Making Ends Meet in 19th Century New Mexico

Summary

In 19th century frontier New Mexico consumer relationships reflected important social networks that were essential to the survival of Hispanic settlements. These relationships played a vital role in the formation and maintenance of modern Hispanic identity during the Mexican and American Territorial Periods. Using close statistical analysis of technological styles in the New Mexican ceramic assemblages of two sites, this poster examines personal relationships Hispanos cultivated with neighboring Pueblo and nomadic Native American groups to acquire their pottery, and the implications of these relationships for Hispanic identity. Preliminary results indicate that social identities and ethnicities on the frontier were becoming more binary as a widening division opened between Hispanic groups and Native American groups. Hispanos sought to minimize the social markers of their hybrid histories in response to American prejudices. However, it appears that Hispanic identity also grew to encompass a wide range of settled lifestyles and personal histories.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for Historical Archaeology 2015   •
• Poster Session 1

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Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): 103