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

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.