Beyond the Mission Walls: Faunal analysis of an Alta California mission ranchería feature

Summary

Mission Santa Clara de Asís, located in south San Francisco Bay, was one in a chain of Spanish Franciscan missions stretching from the south to the north of Alta California. Founded in 1777, Mission Santa Clara has been the subject of archaeological investigation for decades, but only in the past few years has the lens of research focused on native people’s experiences and navigation of the mission system.This paper presents the results of a zooarchaeological analysis of a sampled pit feature (Feature 5) associated with one of Santa Clara’s rancherías--adobe barracks constructed to house native peoples living at the mission. The results of the analysis provide additional evidence that native religious practices continued in parts of the "converted" population who lived and worked at the mission. The material remains from traditional religious practices were found discarded with other refuse. Alongside domesticated cattle, caprines, and chicken, native peoples ate seasonally available ducks, geese, and marine animals, suggesting continued movement and connection to the traditional landscape. The faunal data offer deeper insights into how native peoples creatively negotiated the new resources and the new social limitations that characterized mission life.

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This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 80th Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA (2015)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage