Mission Santa Clara de Asís excavations

Mission Santa Clara de Asís excavations
Name	Mission Santa Clara de Asís excavations
Caption	Excavation at Mission Santa Clara de Asís site, 20th century
Location	Santa Clara, California, United States
Established	1777
Founder	Junípero Serra
Governing body	Santa Clara University

Mission Santa Clara de Asís excavations

The excavations at the mission site associated with Mission Santa Clara de Asís have generated significant archaeological, historical, and cultural data that intersect with studies of California, Alta California, Spanish Empire, Viceroyalty of New Spain, Franciscans, and Indigenous populations such as the Ohlone and Costanoan peoples. Archaeological work has involved collaboration among institutions including Santa Clara University, National Park Service, California State Parks, University of California, Berkeley, and private consultants while engaging descendant communities like the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe, Amah Mutsun Tribal Band, and civic entities such as the City of Santa Clara.

History of Mission Santa Clara de Asís

Mission Santa Clara de Asís was founded in 1777 by Junípero Serra as part of the Spanish mission chain that included Mission San Francisco de Asís, Mission San José, Mission San Miguel Arcángel, and Mission San Juan Capistrano under the jurisdiction of the Diocese of Monterey. The mission evolved through periods of Spanish, Mexican California governance, and American annexation following the Mexican–American War, interacting with authorities like the Bureau of Indian Affairs and institutions such as St. Joseph’s College and Santa Clara College (later Santa Clara University). Repeated earthquakes, notably the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and earlier seismic events, necessitated rebuilding and prompted interest in the mission’s physical remains; the site sits within the broader landscape of Santa Clara Valley and proximate infrastructure like the Southern Pacific Railroad.

Archaeological Investigations

Formal archaeological investigations intensified in the 20th century with projects conducted by teams from Santa Clara University Archaeology Program, California State University, Sacramento, Far Western Anthropological Research Group, and consultants affiliated with the Society for California Archaeology. Regulatory frameworks framing investigations included the National Historic Preservation Act, California Environmental Quality Act, and guidelines from the Office of Historic Preservation (California). Excavations coordinated with developers, municipal planners of Santa Clara, and cultural resource managers revealed stratified deposits adjacent to mission structures, former quadrangle areas, and cemetery plots, prompting involvement by descendant groups and agencies like the National Park Service's Ethnography Program.

Methods and Findings

Field methods combined traditional trenching, shovel test pits, and block excavation with newer techniques such as ground-penetrating radar deployed by teams from University of California, Davis and Stanford University researchers, and laboratory analyses at facilities like UC Berkeley Paleometry Laboratory and California State University, East Bay. Radiocarbon dating, stable isotope analysis, and dendrochronology were applied alongside ceramic seriation referencing collections like those curated by the California Academy of Sciences, while faunal analysis connected to comparative collections at the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology. Excavation revealed features including adobe foundations comparable to those at Mission San Diego de Alcalá, mission-period wells similar to examples at Mission San Antonio de Padua, and stratigraphic evidence for colonial-era landscape modification noted in studies of Presidio of San Francisco and Rancho period sites.

Artifacts and Human Remains

Recovered artifacts spanned mission-era ceramics such as Majolica and locally produced earthenwares, iron nails and hardware produced in Los Angeles, agricultural implements associated with Mission agriculture practices, religious items like rosaries paralleling collections from Mission San Buenaventura, and trade goods indicating networks extending to Acapulco and Manila. Faunal remains and botanical macrofossils documented subsistence shifts linked to contact-era introductions of crops and livestock associated with Spanish California missions. Interments uncovered in cemetery areas prompted repatriation consultations under the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act with claimant groups including the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe and coordination with museums such as the Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology and repositories at Santa Clara University.

Interpretation and Significance

Interpretations emphasize the mission as a contact-era locus where institutions like the Spanish Crown and Franciscan Order intersected with Indigenous lifeways of the Ohlone and neighboring groups, paralleling themes in studies of Mission San Gabriel Arcángel and Mission La Purísima Concepción. Analyses contribute to debates about demographic change, health transitions documented in paleopathology studies akin to work at Sutter Fort and Fort Ross, and cultural resilience underscored in ethnographic collaborations with groups including the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band. The site’s data informs regional syntheses found in literature produced by scholars affiliated with University of California Press, Society for Historical Archaeology, and the California Historical Society.

Preservation, Conservation, and Public Display

Conservation efforts have involved treatment of adobe features and stabilization overseen by conservators from the National Trust for Historic Preservation and technical guidance from the Getty Conservation Institute. Curated collections reside in institutional repositories such as Santa Clara University Library, the California Historical Society, and partner museums; interpretive exhibits have been developed for public audiences by Rengstorff House affiliates and Santa Clara Valley Historical Association programming. Educational outreach integrates exhibits, lectures, and digital resources created in cooperation with Santa Clara University Department of History, local schools under Santa Clara Unified School District, and cultural festivals such as events at San Jose Museum of Art and regional heritage celebrations coordinated by Visit California.

Category:Archaeology of California Category:Spanish missions in California