department of Geography

Since Mounds State Park contains one of the best preserved Woodland earthwork complexes in the State of Indiana, any plans for development and improvements to the park facilities must take into account the need for conservation and interpretation of these archaeological resources. This thesis discusses and describes, the archaeological resources and their context and makes suggestions for their investigation, interpretation, and care.

This project was a reanalysis of the prehistoric ceramic collections from two important archaeolegical sites in east central Indiana: Mounds State Park (12-M-2) and the New Castle Site (12-Hn-1). Brief summaries of the two sites and their excavation histories are provided as well as summaries of the various pottery types involved. Specific attention is given to the New Castle Incised type.Previous interpretations regarding the ceramics from the two sties are given, and research from this project has provided new interpretations and information. Specifically, a statistical analysis was conducted, and the results show that the pottery from the two sites was made by peoples of the same culture. However, subtle changes were taking place in the manufacture of the pottery, primarily in the plain sherds.Future research goals are provided and include further excavations at both sites, thermoluminescence dating of sherds and additional study of the plain sherds. / Department of Anthropology

The objective of the study was to determine how visitors perceive park management method alternatives to preserve scenic beauty in Mounds State Park, and how other factors, such asvisitor characteristics and primary purpose for visiting the state park affected their preferences. Additionally, this study has presented a comparison of preferences for park management approaches between park managers and visitors, and a relationship between visitors' perceptions of scenic beauty and other factors. Furthermore, this study explored the contribution of a qualitative analysis. The result showed that visitor preferences for some park management approaches were influenced by sociodemographic characteristics, while visitor preferences for other park management approaches were influenced by the current state of scenic conditions in the park. Differences were observed between park manager's perceptions and visitors' perceptions. Visitors' perceptions of scenic beauty were related to whether or not they had visited the park in the past. Finally, it was clear that qualitative analysis was worthwhile for obtaining information that quantitative data could not provide. / Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Management

An important requirement of a rational policy for provision of outdoor recreation opportunities is some understanding of natural processes and public concern and /or preferences. Computerized land use suitability mapping is a technique which can help find the best location for a variety of developmental actions given a set of goals and other criteria. Over the past two decades, the methods and techniques of land use planning have been engaged in a revolution on at least two fronts as to shift the basic theories and attitudes of which land use decisions are based. The first of these fronts is the inclusion of environmental concerns, and the second is the application of more systematic methods or models. While these automated capabilities have shed new light on environmental issues, they, unfortunately, have failed to develop sufficient intelligence and adaptation to accurately model the dynamics of ecosystems.The work reported proceeds on the belief that neural network models can be used to assess and develop resource management strategies for Mounds State Park, Anderson, Indiana. The study combines a photographic survey technique with a geographic information system (GIS) and artificial neural networks (NN) to investigate the perceived impact of park management activities on recreation opportunities and experiences. It is unique in that it incorporates both survey data with spatial data and an optimizing technique to develop a model for predicting perceived management values for short and long term recreation management.According to Jeannette Stanley and Evan Bak (1988) a neural network is a massively parallel, dynamic systems of highly interconnected interacting parts based on neurobiological models. The behavior of the network depends heavily on the connection details. The state of the network evolves continually with time. Networks are considered clever and intuitive because they learn by example rather than following simple programming rules. They are defined by a set of rules or patterns based on expertise or perception for better decision making. With experience networks become sensitive to subtle relationships in the environment which are not obvious to humans.The model was developed as a counter-propagation network with a four layer learning network consisting of an input layer, a normalized layer, a kohonen layer, and an output layer. The counter-propagation network is a feed-forward network which combines Kohonen and Widrow-Hoff learning rules for a new type of mapping neural network. The network was trained with patterns derived by mapping five variables (slope, aspect, vegetation, soil, site features) and survey responses from three groups. The responses included, for each viewshed, the preference and management values, and three recreational activities each group associated with a given landscape. Overall the model behaves properly in learning the different rules and generalizing in cases where inputs had not been shown to the network apriori. Maps are provided to illustrate the different responses obtained from each group and simulated by the model. The study is not conclusive as to the capabilities of the combination of GIS techniques and neural networks, but it gives a good flavor of what can be achieved when accurate mapping information is used by an intelligent system for decision making. / Department of Landscape Architecture

This study tested two hypotheses related to Woodland settlement trends and ritual development in East Central Indiana through the example of Mounds State Park in Anderson, Indiana. The first hypothesis was that earthwork enclosure complexes, such as at Anderson, were utilized as central places within a defined territory for the redistribution of resources. The second hypothesis was that a link existed between increasing social stratification in a mixed foraging and horticultural economy and a shift in the function of earthwork complexes resultant from a change in subsistence. It was determined that no conclusions could be made about the validity of these hypotheses due to incomplete data. Suggestions for obtaining relevant data and a theoretical model of earthwork function based on available data are presented. / Department of Anthropology