Hard Choices Along the Rio Grande: Piro Trade Networks and Decision-Making During the 1680 Pueblo Revolt

Summary

The Piro Pueblos along the southern Rio Grande did not join with the rebelling Pueblos in the 1680 Pueblo Revolt and instead left New Mexico with the retreating Spanish or migrated to other Pueblos. The events of the Revolt and the circumstances of Spanish colonialism required that the Piro make political decisions such as these. The same was true for the northern Pueblos organizing the Revolt, who decided not to include the Piros as part of the rebellion. For both groups, these decisions were made within the context of existing intra-indigenous relationships, the character of which is not currently well understood. Archaeology is particularly well suited to examining economic relationships, and the U.S. Southwest is an ideal location for archaeological sourcing. Data obtained through X-Ray Fluorescence of Piro obsidian and optical petrography of Piro ceramics will be the basis for initial characterization of the economic relationships between the Piro and other indigenous groups in New Mexico prior to the 1680 Revolt. These relationships will in turn help to describe some of the context for political decision-making during the Revolt.

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This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 80th Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA (2015)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage