Synopses & Reviews
"A clear and evocative demonstration of how historical archaeology, when done by a scholar of Voss's caliber, can contribute in a substantive and profound way to our understanding of colonialism."and#151;Mary C. Beaudry, author of
Findings: The Material Culture of Needlework and Sewing"The Archaeology of Ethnogenesis will become a model for research on identity in historical archaeology. Extremely well written and readable, it presents the results of original research in innovative ways."and#151;Randall H. McGuire, author of A Marxist Archaeology
"In her innovative archaeological study of shifting identities in Spanish California, Voss shows that the colonists of San Francisco used diverse material practices to establish a new Californio identity and legitimize their status as occupiers of a new land. This book will be of considerable interest to scholars of the Spanish borderlands and gender politics."and#151;Robert W. Preucel, coeditor of A Companion to Social Archaeology
Review
and#8220;A must-read for all interested not only in colonial California, but for all historical archaeologists and to any archaeologist interested in the examination of identities.and#8221;
Review
and#8220;Reminds historians that other disciplines can offer fruitful methodological forays into well-trodden areas of study.and#8221;
Review
and#8220;Exemplary . . . The Archaeology of Ethnogenesis is a required read for scholars of European imperialism, colonization, race, class, and gender. It offers graduate students an inspirational model study.and#8221;
Synopsis
This innovative work of historical archaeology illuminates the genesis of the Californios, a community of military settlers who forged a new identity on the northwest edge of Spanish North America. Since 1993, Barbara L. Voss has conducted archaeological excavations at the Presidio of San Francisco, founded by Spain during its colonization of California's central coast. Her research at the Presidio forms the basis for this rich study of cultural identity formation, or ethnogenesis, among the diverse peoples who came from widespread colonized populations to serve at the Presidio. Through a close investigation of the landscape, architecture, ceramics, clothing, and other aspects of material culture, she traces shifting contours of race and sexuality in colonial California.
About the Author
Barbara L. Voss is Assistant Professor of Anthropology at Stanford University and coeditor, with Robert Schmidt, of Archaeologies of Sexuality, which received the Ruth Benedict Prize from the American Anthropological Association.
Table of Contents
List of Illustrations
List of Tables
Acknowledgments
Introduction
1. Ethnogenesis and the Archaeology of Identity
I. HISTORICAL AND ARCHAEOLOGICAL CONTEXTS
2. Spanish-Colonial San Francisco
3. From Casta to Californio, I: Who Lived at El Presidio de San Francisco?
4. From Casta to Californio, II: Social Identities in Late Spanish and Mexican-Era Alta California
5. From Artifacts to Ethnogenesis: Excavating El Presidio de San Francisco
II. SPATIAL AND MATERIAL PRACTICES
6. Sites of Identification: Landscape
7. Structuring Structures: Architecture
8. Tradition and Taste: Ceramics
9. Consuming Practices: Foodways
10. Fashioning the Colonial