In the countryside of northern Yucatán, archaeologists uncovered the remnants of Hunacti. This short-lived 16th-century mission town tells a complicated story of cooperation, resistance, and cultural survival in the early years of Spanish colonial rule.

A team of archaeologists works at the site of a Colonial-era church amid the ruins of the former Maya town known as Hunacti in northern Yucatán, Mexico. Credit: Marilyn Mᴀsson/University at Albany

The abandoned town, founded in 1557 and deserted by 1572, was the subject of a cooperative research project directed by UAlbany anthropologist Marilyn A. Mᴀsson, in conjunction with researchers from Mexico’s Insтιтuto Nacional de Antropología e Historia, Morehead State University, and the University of South Wales. Their results, published in Latin American Antiquity, reveal how the inhabitants of Hunacti managed to endure the upheavals of colonization while maintaining Maya traditions quietly under the cover of Spanish-style architecture.

“Hunacti is a paradox,” Mᴀsson said. “It was grandly built, with cooperative leaders at first, yet it became known for ongoing resistance, even when the costs were high.”

Hunacti originated as a visita mission — a smaller settlement visited periodically by Franciscan friars from nearby convent centers. It was laid out in a colonial style: grid streets radiating from the central plaza, a T-shaped church, and three elite dwellings with plastered walls, arched windows, and niches. Historical records suggest its founders enjoyed rare privileges under colonial rule, including horse ownership, a cacao orchard, and construction labor.

But beneath this veneer of privilege, tensions soon erupted. In 1561, a ghastly event drew Franciscan notice when town leader Juan Xiu reported a stillborn infant with marks resembling crucifixion. The following year, Xiu and eight others were accused of human sacrifice; he died under torture. Successive leaders were later punished for idolatry, including public whipping, in the following decades. In 1572, famine struck and the settlement was abandoned, with residents likely relocating to Tixmehuac.

Archaeological excavations tell a story that colonial chronicles only hint at. Inside the church and high-status residences, researchers discovered ceramic effigy censers — incense burners depicting Maya deities — several of them located on the last colonial floors, showing that Maya religious traditions persisted to the end despite Franciscan prohibitions.

The material record tells a story of continuity and resistance. Excavations revealed reliance on local chert and limestone tools, with only one imported European metal item, a hatchet, discovered. Imported goods were scarce, and faunal remains consisted primarily of native animals like deer, peccary, and iguana, though the presence of a horse showed elite status. Unlike other mission towns such as Tiquibalon and Tahcabo, Hunacti yielded minimal evidence of European items or surplus production for colonial markets, and is closer to smaller, more isolated visitas such as Yacman.

These patterns represent Hunacti’s leaders shifting from early cooperation to self-sufficiency and quiet resistance, according to the research team. By limiting engagement with Spanish trade networks and preserving traditional religious life, they preserved local autonomy at the expense of long-term stability and access to colonial commodities.

For archaeologists, Hunacti is a strong example of the different responses of Maya communities under colonial rule. Although some towns adopted Christianity and Spanish rule for material gain, others, such as Hunacti, took on the risks of persecution to maintain pre-Hispanic traditions.

The project, funded by the National Geographic Society, highlights the significance of household archaeology in rewriting past narratives that frame Indigenous peoples as pᴀssive victims of colonialism. Rather, the story of Hunacti is one of agency, resilience, and the high costs of defiance.

More information: University at AlbanyPublication: Mᴀsson, M. A., Lope, C. P., Russell, B. W., Hare, T. S., Alvarado, W. C., Serafin, S., … Ojeda, B. E. (2025). Archaeological perspectives on confronting social change at the sixteenth-century Visita town of Hunacti, Yucatán. Latin American Antiquity, 1–20. doi:10.1017/laq.2025.1