UC Berkeley

In this chapter, we emphasize the novel construction of defensive walls at Ticamaya, a precolumbian settlement in Caribbean Honduras that continued to be occupied into the nineteenth century, and at allied sites along the coast of the Gulf of Honduras, as likely material traces of innovations mediated by Spanish knowledge mobilized for indigenous resistance to Spanish colonization. Archaeological excavations at Ticamaya, described in 16th century Spanish documents as the seat of a leader of indigenous resistance, identified confirmed deposits from the period covering initial conflict with the Spanish, roughly 1520-1536. Yet these excavations produced no use of European goods until the late 18th c. Contemporary with Ticamaya, the site of Naco to the west hosted troops sent by Cortes, and at least one majolica vessel was discarded there. The contrast could lead to the conclusion that Ticamaya was unaffected by the Spanish encounter until it was incorporated into the colony. By considering apparently indigenous things as outcomes of tactical coping with Spanish invasion, we seek to blur line apparently firm lines between native and foreign materialities and define a third option of hybrid cultures.