Jacalitos de Tule: Weaving Stories of Domestic Life at San Gabriel Mission

Summary

Archaeological research at San Gabriel Mission over the last decade has greatly increased our understanding of the eighteenth- and nineteenth-century Spanish mission enterprise in Southern California at a grand scale, illuminating the interplay between its key communities and industries. The archaeological discovery of a rare domestic context—the floor of a Native American house—allows us to explore issues of identity and production at a household scale. We examine material evidence related to house construction, renovation, and abandonment, as well as domestic craft production and subsistence, alongside contemporary, firsthand accounts and representational art, to create a more personal narrative of Native American life within a major colonial institution. Weaving together archival and archaeological sources, the resulting household biography illuminates little-known aspects of domestic life at the mission, including details of household composition, craft production, provisioning, and animal companionship.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Biographies of Mission   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2018

Keywords

Spatial Coverage

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): 1041