Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant: Indigenous Responses to Colonialism at Achiutla, Oaxaca, Mexico

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Under the direction of Dr. Arthur Joyce, Mr. Jamie Forde will conduct archaeological excavations of households at the site of Achiutla, Oaxaca, Mexico. These date to the Early Colonial period (A.D. 1521-1600). Achiutla is located in the western highlands of the modern state of Oaxaca, in the region known as the Mixteca Alta, which has been inhabited by speakers of the Mixtec language since early pre-Hispanic times. Just prior to the Spanish conquest, Achiutla was known to have been one of the most sacred sites in the region - it was believed to have been the home of a solar oracle, and indigenous nobles from throughout the Mixteca Alta and beyond made religious pilgrimage there. Shortly after the conquest, Spanish missionaries took up residence at the site and aggressively sought to eliminate pre-Hispanic religious practice. Historical records suggest that conflict broke out at times between native residents of the site and the clergy, yet we have little sense of how this abrupt shift in social dynamics affected indigenous peoples' daily lives. The Achiutla Archaeological Project (AAP) will shed light on this issue, examining how aspects of native lifeways changed or were maintained amidst this rather dramatic upheaval. Results are expected to contribute to broader social scientific understandings of the effects of culture contact and colonialism, and long-term processes of cultural change.Although archaeological in nature the research is relevant to the present day in which similar disparities exist between adjacent political entities. Understanding such interactions provide insight into the bonds which hold states together and the forces which undermine unity. In many societies religion plays an important role in either establishing social bonds or the reverse. At Achiutla religious interaction was a major factor making the site a particularly appropriate study venue. Archaeological data because of the long term perspective they can provide allows researchers to track such interactions across periods which may span multiple centuries.Archaeological investigations at Achiutla will entail careful excavations of indigenous residential areas, examining aspects of day-to-day life that are largely unaccounted for in historical records. Attention will particularly focus on three main categories of daily activity: 1) household craft production, 2) consumption of trade goods and foodstuffs, and 3) domestic ritual practice. Depending on the type of activity under consideration, native residents may have variously accepted, resisted, or otherwise adapted to new demands imposed by the Spanish. Careful recovery of material data and subsequent analyses will allow for detailed reconstruction of indigenous lifeways and social change at colonial Achiutla. Such insights, based on material evidence, will not only help fill in gaps in the historical record, but also serve as a potential check against biases in such documents as well, providing a more holistic and objective account of how the Spanish conquest was experienced by natives of Mesoamerica. Data from Achiutla will also be compared to other colonial contexts throughout Mesoamerica and beyond, to examine broader patterns and variability in local responses to colonialism.The AAP is designed to have impacts beyond the academic arena. Not only will the project assist in the graduate training of Forde, but also local residents of the modern town of Achiutla will assist with excavations, and be trained in archaeological research methods. The project will collaborate closely with local authorities seeking to raise awareness of the community's history and preserve its cultural patrimony. Community outreach will be undertaken, as Forde will give public talks in Achiutla and give tours of the site as the excavations progress. Results will not only be disseminated in scholarly literature, but also in more accessible forms designed specifically for residents of the local community, and via the internet for any and all interested parties.