Focusing on religion as a major component of Spanish colonial ideology, this study attempts to determine how belief systems are expressed in material culture of Pensacola's Presidios Santa MarÃa de Galve and Isla Santa Rosa. To make this determination, selected artifacts were examined for evidence of ideological expressions in their decoration, material, use, and context. Artifacts were grouped in 3 categories: church furnishings and ritual items, items of personal adornment and rosaries, and secular artifacts adorned with religious symbols. Sites and activity areas were divided into 2 categories: areas of religious authority and areas of secular authority or domestic activity. Data collected from Santa MarÃa and Santa Rosa were compared to 8 other Spanish colonial sites to see broader patterns in artifact assemblages and distributions.
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