GPS coordinates:

44.0417807, -123.0757986

Site 5 (Pioneer Cemetery)

Location and general description:

We chose this feature because headstones represent both geology and human history: they are made of rock and come from long-standing cultural traditions. They often remain unchanged for decades or even centuries, showing how stone preserves memory as well as time. The cemetery itself is an important UO campus feature, reminding us of the university’s early community and the people who shaped its past. The location of this feature is in the Eugene Pioneer Cemetery, which is behind UO’s Knight Library in the southern part of campus. This specific headstone is located in the northeast section of the cemetery and is one of the largest headstones in this area. The stone represents one of the more common rock types, granite. The other headstones are made up of marble and most likely sandstone. 

Geological Observations:

The observed feature is a large polished granite headstone. The headstone has an engraving on one surface, which has been preserved well from the elements (Figure 1). Little weathering is observable, with the primary sign of the feature’s age coming from the vegetation that has grown in the engraving and at the connection between the top granite slab and the base (Figure 1). The stone has visible crystallized minerals that are large enough to be identified by the naked eye. Black hornblende and white feldspar can be observed, with both having an average width of 1 mm (Figure 2). Quartz is visible throughout the rock surrounding the previously mentioned minerals; it is distinguished from the feldspar by its slightly more translucent white color (Figure 2). Muscovite is present in small yellow flakes that can be detected by their gritty texture in contrast to the polished edge of the rest of the rock.

What Do the Properties of the Rock Used On Gravestones Say About the Identities of the People Who Created Them?

Contributed By Henry Micek

Geologic Question: Through the study of geology, a participant gains a bearing on the scale of geologic time in comparison to a human’s life. The staying power of rock can be awe-inspiring to our comparatively impermanent lives. This property has led to cultures around the world using stone to create monuments designed to outlast those they were dedicated to, with no more common example than gravestones. We see this at the University of Oregon with the Pioneer Cemetery, found at the heart of campus. Examining the rock present at the Pioneer Cemetery led me to wonder: What were the concerns of the people buried at the Pioneer Cemetery, and what does the rock they chose for their gravestones say about their identity?

Description of Scientific Articles: To answer this question, I pulled on the work of Morgan (2016) due to their focus on the geologic properties of common rocks used for headstones, as well as Reimers (1999) for their insight into how identity shapes ritual practices for grave rites. Morgan (2016) examined gravestones across the UK with the goal of demonstrating the merit of graveyards as areas of study for accessible geology. The primary focus of the observations was on the effect of weathering, atmospheric chemistry, and pollution across popular rock choices for headstones. Morgan’s (2016) work is relevant to the question of identity due to the insight she provides on how geology affects the scale (fig. 1), intricacy (fig. 3), and durability (fig. 4) of gravestones. Additionally, Reimers (1999) examined the grave and funeral design choices different communities made and the reasoning behind them. They examined quarter 83 in Göteborg, Sweden, a cemetery dominated by 65% immigrant graves. Reimers (1999) examined 30 funerals and burials, 19 immigrant and 11 Swedish, in quarter 83, as well as comparing the quarter to other historic graveyards in Göteborg. The goal was to distinguish what choices different communities made, and how the design of funerals and graves represented the concerns and cultivation of the community’s identity. This is relevant to answering my central question, due to it giving examples of design choice concerns and the motivations behind them that communities use for gravesites. In addition, the geological descriptions given by Morgan (2016), we can understand the socioeconomic motivations behind the choice of stone for graves in the pioneer cemetery.

