Vengeance with Mercy: Changing Traditions and Traditional Practices of Colonial Yamasees
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W&M ScholarWorks Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects Theses, Dissertations, & Master Projects Summer 2018 Vengeance with Mercy: Changing Traditions and Traditional Practices of Colonial Yamasees Patrick Johnson College of William and Mary - Arts & Sciences, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.wm.edu/etd Part of the History of Art, Architecture, and Archaeology Commons Recommended Citation Johnson, Patrick, "Vengeance with Mercy: Changing Traditions and Traditional Practices of Colonial Yamasees" (2018). Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects. Paper 1530192790. http://dx.doi.org/10.21220/s2-fb04-kn74 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses, Dissertations, & Master Projects at W&M ScholarWorks. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects by an authorized administrator of W&M ScholarWorks. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Vengeance with Mercy: Changing Traditions and Traditional Practices of Colonial Yamasees Patrick Lee Johnson Mobile, Alabama M.A., University of West Florida, 2012 B.A., Beloit College, 2008 Dissertation presented to the Graduate Faculty of The College of William & Mary in Candidacy for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of Anthropology College of William & Mary May 2018 © Copyright by Patrick L. Johnson 2018 ABSTRACT This dissertation argues that colonial Yamasee communities moved hundreds of miles throughout the present-day Southeastern United States, often to gain influence, and maintained traditions such as names they more closely associated with their ethnicity and authority than ceramics. Self-identification by Yamasees in censuses, speeches, and letters for a century and archaeological evidence from multiple towns allows me to analyze multiple expressions of their identity. Their rich rhetoric demonstrates the mechanics of authority—they dictated terms to Europeans and other Native Americans by balancing between, in their words, vengeance and mercy. I focus on a letter and tattoo from a warrior called Caesar Augustus who justified his valor and the writings of a diplomat named Andres Escudero who justified retribution. Combined, these and other leaders demonstrate the flexibility in their offices of authority. Their political rhetoric—both ritual speech understood throughout the region as well as their specific titles and town names—demonstrates continuities between the sixteenth and eighteenth centuries. In addition, multiple movements of Yamasee communities across hundreds of miles demonstrates their agency and connections to their neighbors. These movements allowed Yamasees to dictate terms to Europeans and maintain town names, signs, and rhetoric for centuries. However, as a result of these community movements, Yamasees adopted the ceramic traditions of their neighbors. Considering the authority and ethnicity of Yamasees in their own words allows analysis of continuity and change in Yamasee landscapes of ceramic practice in Georgia, South Carolina, and Florida. More specifically, I analyzed materials from my own excavations at Mission San Antonio de Punta Rasa in Pensacola, Florida as well as assemblages excavated by the City of St. Augustine Archaeology Program and in South Carolina by Brockington and Associates. I quantify the extent to which Yamasees adopted the ceramic practices of their neighbors, including Guale, Mocama, Timucua, Apalachee, and Creek Indians. In a sense, this material flexibility reflects the very mobility and social connections that allowed them to maintain geopolitical influence. However, given their authority in Spanish documents and at times invisibility in the archaeological record, Yamasees show only indirect connections between authority and daily ceramic practice. Further, these ceramic practices, as well as Yamasee multilingualism, represent hybrid practices between multiple Native American groups rather than the influence of Europeans. TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgements iii Dedication vi List of Tables vii List of Figures x Chapter 1. Yamasee Authority and Ceramic Practice in the Colonial Southeast 1 Chapter 2. Yamasee Ethnogenesis, Authority, and Practice: From Sixteenth-Century Chiefdoms to the 1715 Yamasee War 38 Chapter 3. Yamasees After 1715: St. Augustine, Central Florida, and the Apalachicola River 79 Chapter 4. Yamasee Authority: Justifying Retribution through Ritual Speech 118 Chapter 5. San Antonio de Punta Rasa and Yamasee Influence in Pensacola 160 Chapter 6. Ceramic Comparisons: Continuity and Change over Time and Space 206 Chapter 7. Yamasee Contributions to Anthropology Theory and Method 226 Appendix A. 1758 Pensacola Treaty, Translation