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In the late 18th century, representatives of the Spanish empire occupied the San Francisco Bay Area and rapidly transformed the region through the introduction of agriculture, animal husbandry, Roman Catholicism, the Spanish language, and the use of pottery. This paper focuses on the latter, evaluating questions of local manufacture or importation of ceramic materials among missions, the presidio, and pueblos within the San Francisco Presidio Jurisdiction. Through the application of instrumental neutron activation analysis of ceramic materials, local production of earthenwares at each of the missions is shown whereas glazed ware patterns reveal a mix of local and nonlocal sources. These patterns provide insights into the manufacture, supply, and exchange of ceramics in the San Francisco Bay Area, and through them a window on the materiality of the colonial encounter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]