Of exiles and outcasts: Bioarchaeological reconstruction of the population from the colonial mission of San José de la Mocha, Concepción, Chile (17th to 19th Century)

Abstract

In 1685 one of the most important acts of uprooting in the colonial history of Chile took place: the forced exile from Mocha Island of more than 500 people to the outskirts of Concepción, coming under the tutelage of the Jesuits in the San José de la Mocha Mission, which, over the years, also housed those considered outcasts in colonial society, until its disappearance in the 19th century. More than 300 years after this act, we were able to recover skeletal remains of the former inhabitants of the Mission, at the site Quinta Junge, in the area of Pedro de Valdivia, Concepción. In this paper we present the main bioarchaeological aspects of the findings of 127 individuals distributed in 26 primary burials and 50 secondary burials from a demographic perspective, focusing on their demographic structure, burial patterns, paleopathological conditions and diet reconstruction. Finally, we reflect on the social role of the discipline in relation to indigenous communities and their claims.