The social identity of the crew aboard the Nuestra Senora Rosario del Santiago y Apostol

Qualitative and quantitative data comparison of the personal possession and ceramic assemblages of the shipwreck Nuestra Senora del Rosario y Santiago Apostol (Rosario) to the shipwreck El Nuevo Constante and Presidio Santa Maria de Galve provides information regarding the social identities of the sailors on the Rosario. Historical document research and comparative analysis of personal possessions from the Rosario demonstrate the performance of identities such as gender, ethnicity, occupation, social status, and Catholicism. The Shannon Weaver index and Peilou's evenness indexes were utilized to derive information concerning the diversity of the ceramics at each shipwreck site and each activity area of the presidio. These indexes suggest that Spanish mariners aboard the Rosario and El Nuevo Constante utilized ceramics differently than did men at the presidio. The mariners relied more heavily on utilitarian ceramics, likely because living conditions at sea were different from and more confined than those of terrestrial presidios.