Intersection Between Research and Campus Feature: The most common concerns observed by Reimers (1999) among the studied burials were defining an identity for a community. Reimers (1999) expressed that death in a community represents a threat or rupture to its identity. Graves represent a contrast between the finitude of a buried individual’s life with a permanent encapsulation of their identity (Reimers, 1999). The greatest concern thus is having material that can last and continue to display any design choices you add to express the individual’s identity. Morgan (2016) emphasizes the merit of intrusive igneous rocks such as granite and gabbro’s durability. This is apparent in the condition of Figure 1 and 3’s inscription, which remain sharp and distinguishable compared to the marble of Figure 4; however, marble might have seemed a better choice at the time, with the effects of chemical weathering and pollution, such as acid rain (Morgan, 2016), likely not being as apparent to these communities as it is to us. The symbolism and shape used by graves are also important distinguishing features. Examples include, scale and intricacy of a grave, designating the wealth of a community, or the use of cultural imagery or inscription. Reimers (1999) noted that communities that wanted to associate with the broader identity of a region made less conspicuous graves to blend into the broader community. This is relevant to the pioneer cemetery, as many graves, such as in figures 1 and 4, contain no intricate engraving outside of names, indicating an effort to conform to a surrounding identity. In contrast, Figure 3 shows a grave using both expensive imported material that, along with being large in scale, is also intricately carved. Intrusive igneous rocks take a great deal of effort to carve as opposed to marble or limestone (Morgan, 2016). This shows that the identity that their community wished to cultivate was one that showed economic prominence due to having the capability to create such a monument. Additionally, graves represent where communities consider their home to be. Reimers (1999) observed that the Serbian community, which had traditionally sent members to be buried in Serbia before the Yugoslav Wars, afterward began to bury their dead in Göteborg (Reimers, 1999). As indicated by the cemetery’s name, the Pioneer Cemetery holds families that considered themselves founders of Eugene. Those who choose to be buried here are making a statement of affirming Eugene as the home of their community; likely, this factor contributed to an emphasis on the previous point of wanting gravestones that could last.

An Answer to the Question: The identity concerns outlined by Reimers (1999) and the geological properties of gravestones described by Morgan (2016) help give clues towards several of the concerns that the communities of the Pioneer Cemetery considered for choosing the rock of their gravestones; however, they cannot account for all of them. To truly know what identity the communities buried at the Pioneer cemetery wished to cultivate through their grave design, you would need to know more about the comparative costs and prevalence of granite, marble, and gabbro in the late 1800s, as well as how much of the properties understood about the rocks they used was known to their communities at the time. However, the prevalence of intrusive igneous rocks throughout the cemetery, as shown in Figures 1 and 3, indicates their concern for monuments remaining in a preserved state, likely because these founding families wished to make a mark on Eugene and contribute to their identity as founders. Additionally, homogeneity displayed in design and symbolism to foster a broader sense of community led to the use of rock that takes an engraving and preserves it well, such as intrusive igneous rocks and metamorphic rocks like marble. Despite this, social stratification likely led to outliers to this homogeneity, opting for larger stones, often using granite or gabbro, to present an identity shaped by economic prosperity.

Additional Information and Questions: Morgan’s (2016) discusses the breadth of different stones used across the UK and the unique merits of each of them. The Pioneer Cemetery demonstrated a comparative lack of diversity among its stones, especially a lack of sedimentary rocks and metamorphic rocks outside of marble. This leads me to wonder if the lack of diversity in rock at the Pioneer Cemetery represents a broader societal trend at the time that favored intrusive igneous rocks like granite and marble, or if it is more a circumstance of the climate concerns or availability concerns presented by the Willamette Valley.

Why are certain types of rocks used to mark graves? What are their advantages and disadvantages?

By Margaret Meeker

Geological question:

My geological question asks why specific rock types are used to mark graves, and what their advantages and disadvantages are. This question interests me because there are several consistent rock types found in the Pioneer Cemetery, namely granite, marble, and sandstone. I want to know why these rocks were chosen from a geologic perspective: do they have certain characteristics (such as the ability to withstand weathering) that other rocks lack? I am curious if the answer to this could reveal how long these rocks will last as headstones, or how long the inscriptions will be preserved.

Description of article: 

Meierding T.C. (1993) studies the rate at which rocks fade and how this impacts the legibility of their carvings. Meierding T.C. (1993) discusses how there is a quantitatively predictable manner in which these inscriptions decrease in legibility; the process of surface recession (a rock’s outer layer wearing away) is linked to the rate of the inscriptions’ degradation. I believe Meierding T.C. (1993) will help to answer my question because it describes rocks such as marble that are featured in the Pioneer Cemetery, and talks about how they weather over time. My question asks about the advantages and disadvantages of using certain rock types, and a rock’s process of weathering could be either an advantage or a disadvantage, compared to other rocks’ weathering processes.

