First Contact, Pueblo Resistance, and Multiethnic Conflict on the Vázquez de Coronado Expedition of 1540–1542

Summary

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2021: General Sessions" session, at the 86th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

The immense expedition into the American Southwest led by Francisco Vázquez de Coronado from 1540 to 1542 was the first contact from outsiders experienced by many indigenous groups of the region. Coronado's entourage included Europeans from several countries, North Africans, Blacks, and Native soldiers from numerous Mexican ethnic groups. Well over 2,500 people made their way into the Southwest and made contact with today's western pueblos, Rio Grande pueblos, and Plains groups with long-lasting results. Conflicts that occurred at several key sites reflect the multiethnic mix of the participants, along with mixed technologies and warfare tactics. Ongoing research at one of the major expeditionary conflict sites, Piedras Marcadas Pueblo (located north of Albuquerque, NM), has been funded by the American Battlefield Protection Program. The site contains a mixture of medieval European military technology, indigenous Mexican weaponry, and evidence of Pueblo resistance rarely seen at contact period sites. Results of recent funded fieldwork highlight the roles of those involved and directly related materials found at the battle site.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 86th Annual Meeting, Online (2021)   •
• SAA 2021: General Sessions

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 33040