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<p>This article explores the impact of seventeenth-century Spanish colonization on Indigenous CHamoru mortuary practices and presents the osteoarchaeological study of human remains recovered from the church and cemetery of San Dionisio in Guåhan (Guam), Mariana Islands. The construction of San Dionisio was connected to the arrival of Jesuits missionaries and to the beginning of Spanish colonization in Oceania. Although the exact origins of the cemetery are uncertain, it was likely established around the time the church was built in the seventeenth century, playing a pivotal role in the Jesuit efforts to evangelize and thus colonize Indigenous CHamoru life. The Jesuits viewed many Indigenous spiritual beliefs and death-related practices as idolatrous, prompting aggressive attempts to convert the CHamoru population to Christian doctrines. These efforts often clashed with core aspects of CHamoru rituals and beliefs, such as burial spaces, burial protocols, the post-mortem treatment of skeletal remains, and ancestor worship, leading to significant CHamoru resistance.</p>

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The Colonization of Death in the Mariana Islands and the Cemetery of San Dionisio at Humåtak, Guåhan

  • 期刊论文

  • 出版模式：

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  • 发表日期：

    2025年1月11日

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  • Sandra Montón-Subías,
  • Laura Trelliso Carreño

摘要

This article explores the impact of seventeenth-century Spanish colonization on Indigenous CHamoru mortuary practices and presents the osteoarchaeological study of human remains recovered from the church and cemetery of San Dionisio in Guåhan (Guam), Mariana Islands. The construction of San Dionisio was connected to the arrival of Jesuits missionaries and to the beginning of Spanish colonization in Oceania. Although the exact origins of the cemetery are uncertain, it was likely established around the time the church was built in the seventeenth century, playing a pivotal role in the Jesuit efforts to evangelize and thus colonize Indigenous CHamoru life. The Jesuits viewed many Indigenous spiritual beliefs and death-related practices as idolatrous, prompting aggressive attempts to convert the CHamoru population to Christian doctrines. These efforts often clashed with core aspects of CHamoru rituals and beliefs, such as burial spaces, burial protocols, the post-mortem treatment of skeletal remains, and ancestor worship, leading to significant CHamoru resistance.