Biocultural Histories in La Florida: A Bioarchaeological Perspective
256
Biocultural Histories in La Florida: A Bioarchaeological Perspective
256Paperback(First Edition, First Edition)
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Overview
This book examines the effects of the Spanish mission system on population structure and genetic variability in indigenous communities living in northern Florida and southern Georgia during the 16th and 17th centuries. Data on tooth size were collected from 26 archaeological samples representing three time periods: Late Precontact (~1200-1500), Early Mission (~1600-1650), and Late Mission (~1650-1700) and were subjected to a series of statistical tests evaluating genetic variability. Predicted changes in phenotypic population variability are related to models of group interaction, population demo-graphy, and genetic admixture as suggested by ethnohistoric and archaeological data.
Results suggest considerable differences in diachronic responses to the mission environment for each cultural province. The Apalachee demonstrate a marked increase in variability while the Guale demonstrate a decline in variability. Demographic models of population collapse are therefore inconsistent with predicted changes based on population geneticsl, and the determinants of population structure seem largely local in nature. This book highlights the specificity with which indigenous communities responded to European contact and the resulting transformations in their social worlds.
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9780817352677 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | University of Alabama Press |
| Publication date: | 12/06/2005 |
| Edition description: | First Edition, First Edition |
| Pages: | 256 |
| Product dimensions: | 6.12(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.60(d) |
About the Author
Read an Excerpt
Biocultural Histories in La Florida
A Bioarchaeological PerspectiveBy Christopher M. Stojanowski
THE UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA PRESS
Copyright © 2005 The University of Alabama PressAll right reserved.
ISBN: 978-0-8173-5267-7
Chapter One
Historical Bioarchaeology
In 1763, Spanish ships set sail from the Atlantic Coast of Florida heading toward Havana, thus ending two centuries of Spanish colonization and proselytizing of the region. These ships carried the few remaining individuals from the indigenous colonial populations (the Apalachee, Guale, and Timucua) that had survived decades of social upheaval and alterations in traditional lifeways. Although Spain would return to La Florida twenty years later for a brief period of occupation, the Native American populations did not. The ceding of St. Augustine in 1763 was, therefore, the culmination of a long process of Native American acculturation, resistance, and adaptation initiated by Ponce de León's 1513 Gulf Coast landing and subsequent claiming of lands north of New Spain for the Spanish Crown. Historical documents provide considerable insight into what life was like during the contact period. They are not, however, complete. And, for the biological anthropologist, the evolutionary consequences of the mission experience remain unclear. This book investigates patterns of biological variability in light of the mission history to supplement the historicalrecord in a way that will be useful to historians, archaeologists, and physical anthropologists.
Specifically, this book investigates changes in population levels of phenotypic variability for two tribal groups (the Guale and Apalachee) through three time periods, Late Precontact (~A.D. 1200-1400), Early Mission (A.D. 1600-1650), and Late Mission (~A.D. 1650-1706). By focusing on comparisons within groups, I evaluate the pattern of changes in phenotypic (tooth size) variability (increase, decrease, or stasis) and relate observed trends to prevailing models of New World population demography and ethnohistoric details of population structure and interaction patterns. Ultimately I hope to reconstruct the evolutionary impact of Spanish policy and Native American response to this policy, and further detail the rapidly changing sociopolitical world in which the indigenous populations of La Florida found themselves.
The social history of Spanish Florida identifies two overarching processes defining changes in population composition through time. First, population sizes were declining, albeit at different rates in different regions. Second, population aggregation and migration were occurring largely in response to the rate of localized demographic collapse. Aggregation can therefore be viewed as secondary to population demography and as a reactionary process designed to mitigate the deleterious effects of demographic collapse. Where demographic collapse was most severe, the hierarchical process of population aggregation was most aggressive. In this sense, "hierarchical" refers to the fact that aggregation proceeded along a defined, progressive pathway, from the local to the regional to the supraregional. Expansion of the "burial catchment," that is, the geographical area from which a particular mission community cemetery received deaths, has several predicted effects depending on the structure of population relationships in preceding time periods. Aggregation of biologically integrated populations is an evolutionary non-event, whereas aggregation of divergent populations (and admixture between them) leads to predictable evolutionary genetic responses.
Ethnohistory's contributions to this discussion are twofold. First, ethnohistoric data provide estimates of population size that are directly related to expected intensities of population aggregation. Quality varies considerably (see Henige 1998), a topic returned to throughout this book. Second, ethnohistory provides statements regarding the expected biological consequences of aggregation, where it did occur. In other words, ethnohistoric data can be used to define population interaction boundaries, to predict changes in the size of the population, and to predict diachronic changes in between-group interaction patterns.
