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Native American Consumption of Shell and Glass Beads at Mission Santa Clara De Asís

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Lee M. Panich
Lee M. Panich*
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, Santa Clara University, 500 El Camino Real, Santa Clara, CA 95053 (lpanich@scu.edu)
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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 mission's 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.

Resumen

Resumen

Este artículo emplea un enfoque de consumo para examinar cómo los indígenas utilizaron cuentas de concha y de vidrio en el sitio de la Misión de Santa Clara de Asís, en California. El análisis considera cómo los indígenas adquirieron cuentas dentro del sistema misional, así como se integraron dinámicamente diversos tipos de cuentas en sus tradiciones culturales. La evidencia arqueológica al nivel regional revela varias fuentes de cuentas de concha, mientras que los memorias y facturas de la misión ofrecen información detallada acerca de la compra de cuentas de vidrio por los misioneros franciscanos. En Santa Clara, los materiales arqueológicos de diversos contextos temporales y espaciales demuestran que los indígenas utilizaron continuamente cuentas de concha durante todo el período misional. También se incorporaron cuentas de vidrio en los entendimientos locales del estatus y luto. Dentro del contexto del uso de cuentas asociado con el entierro y el luto, la evidencia sugiere una preferencia local para cuentas de vidrio blanco, así como la variación en el uso o acceso a cuentas de concha a través de la comunidad indígena en Santa Clara. Los datos destacan cómo los indígenas entendieron el sentido de los objetos nuevos y conocidos dentro de las limitaciones del colonialismo.

Type
Articles
Information
American Antiquity , Volume 79 , Issue 4 , October 2014 , pp. 730 - 748
Copyright
Copyright © The Society for American Archaeology 2014

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