Lee M. Panich

Archaeologies of Persistence: Reconsidering the Legacies of Colonialism in Native North America

Abstract This article seeks to define common ground from which to build a more integrated approach to the persistence of indigenous societies in North America. Three concepts are discussed—identity, practice, and context—that may prove useful for the development of archaeologies of persistence by allowing us to counter terminal narratives and essentialist concepts of cultural identity that are deeply ingrained in scholarly and popular thinking about Native American societies. The use of these concepts is illustrated in an example that shows how current archaeological research is challenging long-held scholarty and popular beliefs about the effects of colonialism in coastal California, where the policies of Spanish colonial missionaries have long been thought to have driven local native peoples to cultural extinction. By exploring how the sometimes dramatic changes of the colonial period were internally structured and are just one part of long and dynamic native histories, archaeologies of persistence may help to bring about a shift in how the archaeology of colonialism presents the histories of native peoples in North America—one that can make archaeology more relevant to descendant communities.

The Study of Indigenous Political Economies and Colonialism in Native California: Implications for Contemporary Tribal Groups and Federal Recognition

Abstract This article advocates for a comparative approach to archaeological studies of colonialism that considers how Native American societies with divergent political economies may have influenced various kinds of processes and outcomes in their encounters with European colonists. Three dimensions of indigenous political economies (polity size, polity structure, and landscape management practices) are identified as critical variables in colonial research. The importance of considering these dimensions is exemplified in a case study from California, which shows how small-sized polities, weak to moderate political hierarchies, and regionally oriented pyrodiversity economies played significant roles in the kinds of colonial relationships that unfolded. The case study illustrates how the colonial experiences of Native Californians differed from those of other tribal groups that confronted similar kinds of colonial programs involving Franciscan missionaries elsewhere in North America. The article stresses that the archaeology of colonialism is not simply an arcane academic exercise but, rather, has real-life relevancy for people who remain haunted by the legacies of colonialism, such as those petitioning for federal recognition in California.

NATIVE AMERICAN CONSUMPTION OF SHELL AND GLASS BEADS AT MISSION SANTA CLARA DE ASÍS

Abstract This article uses a consumption framework to examine Native American use of shell and glass beads at the site of Mission Santa Clara de Asís in central California. The analysis considers how indigenous people acquired beads within the mission system as well as the ways in which they integrated diverse types of beads into existing and emergent cultural traditions. Regional archaeological evidence reveals multiple sources of shell beads while the missions account book offers detailed information regarding the purchase of glass beads by Franciscan missionaries. At Santa Clara, archaeological assemblages from various temporal and spatial contexts demonstrate that native people continued to use shell beads throughout the mission period but also incorporated glass beads into local understandings of status and mourning. Within these general patterns of bead use, the evidence suggests a local preference for white glass beads as well as variation in the use of or access to shell beads across the mission community. These data underscore the localized ways indigenous people made sense of new and familiar items within the constraints of colonialism.

“Sometimes They Bury the Deceased’s Clothes and Trinkets”: Indigenous Mortuary Practices at Mission Santa Clara de Asís

Mission Santa Clara de Asís, a Franciscan mission in Alta California, was home to Ohlone/Costanoan, Yokuts, and Miwok people who perpetuated and reinterpreted mortuary practices at multiple points across the landscape. More than three decades of archaeological research at Mission Santa Clara has revealed burials and associated grave goods from two different mission era cemeteries, as well as the archaeological remains of possible mourning ceremonies within the mission’s indigenous residential area. Burial records also reveal a wealth of information about how Franciscans and native people negotiated cultural and religious practices regarding death and mourning. The findings from Santa Clara are contextualized through evidence from precontact archaeological sites and early ethnographies, as well as from historical accounts by missionaries and other observers. The processes of negotiation and accommodation that unfolded between Franciscan missionaries and indigenous people at Mission Santa Clara are compared with evidence from other Alta California missions.

