Zooarchaeology of Mission Santa Clara de Asìs: Bone Fragmentation, Stew Production, and Commensality

Abstract

Through the analysis of faunal remains from refuse features associated with the Native Californian living quarters at Mission Santa Clara de Asìs, the article examines Indigenous diet within this colonial mission settlement. In Alta California, Native Californians from differing sociolinguistic groups were relocated to Spanish missions, creating an ever shifting pluralistic society. Within these mission settlements, Native Californians were tasked with maintaining the vast agricultural fields for which they received ingredients for two Spanish-style meals, atole and pozole. This study examines the diet of Native Californian families living within Mission Santa Clara, specifically focusing on the breakage patterns of cattle bones and the communal preparation, cooking, and consumption of these daily meals. These results illustrate change and continuity of foodway practices, expanding our understanding of mission political economies and Native Californian persistence within this colonial system.

Indigenous Foodways as Persistence in the Alta California Mission System

“…Therefore, patterns of bone breakage were only assessed in the assemblages from Mission Santa Clara. This research follows a detailed analysis of bone-grease rendering practices identified in the rancheria assemblage (Noe 2021).…”

“…Second, faunal assemblages from two distinct areas within Mission Santa Clara are thoroughly examined and situated within this regional assessment (Figure 3). This first assemblage is from food refuse features excavated from within the rancheria, and it represents daily dietary practices from the 1780s through the early 1820s, during which Ohlone-and Yokuts-speaking people primarily resided within the mission boundaries (Noe 2021(Noe , 2022. A diachronic analysis of Indigenous foodways at Mission Santa Clara throughout the mission period has been previously completed (see Noe 2021Noe , 2022.…”

“…This first assemblage is from food refuse features excavated from within the rancheria, and it represents daily dietary practices from the 1780s through the early 1820s, during which Ohlone-and Yokuts-speaking people primarily resided within the mission boundaries (Noe 2021(Noe , 2022. A diachronic analysis of Indigenous foodways at Mission Santa Clara throughout the mission period has been previously completed (see Noe 2021Noe , 2022. The second assemblage is derived from food refuse features associated with the kitchen and living quarters within the third mission quadrangle (1781-1818), representing the diet of settlers, officials, travelers, and priests (Huelsbeck 1988).…”

“…Vertebral and rib elements, from which it is notably difficult to strip meat, were segregated from this butchering process; instead, they were brought back to the mission complex to be utilized in a colonial-style stew of pozole (Gust 1982). Analyses of matanzas have noted a preponderance of long bones and absences of ribs and vertebrae (Burson 1999; Gust 1982; Potter, Clark, and Reddy 2021), whereas analyses of refuse features associated with dietary practices within the mission system have noted high frequencies of ribs and vertebral elements (Kiel 2016; Langenwalter and McKee 1985; Noe 2021; St. Clair 2005; Walker and Davidson 1989).…”

“…This article examines the subsistence strategies and culinary traditions of Native Californians and Spanish soldiers and settlers who resided within Mission Santa Clara de Asís during the mission period (1769–1833). Previous research at Mission Santa Clara focused on the daily diet of Indigenous families who resided within the rancheria (see Garlinghouse 2009; Kiel 2016; Noe 2021, 2022; Potter, Clark, and Reddy 2021). However, the diet of the priests, officials, and settlers within Mission Santa Clara has yet to be assessed, limiting the discussion surrounding the divergences between Indigenous and colonial foodways within this setting.…”