Points of contention: Tradition, resistance, and arrow points in the California missions

Abstract

Archaeological excavations at California mission sites have revealed diverse projectile points manufactured and used by Indigenous people. Through the examination of assemblages from four central California missions—San José, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, and San Carlos—this paper considers the potential of lithic technologies to illuminate the interrelated issues of tradition and resistance. Based on our case study, and a comparative discussion of similar projectile points from other missions in Alta and Baja California, we argue that these artifacts offer an opportunity to move beyond the idea that the persistence of cultural traditions equals passive resistance in colonial settings. In addition to strong continuities of arrow point types from precontact times into the colonial period, the data from California also demonstrate that Native people incorporated new materials into their lithic technologies and perhaps even created new point types after the Spanish invasion. These patterns speak to the dynamic nature of tradition as well as the varied ways that Indigenous people sought to repudiate the values of colonialism in their daily lives. Taken together, the projectile points from California mission sites encourage archaeologists to consider how lithic technologies may reflect the capacity (realized or not) for Indigenous autonomy and active refusal of colonialism.