Artifact and Identity: Seeking Cultural Markers on the Vázquez de Coronado Expedition, 1540-1542

Summary

This is an abstract from the session entitled "Colonial Ventures and Native Voices: Legacies from the Spanish and Portuguese Empires", at the 2023 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology.

In early 1540, Francisco Vázquez de Coronado led a large exploration from Mexico’s west coast into the American Southwest, searching for an overland route to Asia. Coronado enlisted 360 Europeans and 1,300 or more Mexican Indigenous soldiers (indios amigos) to achieve Spain’s goal of establishing diplomatic and trade relations with Asia. Coronado eventually reached the Rio Grande valley on this search, which was the first major contact by outsiders with the numerous Pueblo groups located there. Research at a large village near Albuquerque NM has documented remnants of a battle between Coronado’s forces and Pueblo defenders. Each cultural group involved had distinctive sets of artifacts: European metal and ammunition, slingstones and arrow points of the indios amigos, and piles of throwing stones hurled by the Pueblos. The mechanics of the battle, its material signatures and aftermath, and long-term effects of this first contact with the Pueblo world are discussed.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Colonial Ventures and Native Voices: Legacies from the Spanish and Portuguese Empires   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2023

Keywords

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Nicole Haddow