Abstract:The Spaniards established several congregaciones or missions in central Petén, Guatemala, shortly after the 1697 conquest of the region to help control local indigenous populations. Recent investigations at the church and community of Mission San Bernabé revealed details about the entangled relations of Mayas and Spaniards. Foucault's four technologies of domination help explicate these power relations as they were played out in the small settlement and the church at its center. Material culture differed in ma… Show more
“…The isotope values instead support archaeological and biological data that reveal a mission settlement comprised of related groups of people following Itza ceramic traditions (Pugh et al 2012(Pugh et al , 2016. San Bernabé residents likely came from within the region as the Spanish resettled Itza and other Maya populations in newly established missions around the lake (Caso Barrera 2002).…”
Section: Resultsmentioning
confidence: 65%
“…Figure 1.Map of Peten region with sites mentioned in text. Modified from Pugh et al (2016:52, Figure 1).…”
Section: Precolonial and Contact-period Migration And Mobilitymentioning
confidence: 99%
“…Material culture from the 2010–2012 excavations supports a mainly Itza occupation based on offerings and ceramic types, with indigenous individuals who were likely related buried under the floor of the mission church (Miller 2015b; Pugh et al 2012). Markedly different patterns emerged in food use and burial practices, however, along with more nuanced changes in ceramic styles and the presence of objects like coins that may signal new types of economic transactions (Freiwald and Pugh 2018; Pugh et al 2016). Isotopic assays can show whether the movement of people into the region was also one of the consequential changes marking the Peten's early Colonial period.…”
Section: Colonial Migration and Mobilitymentioning
confidence: 99%
“…Early missions provide critical insights into the process of Spanish colonialism in the Americas. Indigenous populations were introduced to new material goods, foods, and religious practices, which they selectively embraced, rejected, or subtly resisted in myriad ways (Graham et al 2013; Kepecs and Alexander 2005; Oland et al 2012; Pugh et al 2016). Each mission and reducción or congregación (resettled community) shows this diversity in indigenous adaptations.…”
Section: Introductionmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…The lack of evidence for large movements of people across a boundary, however, does not negate the impact of Colonial period changes. The boundary itself moved, and with it brought distinct foods and foraging patterns, fealties, and even faith to the Maya populations in the region (Freiwald and Pugh 2018; Pugh et al 2012, 2016).…”
Colonialism came late to northern Guatemala. The Spanish began to establish missions in the Peten Lakes region in the early 1700s, nearly 200 years after initial contact with the Mayas. Excavations in 2011–2012 at the Mission San Bernabé revealed European goods, nonnative animal species, and burial patterns that marked a new lifestyle. Who lived at the Mission San Bernabé, and where did they come from? The Spanish resettled indigenous populations to facilitate the colonization process; however, isotopic data are inconsistent with large population movements. Instead, strontium and oxygen isotope values in the tooth enamel and bones of individuals buried at the mission suggest a mostly local population. The data suggest in-migration from Belize, a region under nominal Spanish control, but with pre-Hispanic ties to the Peten. Changes did not come from migrants crossing a border; instead, the border itself moved and brought the colonial world to the Peten Mayas.
“…The isotope values instead support archaeological and biological data that reveal a mission settlement comprised of related groups of people following Itza ceramic traditions (Pugh et al 2012(Pugh et al , 2016. San Bernabé residents likely came from within the region as the Spanish resettled Itza and other Maya populations in newly established missions around the lake (Caso Barrera 2002).…”
Section: Resultsmentioning
confidence: 65%
“…Figure 1.Map of Peten region with sites mentioned in text. Modified from Pugh et al (2016:52, Figure 1).…”
Section: Precolonial and Contact-period Migration And Mobilitymentioning
confidence: 99%
“…Material culture from the 2010–2012 excavations supports a mainly Itza occupation based on offerings and ceramic types, with indigenous individuals who were likely related buried under the floor of the mission church (Miller 2015b; Pugh et al 2012). Markedly different patterns emerged in food use and burial practices, however, along with more nuanced changes in ceramic styles and the presence of objects like coins that may signal new types of economic transactions (Freiwald and Pugh 2018; Pugh et al 2016). Isotopic assays can show whether the movement of people into the region was also one of the consequential changes marking the Peten's early Colonial period.…”
Section: Colonial Migration and Mobilitymentioning
confidence: 99%
“…Early missions provide critical insights into the process of Spanish colonialism in the Americas. Indigenous populations were introduced to new material goods, foods, and religious practices, which they selectively embraced, rejected, or subtly resisted in myriad ways (Graham et al 2013; Kepecs and Alexander 2005; Oland et al 2012; Pugh et al 2016). Each mission and reducción or congregación (resettled community) shows this diversity in indigenous adaptations.…”
Section: Introductionmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…The lack of evidence for large movements of people across a boundary, however, does not negate the impact of Colonial period changes. The boundary itself moved, and with it brought distinct foods and foraging patterns, fealties, and even faith to the Maya populations in the region (Freiwald and Pugh 2018; Pugh et al 2012, 2016).…”
Colonialism came late to northern Guatemala. The Spanish began to establish missions in the Peten Lakes region in the early 1700s, nearly 200 years after initial contact with the Mayas. Excavations in 2011–2012 at the Mission San Bernabé revealed European goods, nonnative animal species, and burial patterns that marked a new lifestyle. Who lived at the Mission San Bernabé, and where did they come from? The Spanish resettled indigenous populations to facilitate the colonization process; however, isotopic data are inconsistent with large population movements. Instead, strontium and oxygen isotope values in the tooth enamel and bones of individuals buried at the mission suggest a mostly local population. The data suggest in-migration from Belize, a region under nominal Spanish control, but with pre-Hispanic ties to the Peten. Changes did not come from migrants crossing a border; instead, the border itself moved and brought the colonial world to the Peten Mayas.
Societies vary in how they approach the challenges of increased population, inequality, and occupational specialization. The city of Nixtun-Ch'ich’ and its satellite, T'up, in Peten, Guatemala exhibit orthogonal urban grids—a trait absent from all other known Maya cities. Such grids require extensive planning and the ability to mobilize the population. The present data suggests that Nixtun-Ch'ich’ was substantially larger than any of the surrounding settlements and was, therefore, a primate center during the Middle Preclassic period. The extensive urban planning of the site, as well as that of T'up suggests centralized planning. Yet, we have not encountered evidence of a central ruler propagated as a unifying symbol of the polity. The gridded public streets and lack of a rulership cult suggest that Nixtun-Ch'ich’ had a more collaborative social system.
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