Native Persistence at a California Mission Outpost

Collaborative research revealing the lives of Ohloneindividuals buried at an eighteenth-century Spanish mission outpostConstruction work in 2016 atSanchez Adobe Park, the site of a historic Spanish mission outpost in the SanFrancisco Bay Area, led to the surprising discovery of human skeletal remains. Thisbook presents a series of bioarchaeological studies done in collaboration withthe Amah Mutsun Tribal Band of Mission San Juan Bautista, the state-appointed MostLikely Descendants of the Ohlone people buried in this cemetery, to explorepersistence and change in the lives of Native Californians recruited into theSpanish missions during the late 1700s.This volumepresents cutting-edge research techniques used to study the health, diet,social connections, and medicinal practices of these Ohlone individuals. Studiesinclude obsidian and glass bead sourcing, osteological and paleopathologicalanalysis, stable isotope analysis, and proteomic studies of dental calculus. Bycomparing these findings with historical records, researchers are even able to identifyseveral of the individuals by name and reconstruct their life histories. This volumereveals continuity in some traditional Ohlone behaviors as well as newpractices influenced by the Spanish. It offers unique insights into the experiencesof Native communities during early colonization on Californias Pacific coast.It also serves as a key example of collaborative bioarchaeological research carriedout by a tribal community, a local parks department, and both professional andacademic archaeologists.Contributors:Diana Malarchik | Kristen Broehl-Droke | Alyson Caine | Beth Armstrong | Glendon Parker | Anna Berim | Shannon Tushingham | Alan Leventhal | Tammy Buonasera | Christine Marshall | Michelle Zimmer | Monica Arrellano | Austin Cole | Tanya Smith | David Gang | Ramona Garibay | Jason Miszaniec | Melody Tannam | Kyle Burk | Mario Zimmermann | Christine Austin