Intersection:

One of our observations at the Pioneer Cemetery was the presence of weathering on many of the headstones, and Meierding T.C. (1993) primarily discusses weathering. Meierding T.C. (1993) shares its technique for classifying the legibility of inscriptions, and describes twelve distinct states of legibility that it uses to collect data on the weathering rates of rocks. Figure 4 shows a marble headstone that is clearly weathered. This is shown through the lack of legibility of most of the letters in the top row of inscription, half of the letters in the middle row, and a couple of letters on the bottom row. The most weathered parts of the headstone appear lighter in color than the more medium grey of the less weathered parts; the lighter color obscures the similarly light grey letters. According to the classification scale of Meierding T.C. (1993), this headstone would be somewhere in between weathering states five and seven, the higher number representing the most obscured letters. Meierding T.C. (1993) shows through examples how in state five, inscriptons are weathered but letters can still be read, and by state seven, the inscriptions are almost completely illegible. Meierding T.C. (1993) associates each state with an amount of rock face recession in millimeters. According to Meierding T.C. (1993), the inscriptions in Figure 4 would have surface recession amounts in between 0.66mm and 1.08mm.

Answer to question: 

Meierding T.C. (1993) is able to partially answer my question, but not fully. Meierding T.C. (1993) primarily discusses the weathering rates of marble, as well as giving some information about sandstone, limestone, and quartzite. Meierding T.C. (1993) generally formulates a conclusion about the positive association between inscription legibility and surface recession amounts, and shows how this connection is used to generally compute weathering rates, rather than drawing a conclusion about how some rocks weather more than others. Additionally, granite was barely mentioned, and granite is a common headstone type found in the Pioneer Cemetery. Due to the lack of comparison between a wide variety of rock types and their weathering rates, it is difficult to know from Meierding T.C. (1993) why certain rocks are used as headstones, or even if weathering is an advantage or a disadvantage for the rock types it does mention.

Additional info and question: 

Meierding T.C. (1993) describes how air pollution can affect the weathering of marble. Generally, Meierding T.C. (1993) concludes that there are high weathering rates in more polluted regions. For example, the faces of marble headstones in some areas of the Midwest have experienced surface recession at a rate ten times faster than the headstones in less polluted environments. Meierding T.C. (1993) describes pollution as a reason that attempts to measure natural, or not human caused, weathering have been difficult. This shows how human caused climate change is inhibiting scientific progress. My additional question after reading Meierding T.C. (1993) relates to my initial question and is how different are the weathering rates of other rock types? I am curious about this because I think data on this subject could better help to answer my initial question of why some rocks are used as headstones over others.

 

How Does the Bedrock Beneath a Cemetery Influence Its Location and Long-Term Stability?

Contributed by: Beatrix Gloth

Geological Question

Although cemeteries are frequently thought of as places of memorial, they can have entirely different meanings. Drainage, stability, erosion, and long-term landscape changes are all influenced by the bedrock and soil beneath a cemetery. These specifics determine whether a cemetery develops problems like waterlogging, uneven settling, or staying stable for generations. My geological question asks how a cemetery’s location and long-term stability are influenced by the bedrock beneath it. This question is interesting because it links human choices to natural Earth processes. Strong, well-drained ground increases the likelihood that a cemetery will remain stable, whereas weak or poorly drained material may cause structural issues over time. Understanding this relationship helps explain why certain places were chosen for burial and why some sites have remained stable for more than a century.

Description of Scientific Article

I read a peer-reviewed article titled “Integrated approach to unsaturated zone characterization as it relates to burial practices and its impact on the immediate environment by Ojo et al. (2022)” to help answer this question. The authors study the unsaturated zone, or the rock and soil between the water table and the land surface. They explain how characteristics like soil type, bedrock composition, porosity, and permeability affect drainage, decomposition, and long-term environmental effects at burial sites. I selected this article because it offers a scientific framework for understanding how water flows through the earth and how various bedrock types can affect a cemetery’s stability over time. Although the study was not run at the University of Oregon, the ideas apply broadly to many landscapes and help show why cemeteries are often placed on certain types of ground.