This book considers the effects of "collapse aggregation" in terms of synchronic and diachronic differentials in genetic variability. Where there is documented stasis or a decrease in genetic variability, paleogenetic bioarchaeology informs about rates of population size reduction and the effects of genetic drift. For example, a decline in genetic variability suggests a similar decline in population size. Static genetic variances suggest no change in population size between time periods. Where there is a documented increase in genetic variability, paleogenetic bioarchaeology informs about precontact population structure and patterns of gene flow during the contact period. For example, knowledge of contact between two populations during the historic period, combined with genetic variability estimates for both populations during sequential time periods, allows inference about the degree of biological integration of these populations during the earlier time period. If variability increases, it is assumed the populations were previously genetically distinct. Assuming veracity of the contact era data (population size debates notwithstanding), the approach adopted in this book has the ability to evaluate simultaneously the accuracy of archaeologically and historically generated models of biosocial interaction both before and during the period of active missionary activity. It also provides novel information about the nature of such interaction unavailable from other sources. One facet of this book is, therefore, expository; to demonstrate the utility of paleogenetic bioarchaeology in anthropological research programs.
Attempts to tether diverse topics into a coherent picture of the social environment of 17th-century La Florida necessitate a careful distillation of data and presentation of research foci. The success of this approach requires delineation of three topics: (1) general historical processes must be outlined and used to define a research design; (2) analytical data must be explained and explicitly linked to the research design; and (3) analytical results based on the data must be evaluated in light of the research questions and regional histories.
With this structure in mind, I have organized the book into three sections. The first, "The Archaeology," consists of chapters 2 and 3. Chapter 2 is written to provide general historical and archaeological details and to contextualize the current work within the appropriate regional scholarship. We know the dates, personalities, and places of La Florida. We know the effects of missionization on native health and diet. We know epidemics were problematic. We know social systems were stressed. We do not know the evolutionary impacts of colonization. Whereas chapter 2 provides a general historical overview, chapter 3 specifically targets data sources integral for generating biologically informed predictive models. It is in this chapter that disease epidemiology is incorporated into the research design and that Spanish policies to mitigate ensuing colonial stresses are outlined. This discussion is structured around the central overarching theme of this book, namely the complementary nature of ethnohistoric and bioanthropological data.
The second section, "The Bioanthropology," consists of chapters 4 and 5. Chapter 4 l inks the ethnohistory with evolutionary theory, with discussion centered on the causes and interpretation of phenotypic variability, the meaning of "heritability," odontometric inheritance p atterns, and e volu tionary mechanisms effecting variance transitions. Chapter 5 is methodological in focus and continues discussions of odontometric research. Statistical analyses and pretreatment protocols are presented.
The final section, "The Synthesis," presents results and interpretations of the analyses. Chapter 6 discusses phenotypic transformation within the context of Apalachee archaeology and history; chapter 7 discusses similar results for Guale. Both chapters present discussion and interpretation within regional ethnohistories. Chapter 8 presents comparative and concluding remarks and considers this project in a broader, regional perspective.
Broader Impacts
This book is overly broad in academic scope. However, the question of interest is rather straightforward. What effects did colonization have on indigenous populations, and how did the response to prevailing biosocial conditions manifest in population genetic patterns of variability and affinity? Specifically, the following questions are addressed:
(1) What pattern of biological interaction characterized the precontact period?
(2) Was the pattern consistent with etic or emic ethnic divisions at the time of contact?
(3) How did this pattern change through time?
(4) What may have caused observed changes or explain differential patterns of change between different provinces?
(5) How did population sizes change during the mission period?
(6) Was change consistent with historical predictions?
(7) Was change consistent between provinces?
The larger issues developed in this book, however, are of broader interest. Bioarchaeology is well positioned within anthropology to unify evolutionary and cultural concepts under both historical and processual perspectives. As a lluded to earlier in this chapter, and a s demonstrated in the following discussion, bioanthropological and ethnohistorical data are complementary information sources. Neither is free of underlying and unverifiable assumptions. This case study demonstrates how the interplay of archaeology, history, ethnohistory, linguistics, and paleogenetic bioarchaeology generates a better informed model of anthropological inference.
