The Struggle Within: Effects of Spanish Interaction Intensity on Pueblo Pottery Technology as Revealed through Petrographic Study

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Step by Step: Tracing World Potting Traditions through Ceramic Petrography" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Spanish intrusion, colonization, and missionization impacted many aspects of life for the Pueblo people. Examination of ceramic technology provides a way to recognize cultural continuity and transformation in Pueblo communities as well as highlighting the role of Indigenous agency in determining the structure of those communities prior to and after Spanish contact. Previous research on pottery producing foragers and historic expediency helps to identify variables most likely to inform on expediency in ceramic technology during the contentious colonial period. In this study, we examine decorated pottery for evidence of potters adopting expedient ceramic technology in three types of New Mexico Pueblo communities. The Pueblo residents living in each of these communities experienced different types of contact with Spanish invaders or colonizers. At San Marcos, a Franciscan mission was established. At Piedras Marcadas, the Coronado expedition lay siege to the community and fought the Pueblo’s residents. At many villages along the Rio Abajo, no missions were established. We couch our interpretations of pottery production in these communities in a framework of agency and practice to address the active role of material culture in potters' daily attempts to negotiate their place within a dramatically changing world.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Step by Step: Tracing World Potting Traditions through Ceramic Petrography   •
• Society for American Archaeology 88th Annual Meeting, Portland, OR (2023)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 35943.0