Intersection between peer-reviewed research and observations on campus

We went to Pioneer Cemetery on the University of Oregon campus to look for elements that might help relate our observations to our individual articles. The ideal conditions for long-term cemetery stability are stable bedrock and well-drained soils (Ojo et al., 2022). Water can flow downward through rock with high permeability instead of collecting at the surface. This decreases erosion, manages oversaturation, and prevents excessive ground movement. I observed that some monuments at Pioneer Cemetery, like the one in Figure 5, have uneven settling or lean slightly. A closer look at the base of the same monument in Figure 6 shows the growth of moss, indicating that the ground reacts gradually over time to surface weathering, moisture, and seasonal variations.

Although regional geologic surveys show that Eugene is primarily composed of Tertiary sedimentary rocks, with volcanic deposits in nearby areas, the precise bedrock beneath Pioneer Cemetery is not well mapped. Buildings, landscaping, and well-established land uses, such as cemeteries, are usually supported by these rock types. Pioneer Cemetery’s foundational geology appears to be mostly stable because it has been in use since the late 1800s. Lithologic control is one of the main ideas covered in the article. This refers to how drainage, erosion, and slope stability are affected by the kind and structure of rock. Pioneer Cemetery’s relative stability over time can be explained by lithologic control, which also explains why some landscapes are better suited for construction, agriculture, or burial grounds.

Answer To My Question

There are some obvious parallels between the article and my observations. Both highlight the significance of permeability in managing drainage and demonstrate how bedrock composition can affect a site’s long-term stability. The larger geologic context helps explain why Pioneer Cemetery seems to be holding up well, even in the absence of site-specific measurements. The idea that geology was crucial to the cemetery’s original location and long-term durability is supported by the overlap between scientific studies and field observations.

By showing how the characteristics of the soil and bedrock directly affect cemetery stability, the article helps address my question. It provides scientific support for understanding what we saw on campus and explains why drainage and strong underlying material matter. However, since there is not enough information regarding the bedrock beneath Pioneer Cemetery (Madin & Murray 2006), the article does not completely address the question. Its location was probably also influenced by historical elements like land ownership and aesthetic preferences. Although geology plays a significant role in the narrative, other factors also influenced the cemetery’s location.

Something additional I learned and future questions

One new idea I took from the article is how sensitive burial environments can be to small differences underground. Even slight variations in porosity or a thin layer of a different type of rock can influence drainage, decomposition, and long-term ground behavior. I never realized that the unsaturated zone, something we usually never see, could have such a large effect on how a cemetery functions over time. This raised a new question for me: How does the bedrock beneath Pioneer Cemetery compare to other cemeteries in Oregon? For example, if one cemetery sits on volcanic rock and another sits on clay-rich sediment, would they age differently? Would one show more leaning monuments, while another struggles with waterlogging? Comparing different burial grounds across the region could reveal how geology shapes visible patterns across cemeteries.

 

Sources Cited:

Ojo, O. A., Oyelami, C. A., Fakunle, M. A., Ogundana, A. K., Ajayi, O. E., & Uche, T. E. (2022). Integrated approach to unsaturated zone characterization as it relates to burial practices and its impact on the immediate environment. Heliyon, 8(7), e09831–e09831. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2022.e09831 

 

‌Madin, I. P., & Murray, R. B. (2006, December 5). Preliminary geologic map of the Eugene East and Eugene West quadrangles, Lane County, Oregon. Usgs.gov. https://ngmdb.usgs.gov/Prodesc/proddesc_77362.htm?utm_source=chatgpt.com ‌

 

Meierding, T. C. (1993). Inscription legibility method for estimating rock weathering rates. Geomorphology (6), 273–286.

 

Morgan, N. (2016). Gravestone geology. Geology Today, 32(4), 154–159.

https://doi.org/10.1111/gto.12146 

 

Reimers, E. (1999). Death and identity: Graves and funerals as cultural communication. Mortality, 4(2), 147. Retrieved from

https://uoregon.idm.oclc.org/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/scholarly-journals/death-identity-graves-funerals-as-cultural/docview/208753159/se-2