Intersection and Interaction Among Communities of Practice in the Spanish Colonial American Southwest

Summary

A critical issue for historical archaeology in the Southwest US is understanding the relationships and activities within colonizers’ households during the 17th century. These secular sites, established during the early colonial period, have infrequently been the objects of research-based archaeological inquiry, but they provide an important context for the exchange of information between ‘Spanish’ colonists and local and non-local indigenous peoples who labored in the households. Transmission of knowledge was critical to the colonizers’ success and provided examples of new practices for indigenous peoples. However, the politicized nature of the social relationships colored the value placed on differing practices. Investigating the ways these households functioned by viewing them as locations of intersecting and interacting communities of practice in which transmission of knowledge was influenced both by need and power not only helps us understand colonizers, it also provides a context for understanding the pressures on the Southwest’s indigenous communities.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for Historical Archaeology 2014   •
• Questions that Will Count in the Future: Global Perspectives on Historical Archaeology

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): SYM-7,15