The majority of Hispanic settlers who came to La Florida in the eighteenth century brought with them their Mexican culture and attempted to maintain it in the Spanish borderlands. The combined historical and archaeological records offer researchers a way gauge how these transplanted people continued their way of life at the Presidio Santa MarÃa de Galve. This study employs community organization, architecture, foodways, and ceramics to explore ethnicity and status among Hispanic settlers at this garrisoned settlement. A comparison of the ceramic assemblage from a Hispanic-identified household from the Santa MarÃa village is made with households from contemporary colonial settlements from La Florida and French Louisiana. This study will demonstrate that Hispanic settlers were able to maintain their Mexican identity in a borderlands context.
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