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Zeeb Road, Ann Arbor, MI48106 Copyright 1985 by Reff, Daniel Timothy All Rights Reserved THE UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA GRADUATE COLLEGE THE DEMOGRAPHIC AND CULTURAL CONSEQUENCES OF OLD WORLD DISEASE IN THE GREATER SOUTHWEST. 1520-1660 A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE FACULTY in partial fullfilline'it of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY by DANIEL T. REFF Norman. Oklahoma 1985 THE DEMOGRAPHIC AND CULTURAL CONSEQUENCES OF OLD WORLD DISEASE IN THE GREATER SOUTHWEST, 1520-1660 A DISSERTATION APPROVED FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF ANTHROPOLOGY By /? (\ / f V _ C. W 2 / , Copyright by Daniel Timothy Reff 1985 All Rights Reserved 111 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This study was made possible by a dissertation aid fellowship from the Graduate Research Council of the University of Oklahoma. Much of the research for the study was conducted at the Documentary Relations of the Southwest Prc’ect, Arizona State Museum, Tucson. Dr. Charles W. Polzer, S.J. and the staff of the DRSW provided unlimited access to the Project's computer bibliographies and microfilm collection. The kindness and encouragement that I received from everyone at the DRSW as well as from the Fathers at Kino House in Tucson will always be appreciated. I am also indebted to the Weatherhead Foundation and Dr. Douglas Schwartz for a Resident Scholarship at the School of American Research, Santa Fe. Much of the dissertation was written while at the School, where again. I had the good fortune to live and woik with people who were stimulating and kind. My years as a graduate student at the University of Oklahoma were no less rewarding. To each member of my dissertation committee, particularly Dr. Richard Pailes, and to my wife, Nancy, I offer a special thanks — you all have enriched my life. IV table of contents Page LIST OF TABLES ........................................................................................ vi LIST OF FIGDPES .................................................................................... vii Chapter I. THE DISEASE QUESTION AND ITS RELEVANCE........ 1 II. A TIME BEFORE COLUMBUS.. ................... 17 III. THE SONS OF THE S U N ....................... 59 IV . OLD WORLD DISEASES AND THE ROUTES OF CONTAGION ................................ 174 V. DISEASE EPISODES IN NORTHWESTERN NEW SPAIN, 1520-1660 211 V I. POPULATION REDUCTION: THE IMMEDIATE CONSEQUENCES OF OLD WORLD DISEASES ........ 283 V II. OLD WORLD DISEASES, CULTURE CHANGE, AND THE DYNAMICS OF JESUIT AND INDIAN RELATIONS ...... 310 BIBLIOGRAPHY................................... 331 LIST OF TABLES TABLE Page 1. Population Decline among the Laguneros, Tepehuan, Acaxee, Xixime, and Tarahumara .... 288 2. Population Decline among the Cahita Proper and the Ocoroni .......................... 293 3. Population Decline among the Cahita of the Rio F u e r t e .............................. 294 4. Population Decline among the Guasave and Ahome ................................... 295 5. Population Decline among the Mayo ......... 296 6. Population Decline among the Yaqui. ........ 297 7. Population Decline among the Nebomes or Pima Bajo of the Middle Yaqui ................... 299 8. Population Decline among tbe Opata of the Middle Sonora Valley ..................... 300 VI LIST OF FIGURES FIGURE Page 1. Location of the Study A r e a .................. 3 2. Approximate Boundaries of Archaeological Cultures of Southern Arizona and Northern S o n o r a ................................... 21 3. Approximate Boundaries of Archaeological Cultures of Sinaloa and Durango ............ 30 4. Approximate Boundaries of Archaeological Cultures of Southern New Mexico, Western Texas, and Central and Eastern Sonora ...... 38 5. Proposed Route of Nuno de Guzman’s Expedition ............................... ^4 6. Distribution of Native Populations In Northwest Mexico .......................... 73 7. Proposed Route of Diego de Guzman’s Expedition............................... 78 8. Proposed Route of Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca ..................................... 96 9. Fragment of an Effigy Vessel Depicting Xipe Totec .................... 118 10. Proposed Route of Fray Marcos de N i z a ..... 123 11. Proposed Route of Francisco de Ibarra's Expedition .............................. 143 12. Spanish Colonial Transportation Networks .... 196 13. Jesuit Missions in Northwestern Mexico .... 231 14. Baptisms and the Mission Population in Northwestern New Spain 286 Vll ABSTRACT THE DEMOGRAPHIC AND CULTURAL CONSEQUENCES OF OLD WORLD DISEASE IN THE GREATER SOUTHWEST, 1520-1660 BY: DANIEL T. REFF MAJOR PROFESSOR; RICHARD A. PAILES, Ph.D. This study documents the demographic and cultural consequences of Spanish-introduced diseaise in northwest Mexico from 1520-1660. A related concern is the role disease played in native acceptance of Jesuit missionization during the late sixteenth and first half of the seventeenth century. To address these issues, historical and archaeological data were analysed. The results of the analysis indicate that at the time of Cortes' conquest of Tenochitlan, and for at least several decades thereafter, many areas of the Greater Southwest supported dense populations with sophisticated economic and socio-political systems. Data from the archaeological record and from the early accounts of Spanish explorers indicate this characterization obtained in many areas until the second half of the sixteenth century. At this time, the developmment of the Spanish mining frontier facilitated the northward spread of smallpox and other diseases that had become endemic in Mesoamerica. By 1590, many native communities in northwest Mexico were beginning to experience repeated outbreaks of Spanish-introduced disease. It was within this context that native peoples petitioned for baptism and missionization. The Jesuits, however, were viii solicited for their managerial skills, particularly their ability to reconstitute native adaptive strategies that faltered or collapsed following epidemics. Similarly, through the practice and advocacy of Catholicism, the Jesuits filled a void left by the death or failure of native religious to chart a course through uncertain and inexplicable times. From the point of view of the indigenous population, acceptance of the Jesuits was therefore an opportunistic endeavor. IX THE DEMOGRAPHIC AND CULTURAL CONSEQUENCES OF OLD WORLD DISEASE IN THE GREATER SOUTHWEST. 1520-1660 CHAPTER I THE DISEASE QUESTION AND ITS RELEVANCE The history of the conquest of Mexico has been recounted by many scholars, a number of whom have noted the instrumental role played by smallpox in the surrender of the Mexica capital (e.g. Alburn 1947; Crosby 1972; Steam and Steam 1945). Within months of the fall of Tenochtitlan, the g reat x ah u atl spread to many parts of the Mexica empire as well as to Michoacan, Yucatan, and Guatemala. After ravaging Mesoamerica, smallpox was introduced in Panama, whence it continued south in 1525-26, killing the Lord-Inca, Huayna Capac, and more than 200,000 of his subjects (Cieza de Leon 1959: 52). Although precise figures are lacking, several million Amerindians surely perished during this first New World pandemic (Cloudsley-Thompson 1976: 83; Crosby 196^). Ironically, only a small fraction of those who died ever saw a Spaniard — most died having heard only rumors of the bearded strangers. The smallpox paixlemic that raged during and after the Conquest was the first of many epidemics during the early historic period in the Americas. Aîthou^ this much is aj^aarent, we know relatively little about the impact of Old World diseases outside of central Mexico and Peru (Dobyns 1976; 1 Sanchez-Albomoz 1974). In most areas of the New World the historical record is sketchy with regard to disease episodes and their consequences during the sixteenth and