Who Lies Buried Here? The Campo Santo at the Spanish Colonial San Diego Presidio: Gender, Status, Ethnicity

Summary

This is an abstract from the session entitled "Plus Ultra: An examination of current research in Spanish Colonial/Iberian Underwater and Terrestrial Archaeology in the Western Hemisphere." , at the 2020 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology.

Mission San Diego de Alcalá’s records from Spanish and Mexican era San Diego, California coupled with the results of archaeological excavation at Presidio de San Diego offer a unique opportunity to characterize life and death within Alta California’s colonial frontier. Written records document at least 213 persons buried at the presidio between 1769 and 1835. The archaeological record contributes information on 119 sets of remains.

A synthesis of the archaeological data, the forensic information, and varied historical information provide new and important information about ethnicity, gender, mortality, and burial patterns within the presidio’s cemetery and adjacent chapel. Analysis of the funerary goods and other artifacts provides insights into trade, status, and religious customs. Although occupants of the presidio were “Spanish” in a general sense of language and culture, few of the deceased had ever been to Spain and non-Hispanic Native people accounted for about one-quarter of the deceased.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for Historical Archaeology 2020   •
• Plus Ultra: An examination of current research in Spanish Colonial/Iberian Underwater and Terrestrial Archaeology in the Western Hemisphere.

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Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): 563