Mapping Missions: Visualizing the Cultural Landscapes of 18th Century Spanish Mission Communities in St. Augustine

Summary

This is an abstract from the session entitled "Paper / Report Submission (General Sessions)" , at the 2022 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology.

Since the late sixteenth century, the fledgling colony of St. Augustine served as an anchor for the Spanish mission system that spread throughout the interior southeastern United States. At the start of the eighteenth century, the network of religious towns experienced conflict and destruction at the hands of the English and their allies. Many Native refugees relocated to the outskirts of St. Augustine to form new missions. Throughout several decades, the communities experienced periods of growth, destruction, reconstruction, and relocation before many were lost to history. Now, with a Florida Division of Historical Resources Small Matching Grant, projects conducted by the City of St. Augustine Archaeology Program are mapped into GIS. Using summarized data from hundreds of excavations conducted over a period of 35 years, the footprint of missions Nombre de Dios, La Costa, Tolomato, Palica, Pocotalaca, and La Punta are more clearly defined on the landscape.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• SHA 2022 General Sessions   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2022

Keywords

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology