Cemetery Landscape of Ascension Parish, Louisiana

A geographical analysis of 39 cemeteries in Ascension Parish, Louisiana, reveals a cultural mosaic of the parish. While French Louisiana culture is dominant throughout the area, some elements of the Upland South culture, such as feet-to-east burial orientation, appear in eastern Ascension Parish. The distribution pattern of above ground burials indicates a cultural hierarchy in western Ascension Parish with Donaldsonville in its peak.