A Livelihoods Approach to Colonial Period Farming Strategies at Tahcabo, Yucatán

Tracing the structural consequences of colonialism in rural Yucatán, Mexico

“…Prior to its designation as a mission town, Tahcabo had a long history dating back to at least the Late Preclassic period (ca. 300 BC; Dedrick, 2019).…”

“…Archaeological evidence from Tahcabo, the nearby site of Ek’ Balam, and historical sources suggest that mobility was a necessary tactic for survival, particularly among those who were violently removed from their homes and relocated to mission towns (Dedrick, 2019; Farriss, 1984; Hanson, 2008). People arriving at a mission town from elsewhere would have been at a disadvantage.…”

“…After the Church expropriated these estates, communities had few resources to pay for their annual festivals. Evidence from excavations at a small, late‐colonial house on the outskirts of Tahcabo (which included numerous large cooking pots and grinding tools) suggests that at this time even marginal households contributed to these important food‐sharing events (Dedrick, 2019, 277–8).…”

“…They instead responded creatively to the evolving challenges before them, taking action to support their families and communities, thereby demonstrating “survivance,” or “repudiation of dominance,” as defined by Gerald Vizenor (1998, 15; see also Acebo and Martinez, 2018; Atalay, 2006). Evidence for survivance from initial research at Tahcabo includes the early‐colonial hunting and mobility mentioned above (and seen also at the outskirts of the nearby site of Ek’ Balam; Hanson, 2008, 1324–29), and late‐colonial community‐wide food‐sharing activities and strategies for economic diversification that included care for plants and animals, craft activities such as embroidery, and wage labor (Dedrick, 2019). Scholars working elsewhere have demonstrated that residents of rural Yucatán experimented with and adopted introduced plants, animals, and technologies (such as water‐drawing features and production facilities) in heterogeneous ways based on social standing and other factors as they pursued resilient livelihood strategies (Alexander and Hernández Álvarez, 2018; Alexander and Williams, 2019; deFrance and Hanson, 2008; Hanson, 2008; Hoil Gutiérrez, 2010; Millet Cámara, Ojeda Mas, and Suárez Aguilar, 1993).…”

“…Clearly, this household ignored the order, as well as one demanding the surrender of all "ídolos" (icons of traditional deities; Ancona, 1889, 545), since part of a Postclassic-style Chen Mul deity-modeled incense burner was found deposited with another incense burner along a wall of the residential platform. Plant remains studied from an area of kitchen refuse east of the residential platform indicate the predominance of maize alongside legume, squash, possible chili pepper, and palm and berry fruits that could have been collected from nearby forested areas (Dedrick, 2019). The dependence on annual crops, gathered fruits, hunting, and fishing would have allowed household members to move as needed without losing investments sunk into gardens, orchards, or larger domesticated animals.…”