Subsistence and Persistence: Understanding Indigenous Foodways within Mission Santa Clara de Asìs, Alta California

Summary

This is an abstract from the session entitled "Paper / Report Submission (General Sessions)", at the 2023 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology.

Colonization significantly impacted Indigenous foodways in Alta California, resulting in the intentional rearticulation of certain practices amidst new economic, political, new social realities. Recent excavations at the ranchería at Mission Santa Clara de Asís (CA-SCL-30H) yielded faunal assemblages associated with subsistence strategies and daily diet of Native Californians. This study presents a comprehensive dataset that compares Spanish Mission inventories with the analysis of faunal remains associated with foodway practices of both Native Californians and Spanish soldiers. This analysis provides evidence for Indigenous persistence, manifested in the continued use of precolonial foods and procurement strategies alongside the “indigenization” of new animals and culinary practices. Whereas many foundational works focused on the lasting legacies of colonialism, including demographic losses and acculturation, this research highlights the process of persistence.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• SHA 2023 General Sessions   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2023

Keywords

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Nicole Haddow