Departmental News

Posted:  May 29, 2019 - 12:00am

Public Archaeology student Carly Stewart has been awarded a Center for Regional Studies Fellowshipto support her master’s research at Coronado State Historic Site.

Coronado Historic Site and the ruins of Kuaua Pueblo are loacted just minutes north of Albuquerque (off of I-25, Exit 242) in Bernalillo.  In 1540, Francisco Vásquez de Coronado—with 500 soldiers and 2,000 Indian allies from New Spain—entered the Rio Grande valley somewhere near this site.  Coronado was searching for the fabled Seven Cities of Gold.  Instead of treasure, he found a dozen villages inhabited by prosperous native farmers.  These newly "discovered" people spoke Tiwa, and their ancestors had already been living in this area for thousands of years.  Coronado called them: Los Indios de los Pueblos or Pueblo Indians.  He and his men visited all twelve Tiwa villages during the course of the next two years because they survived on food and other supplies that they obtained from them.  Without the assistance of the Tiwas (willing or unwilling), Coronado and his men very likely would have starved to death. For more information, visit http://nmhistoricsites.org/coronado