by John Worth 262 Appendix B. 1761 Pensacola Treaty, Translation by John Worth 266 Appendix C. Punta Rasa Ceramic Tempers, Surface Treatment, and Rim Details 272 i Appendix D. Native American Sherds at Presidio Santa Rosa (Adapted from Harris and Eschbach 2006:111-112) 274 Appendix E. Surface Treatments, Rim Details, and Tempers at the Santa Rosa Garrison 275 Appendix F. Rim Details, Surface Treatments, and Tempers at Mission San Joseph de Escambe 281 Appendix G. Diversity Tests 288 Bibliography 289 ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Each of my committee members shaped not only the scholarship presented here but my approach to anthropology. My dissertation advisor, Kathleen Bragdon- Brown, patiently helped me talk and write through ideas since day one at William and Mary, and I left each conversation with her feeling confident about my ability to address whichever issue led me to seek her advice. Her support shaped this dissertation, other research projects, and my teaching in countless ways. Martin Gallivan’s advice extended from archaeological theory to statistics to teaching. His door has always been open and his encouragement has never wavered, which has been particularly helpful during the editing and job-searching process. Michelle Lelievre shaped my research, particularly my engagement with anthropological theory, and her support of my work extended to not only detailed feedback on multiple papers and drafts but also co-chairing a session at the American Anthropological Association. Working as a teaching assistant for her developed my ability to tie my research to engaging and challenging teaching assignments. Similarly, working as a teaching assistant for Jonathan Glasser developed my connections between cultural anthropology and archaeology. He has always been quick to share resources and offer excellent advice on everything from ritual speech to ethnographic film to lecturing. My time as John Worth’s research assistant and advisee at the University of West Florida shaped my understanding of Yamasees, Pensacola, and Spanish Florida. His training and advice has led to several academic opportunities including much of the research presented here. A variety of people at the University of West Florida made my field work at the Yamasee site of San Antonio de Punta Rasa possible. Elizabeth Benchley supported me with advice and funding while I was a Master’s student at the University of West Florida and continued this generosity during this dissertation. Norine Carrol’s advice about working with collections, speaking to landowners, and keeping track of forms made research easier in several ways. Jennifer Melcher and Roc Jarvis helped me establish the field project and worked hard in the field to keep it going. Jan Lloyd and her lab workers, particularly Patricia McMahon and Chelsea Randall, extensively aided the identification of artifacts. Grant Schweitzer and Cole Smith cheerfully helped in both the lab and the field. Other field volunteers included Michelle Pigott, Jillian Okray, Melissa Maynard, Kenyan Murrell, Kayla Rowe, Jen Knutson, Olivia Pitts, Jodi Preston, Sarah Everhart, Llew Kinison, Janene Johnston, Katherine Sims, Stephen Atkinson, Nicole Mauro, and Jenni Baggett. iii Many landowners offered hospitality beyond permission to excavate—in and of itself essential—but also local knowledge, bathroom facilities, food, and even wine. I would like to thank the Bass, Patten, Sanders, Breaker, Wood, Rawls, Taylor, and Baltz families in particular. Many others were generous with their time and knowledge. Alex Sweeney and Dr. Eric Poplin of Brockington and Associates not only shared their knowledge and literature about South Carolina Yamasees, but generously offered their databases and space in their office for my analysis. Jim Cusick at the PK Yonge Library at the University of Florida and Dean Debolt at the Pace Library Archives of the University of West Florida shared not only rarely-examined Spanish collections but their own expertise. Archivists at the Cherokee Museum, Newberry Library, Clements Library of the University of Michigan, National Anthropology Archives, and New York Historical Society also offered a wealth of material. Jack Martin’s expertise in Southeastern Native American languages, and Aaron Deter-Wolf’s knowledge of tattooing practices, and Nancy White’s extensive work in the Apalachicola River area proved essential for several interpretations. Working as a teaching assistant for Joe Jones was a great opportunity and conversations with him shaped how I think about anthropology. Neil Norman’s door was also always open for helpful and thought-provoking comments. Conversations and research trips to the National Anthropological Archives with Drs. Buck Woodard and Ashley Atkins-Spivey developed my understanding of Southeastern Native Americans.