THE OZARK CULTURE REGION AS REVEALED BY TRADITIONAL MATERIALS

ABSTRACT

The Ozarks of Missouri and Arkansas were used as a datum area in which to test the hypothesis that folk materials, if documented, may be used by the cultural geographer. Using folk materials such as folktales and folk speech, supported by evidence from other sources including U.S. Census returns, a distinctive cultural region of eleven counties within the Ozarks was identified. Ethnic and temporal evidence is presented concerning the patterns of occupancy of this localized folk group. Folk materials are of value to the cultural geographer as a source of documentation of settlement processes and may contribute to an understanding of the continuum of the changing occupancy of what is often a misunderstood and misrepresented region.