Chapter Two
The SettingThe Spanish Mission System of La Florida
One of Menéndez's captains thrust his dagger into Ribaut's bowels, and Merás, the adelantado's brother-in-law, drove his pike through his breast; then they hacked off his head. Some there were ... who condemned Menéndez for his cruelty and for slaying the captives after having given his oath for their safety. But Barrientos ... holds that he was "very merciful" to them for he could "legally have burnt them alive.... He killed them, I think, rather by divine inspiration." (Bolton 1921:148-149)
Founded by Ponce de León in 1513 and colonized by Pedro Menéndez de Avilés in 1565, Spain's La Florida colony (Figure 2.1) represented the beginning of permanent European colonization of North America, a process that would ultimately result in widespread ethnocide of myriad indigenous cultures. In its most general sense, this book considers the processes responsible for the extinction of these communities and the active strategies adopted to counteract impending demographic catastrophe.
Table 2.1 summarizes key historical details for those unfamiliar with this regional context. In-depth historical discussion of Spain's North American presence can be found in multiple sources (Bolton 1917; Boyd 1948; Gannon 1983; Geiger 1937; Griffin 1990; Hann 1986a, 1988, 1993, 1996; Lyon 1990; McEwan 1993; Milanich and Proctor 1978; Smith and Gottlob 1978; Spellman 1965; Sturtevant 1962; Thomas 1990a), but I will review major events here.
The history of Spain's involvement in the New World is complex and has been the subject of intensive anthropological and archaeological investigations for nearly a century. The province of La Florida was named in 1513 when Juan Ponce de León landed near the Tampa Bay/Charlotte Harbor area and claimed all lands east and north of New Spain for the Spanish Crown. He named the colony after the Pascua Florida, the Feast of Flowers, which preceded the Easter holiday and commemorated the date of his landing. Because Spain already possessed extensive holdings in South and Central America and the Caribbean, the colonization of La Florida was deemed necessary for three reasons: to create a buffer zone against French colonial interests farther north (Lyon 1990; Milanich 1990; Sluiter 1985; Spellman 1965); to protect shipping lanes for the transportation of gold from New World colonies to Europe (Sluiter 1985; Weddle 1985); and to establish a terrestrial route from the Atlantic Ocean to New Spain (Milanich 1990; Pearson 1968).
Initially, Spanish entradas (expeditions) were staged in the hope of recovering wealth in the form of precious metals or slaves to replenish encomiendas (a labor land grant system) in the Caribbean, where demographic collapse had been nearly complete (Hutchinson 1990; Lyon 1991). After several half-hearted attempts at colonization, the French established Charlesfort and Fort Caroline on the southeastern Atlantic coast (Figure 2.1), which hastened Spanish interest in permanently colonizing North America (Lyon 1991; Thomas 1990a). St. Augustine, Spain's answer to the French threat, was established in 1565 by Pedro Menéndez de Avilés (Barrientos 1567; Lyon 1991) and commonly carries the appellation of "America's oldest city."
With Menéndez's capital city of St. Augustine strategically situated on the northern Atlantic coast of Florida (Figure 2.1), Spain's Catholic ambassadors immediately sought redemption for the pagan indigenous groups as part of the conquista de almas (conquest of souls). In fulfillment of his royal charter, Menéndez at first enlisted Jesuit missionaries (1566-72), followed by Franciscans (1573-1706), to organize the conversion and pacification of the indigenous populations (Deagan 1985; Geiger 1937; Hann 1991; Milanich 1990; Thomas 1990a; Weisman 1992). Initially, mission efforts were restricted to the area immediately surrounding St. Augustine (Sturtevant 1962) (Figure 2.2). Early success, however, quickly led to the expansion of missionaries into southern coastal Georgia and South Carolina, the domain of the Guale, Escamaçu, and Orista (Jones 1978; McEwan 2001), followed by the St. Johns River drainage (eastern Timucuan speakers) and northern Florida interior (western Timucuan groups) (Deagan 1990a; Smith and Gottlob 1978). The Apalachee chiefdom (roughly encompassing Leon and Jefferson counties near present-day Tallahassee) received Christianity in 1633 (Hann 1988), following a 25-year period of intermittent missionary contact. By 1650 the La Florida mission chain extended north along the Georgia coast and west through the provinces of Timucua and Apalachee (Figure 2.2).
