new acquisition

Coronado’s Campsite Preserved

The Conservancy obtains an important addition to the only known Spanish campsite in New Mexico.

In 1986, archaeologist Brad Vierra was monitoring construction work along a highway near Albuquerque. He stopped the earthmoving equipment when he noticed a charcoal-stained area and an associated scatter of pottery. A subsequent archaeological excavation uncovered 15 shallow pits ranging from six to 15 feet in diameter. Further excavations led by Vierra revealed hearths, burned corn kernels and beans, postholes, small bone fragments, and metal artifacts.

The evidence from these excavations strongly suggests that this was once a campsite of the Spanish explorer Francisco Vasquez de Coronado, who spent the winter of 1540–41 in this area. Faunal analysis determined that some of the bone fragments were from domesticated sheep, which the Spanish introduced to the New World. An analysis of the site’s pottery yielded dates from A.D. 1525 to 1625.

Directly adjacent to Coronado’s campsite is Pueblo Santiago, one of the 12 Tigüex (TEE-wesh) Pueblos that Coronado and his men made contact with. These pueblos were located along the Rio Grande from Bernalillo to Isleta. Coronado State Monument is now located where Kuaua, the northern-most of these pueblos, once was. The remnants of Santiago are now part of Sandia Pueblo.

Over 1,000 members of Coronado’s expedition probably camped next to Pueblo Santiago. Pottery found at the pueblo dates to between A.D.1400 and 1600. Most of Pueblo Santiago was excavated in 1957 prior to the creation of a gravel pit on the property. Six unique pointed metal artifacts were discovered in the south wing of the pueblo during the excavation. One was recovered from the chest of an individual. At first the 1950s researchers assumed the metal artifacts were pen points. A re-analysis by Vierra determined that these artifacts were boltheads from crossbows, the most sophisticated weapons of the time. Only Spanish soldiers possessed them, and Coronado’s was the only Spanish expedition that listed crossbows in its weapon’s inventory.

Conservancy member Dudley Price, who operated Price’s Dairy at this location for decades, sold the land to Intrepid Development on the condition that Intrepid donate the archaeological sites to the Conservancy. The Coronado Campsite is permanently protected within Intrepid’s residential subdivision, which is appropriately named Santiago. The company’s four-acre donation is immediately adjacent to a two-acre preserve that contains the balance of the Coronado site. This preserve, which was donated to the Conservancy in 1992 by AMREP Corporation, is located within one of that company’s subdivisions. This six-acre preserve contains the only Coronado-era campsite ever found in New Mexico.

The Conservancy began working with Price in the late 1980s to find a way to preserve these sites. The old adage “persistence pays” rings true for this project. Last April, Jim Walker, the Conservancy’s Southwest regional director, spoke at the groundbreaking ceremony for the new subdivision. “We are happy to see almost 20 years of preservation efforts pay off. The Santiago subdivision was a great place to live 600 years ago, and it is a great place to live today. Being able to preserve Pueblo Santiago and the Coronado campsite within the modern Santiago Subdivision is an accomplishment we can all be proud of.” —Amy Espinoza-Ar

These pointed metal artifacts were recovered from the site.At first the researchers thought they were pen points,but subsequent analysis determined that they were boltheads from crossbows.