Finding Mid-19th Century Native Settlements: Cartographic and Archaeological Evidence from Central California

ABSTRACT Historical maps have the potential to aid archaeological investigations into the persistence of Native American settlements during the mid-19th century, a time when many Native communities disappear from archaeological view. Focusing on Tomales Bay in central California, we evaluate the usefulness of historical maps as a way to discover and interpret archaeological deposits dating to the period, with the aim of better understanding indigenous patterns of residence at the transition from missionary to settler colonialism. In particular, we focus on diseños and plats created to document Mexican-era land grants as well as early maps produced by the General Land Office and United States Coast Survey. Although we note inconsistencies regarding the inclusion of indigenous settlements on historical maps, our case study offers an example of how archaeologists can employ historical maps and targeted archaeological ground-truthing to discover sites that are poorly represented in the historical and archaeological records.

A Reassessment of Archaeological Obsidian from Southern Alta California and Northern Baja California

Abstract This article offers a reassessment of the sources of archaeological obsidian found in southern California and northern Baja California based on new information regarding the geological availability of obsidian in Baja California, Mexico. In particular, we demonstrate that a previously unknown obsidian chemical group, referred to here as Tinajas obsidian, was for decades misidentified as San Felipe obsidian in regional archaeological analyses. In light of new data derived from geological surveys, geochemical analyses, and regional archaeological research, previous obsidian provenance reports from both sides of the border are reviewed. Our findings indicate that the archaeological distribution of the Tinajas obsidian group extends throughout northern Baja California and into southern California. In contrast, San Felipe obsidian appears to have had a more restricted geographical distribution than previously thought.

Obsidian Sources of Northern Baja California: The Known and the Unknown

Abstract The obsidian sources of northern Baja California remain understudied even though archaeological work in the region has expanded in recent decades. In this article, we provide descriptions and geochemical characterizations for several known and as-yet unlocated sources of artifact quality obsidian in the northern region of Baja California. These data include two new sources recorded in the field, one additional unknown source identified in an archaeological assemblage, and one unknown source found only in secondary geological deposits. We also address the distribution of obsidian in secondary geological contexts. This article should serve as the basis for future provenance work as well as to further our understanding of indigenous trade networks and procurement strategies.

After Saint Serra: Unearthing indigenous histories at the California missions

In 2015, Pope Francis elevated Franciscan missionary Junípero Serra to sainthood, reinforcing the association between the California missions and the founding of Euroamerican colonies in western North America. Yet the canonization also leaves this discourse, and its associated narrative of indigenous decline, open to critique. Here, I examine two developments that effectively recast the California missions as distinctly indigenous places that embody both struggle and perseverance. First, Serra’s canonization offers a platform for Native Californians to raise concerns about the historical and continuing impacts of the mission system. Second, the canonization coincides with new archaeological and ethnohistorical investigations of indigenous life in colonial California that illuminate how native people persisted despite the challenges of missionization. Taken together, these developments intersect ongoing efforts to reorient public interpretive programs at California mission sites to show their complex indigenous histories and the enduring consequences missionization has had for indigenous communities today.

Ceramic Production in Early Hispanic California: Craft, Economy, and Trade on the Frontier of New Spain

reasons, the importance of jewelry. They are clearly discussed, helping the reader to understand and appreciate the role and function of ancient Egyptian funerary culture. Well-known masterpieces discovered in the female tombs are presented, but the book does not limit itself to these pieces since they are discussed at length, as is pointed out by author, in many works on Egyptian art. Therefore, the author includes lesserknown objects (e.g., burial goods) in his discussion, allowing the reader to have a more comprehensive view of the specific aspect of ancient Egyptian funerary culture. The focus of the book is not only the various aspects of the late Middle Kingdom funerary culture, but also its discovery and rediscovery through the ages. Although very brief in length, Chapter 5 touches upon the important issue of the burials of kings with only women placed around them (the feature common to the many Old and all Middle Kingdom pyramid complexes), as well as of the ‘king’s children.’ The book ends with an Appendix [pp. 189–194] presenting the list of The Royal Women of the Twelfth Dynasty, details of the excavation reports for the tombs covered [pp. 225–228], and thoughtful notes and bibliography. One more important point of the book which must be stressed is the author’s ability to compare, whenever possible, the ancient Egyptian burial practice with the customs of other cultures, Ancient Near Eastern and European (in Greece and elsewhere), but also with other periods of ancient Egyptian history. Dr. Grajetzki has produced an overall, and meaningful study of the female burials and funerary culture of the late Middle Kingdom, an extremely useful source for both amateurs and professionals.