Hostname: page-component-6766d58669-kn6lq Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2026-05-21T16:25:41.041Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Archaeological Perspectives on Confronting Social Change at the Sixteenth-Century Visita Town of Hunacti, Yucatán

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 August 2025

Carlos Peraza Lope
Affiliation:
Centro INAH Yucatán, Mérida, Yucatán, Mexico
Marilyn A. Masson*
Affiliation:
Department of Anthroplogy, University at Albany SUNY, Albany, NY, USA
Bradley W. Russell
Affiliation:
Centro INAH Yucatán, Mérida, Yucatán, Mexico
Timothy S. Hare
Affiliation:
Department of Sociology, Social Work & Criminology, Morehead State University, Morehead, KY, USA
Wilberth Cruz Alvarado
Affiliation:
Department of Anthroplogy, University at Albany SUNY, Albany, NY, USA
Stanley Serafin
Affiliation:
School of Medical Sciences and Earth and Sustainability Science Research Centre, University of South Wales, Sydney, Australia
Pedro Delgado Kú
Affiliation:
Department of Anthroplogy, University at Albany SUNY, Albany, NY, USA
Bárbara Escamilla Ojeda
Affiliation:
Department of Anthroplogy, University at Albany SUNY, Albany, NY, USA
*
Corresponding author: Marilyn A. Masson; Email: mmasson@albany.edu
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

How did resource use, trade, and patterns of everyday life change at visita mission towns in the early decades of the colonial period in northern Yucatán, Mexico? We consider this question with an analysis of archaeological material assemblages from the site of Hunacti, occupied from 1557 to 1572. Household archaeology performed at three elite residences and investigations at the central plaza and church provide evidence of continuity, change, and metrics for assessing relative prosperity by which Hunacti can be compared to its contemporaries. This spectacularly built mission town evinces several signs of initial wealth and privilege enjoyed by the site’s Maya elites, but historical records reveal relentless persecution of these leaders for idolatry, which affected the longer-term prospects of the settlement. Our findings indicate the persistence of Maya religious rites through the site’s occupation, the importance of traditional Maya tools and technologies, and relative impoverishment (as conventionally measured). These patterns offer a profile of material life at a site that chose, ultimately, abiding resistance—and consequently, greater local self-sufficiency—in the face of accelerating external scrutiny and persecution.

Resumen

Resumen

¿Cómo cambiaron el uso de recursos, el comercio y los patrones de vida cotidiana en los pueblos de visita de las misiones en las primeras décadas del período colonial en el norte de Yucatán, México? Consideramos esta cuestión con un análisis de conjuntos de material arqueológico del sitio de Hunacti, ocupado entre 1557 y 1572. La arqueología doméstica realizada en tres residencias de élite y las investigaciones en la plaza central y la iglesia proporcionan evidencia de continuidad, cambio y métricas para evaluar la prosperidad relativa mediante la cual se puede comparar a Hunaci con sus contemporáneos. Esta ciudad misionera es-pec-ta-cu-lar-mente construida, muestra varios signos de riqueza y privilegios iniciales de los que disfrutaron las élites mayas del sitio, pero los registros históricos revelan una persecución implacable a los caciques de Hunacti por idolatría, que afectó las perspectivas a largo plazo del asentamiento. Nuestros hallazgos indican la persistencia de los ritos religiosos mayas a través de la ocupación del sitio, la importancia de las herramientas y tecnologías tradicionales mayas y el empobrecimiento relativo (como se mide convencionalmente). Estos patrones ofrecen un perfil de vida material en un sitio que optó, en última instancia, por una resistencia duradera —y en consecuencia, una mayor autosuficiencia local— frente al acelerado escrutinio y persecución externos.

Information

Type
Article
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BYCreative Common License - NC
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original article is properly cited. The written permission of Cambridge University Press must be obtained prior to any commercial use.
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2025. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Society for American Archaeology.
Figure 0

Figure 1. Location of Hunacti and sites mentioned in text.

Figure 1

Figure 2. Temporal overlap of continuing prehispanic and new pottery types of the early colonial period.

Figure 2

Table 1. Stratigraphy and Diagnostic Ceramics of the Colonial Period Occupation.

Figure 3

Figure 3. Preliminary map of Hunacti.

Figure 4

Figure 4. Hunacti church and location of units (reconstruction drawing by Sarah Moore; photograph by Carlos Peraza Lope). (Color online)

Figure 5

Figure 5. Church area units with later, colonial floors (left) and underlying fill (right). (Color online)

Figure 6

Figure 6. Possible offering in the fill of the church. (Color online)

Figure 7

Table 2. Distribution of 74 Effigy Censer Fragments from Hunacti.

Figure 8

Figure 7. Maps, unit locations, and reconstruction drawings of three Spanish style elite Maya houses (illustrations by Bradley Russell and Sarah Moore).

Figure 9

Figure 8. Colonial period plaster floors (and rubble below them) in interior spaces of Houses 1, 2, and 3.

Figure 10

Table 3. Stone Implements from Colonial Contexts at Hunacti (48 Total).

Figure 11

Table 4. Summary of Limestone and Chert Tools in Colonial Contexts at Hunacti.