Taking 1633 as the date of maximal mission expansion (and ignoring late-17th-century movement beyond Apalachee into the Apalachicola region; see Hann 1988), the "Golden Age" of the mission period can be defined as the period from 1633 until approximately 1661 (Geiger 1937; Spellman 1965). In this year, the mission provinces, beleaguered by nearly a century of political unrest, native revolts, and disease epidemics, came under attack by English-allied indigenous populations. Initial conflict centered on the Guale chiefdom of coastal Georgia, where, beginning in 1661, slave-raiding attacks by the Chichimecos, Creeks, and Cherokees began (Covington 1968; Worth 1995). Conflict would ultimately cause the abandonment of Guale by 1684 (Worth 1995) and a resulting southward contraction of pro-Spanish populations toward the stronghold of St. Augustine. Continued development of English interests in the Carolinas and Virginia (in particular the establishment of Charlestown in 1670) would ultimately spell the end of the mission system. Beginning in 1685, English-allied Indians began attacking the provinces of Apalachee and Timucua (Hann 1988; Thomas 1990a). By 1704, many missions in Apalachee had been burned and the population scattered (Boyd et al. 1951; Hann 1988). Some natives were taken prisoner by the English and returned to the Carolina colony; others fled to Mobile to seek French protection, and a minority, remaining Spanish loyalists, fled to St. Augustine (Covington 1964; Hann 1988). The western Timucuan missions were similarly destroyed in 1706 (Hann 1996; Milanich 1996), and, as with the Apalachee, the survivors either escaped to the woods or fled to St. Augustine where populations continued to dwindle throughout the 18th century until Spain abandoned Florida in 1763. This retreat to Havana marks the official end of the First Spanish Period in North America, and with it ended the history of northern Florida's and southern Georgia's indigenous populations.
The Mission Populations
Modern scholars typically divide the mission populations into three provinces (Figure 2.3) that corresponded generally with indigenous political structure at the time of contact and during prehistory (Milanich 1994). The Apalachee (Boyd et al. 1951; Hann 1988; Swanton 1922, 1946) lived in peninsular Florida between the Aucilla and Ochlockonee Rivers, and their territory circumscribed that of the Tallahassee region and its immediate environs. The Guale lived along the narrow coastal strand of southern Georgia, bounded on the south by the Saltilla River and on the north by the Savannah River (Hann 1987; Jones 1978, 1980; Larsen 1982, 1990; Larson 1969, 1978, 1980; Saunders 2000; Sturtevant 1962; Swanton 1922, 1946; Thomas 1990b). These boundaries are debated (see Hann 1987:2-4; Jones 1978:186; Saunders 2000:15). However, the salient fact is that there was clear political differentiation between Guale and groups in the Georgia interior. Timucua speakers occupied a large area of southern Georgia and northern peninsular Florida, directly east of the easternmost Apalachee villages (that is, east of the Aucilla River) to the Atlantic Ocean, with more ephemeral southern and northern distributional boundaries (Deagan 1978; Ehrmann 1940; Hann 1996; Larkford 1984; Milanich 1978, 1996; Milanich and Sturtevant 1972; Swanton 1922; Worth 1992, 1998a, b).
Table 2.2 summarizes significant criteria used to characterize and distinguish these populations. Most critical to this discussion is recognition that the provincial labels (Guale, Apalachee, Timucua) are not equivalent terms. Guale and Apalachee Provinces corresponded with recognized sociopolitical entities (Hann 1988; Milanich 1999). They were both single chiefdoms of roughly equivalent geographic area that were internally culturally homogenous and internally spoke the same language (Hann 1987, 1988; Milanich 1999; Scarry 1992; Thomas 1988). Both chiefdoms can be considered real entities, political units with saliency in regional political affairs. Timucua Province, however, was a large linguistic, not political or cultural, designation that comprised approximately 15-20 distinct independent chiefdoms that were divided into eastern and western components based on size (the eastern groups tended to be smaller) and on subsistence strategies (Deagan 1978; Hann 1996; Milanich 1978, 1996, 1999). The eastern Timucua were composed of ten distinct chiefdoms. The Cascangue, Icafui, Ibi, Yufera, and Oconp lived in southeastern Georgia, while the Saturiwa, Freshwater, Acuera, and Tucururu lived along the banks and tributaries of the St. Johns River (Deagan 1978; Hann 1996; Milanich 1978, 1996, 1999). The Tacatacuru (Mocama) lived on Cumberland Island. The western Timucua were composed of four tribes (Potano, Yustaga, Utina, and Ocale) that lived in the relatively homogenous interior of north-central Florida (Milanich 1978). The Onatheaqua may have been a fifth western Timucua tribe; however, it is uncertain how distinct they were from the Utina (Hann 1996). These tribes spoke approximately 11 different languages that were similar enough to belong to the same Timucuan language family (Hann 1996) but clearly distinct from neighboring Muskogean groups (see Granberry 1993). Therefore, while "Apalachee" and "Guale" are sociopolitical constructs, "Timucua" is a linguistic category that consisted of multiple semi-autonomous chiefdoms, each of which was roughly comparable either to Apalachee or, perhaps more appropriately given Guale's internal political structure, to Guale (see Jones 1978).
(Continues...)
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