Diane Lynn Slocum

This project explores the contradiction between colonial mission sites as both controlling forces and celebratory spaces through an investigation of the relationship between residents and their mission church in Tahcabo, Yucatán, Mexico. The 16th-century Spanish arrival in Yucatán brought political, economic, and social changes to Maya societies, which were enacted through the creation of pueblos centered around gridded streets and mission churches. While traditionally seen as tools of oppression, today these settlements serve as sites of identity and historical remembrance for Yucatecans. This project centers on the theme of mobility as a mechanism of persistence to understand ties that people maintained to their pueblo despite socio-political disruptions particularly since the 19th century. Through a collaborative archaeological framework, this study integrates architectural analysis, spatial landscape data, oral histories, and ethnography to identify 1) how changes in the built environment at mission sites reflect and shape local histories and 2) how residents of historical mission sites in Yucatán experience the multi-temporal built environment in which they live.