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In 1989, ESI conducted National Register testing at six Canary Islander (Isleņo) house sites located on the east bank of Bayou des Familles in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana. In order to define site size and to locate artifact concentrations, screened shovel tests were excavated at 5 m gridded intervals. This also allowed reconstruction of activity areas at some of the sites. At least one 1 x 1 m unit was also excavated at each of the sites. Soil samples were collected from each unit and returned to the laboratory, where wet-screening through fine mesh was used to recover floral, faunal, and small artifactual remains.
Artifact analysis in conjunction with archival research confirmed that the six sites were part of a Canary Islander settlement established by the Spanish colonial government in ca. 1779. All of the sites were abandoned by ca. 1807, and some were probably abandoned within four years of their initial occupation date. Collections from these sites provided new insight into rural lifeways in Louisiana during the late-eighteenth century. For instance, large numbers of aboriginal sherds from one of the kitchen middens indicated that interchange with Native Americans was an important aspect of the local economy during this period. Also, only French and British artifacts were recovered, indicating that Spanish control of the economy was weak.
