Re-imagining our Contested Past: A Local Application of Landscape Archaeology in Santa Rosa, California

By using Santa Rosa, California as a case study, this thesis will show how an application of landscape archaeology can be a valuable tool for civic engagement, community outreach or can contribute to implications in law and urban planning. In Santa Rosa, extensive historical research has already been done at the Carrillo Adobe mainly because the Carrillo Adobe is a tangible resource to California's past. While the Carrillo Adobe is an invaluable resource to the city and its people, it is only part of a much larger complex. Sonoma County is economically dependent on farm workers, yet they are vastly under-represented in the community's public heritage interpretation. However, by viewing the present-day Hispanic community through the lens of the historical Mexican and Spanish landscape of Santa Rosa, the Hispanic community can recognize a sense of place. This helps give a voice to a community in a city they have helped to create and continue to develop. Through archival research and historical archaeology, this thesis addresses questions about the relationships between Santa Rosa and the landscape, how to interpret this contested landscape, and ways in which cultural interactions and changes can affect utban development. By placing contemporary problems within a historical context, we are able to show that these concerns have been, and still are, part of the community.