September 2023.
Bernalillo, New Mexico.

Francisco Vásquez de Coronado led a major Spanish expedition from Mexico into what is now the southwestern United States between 1540 and 1542. Driven by the legend of the Seven Cities of Gold, Coronado and his force of soldiers and Indigenous allies journeyed north in search of riches and new lands to claim for Spain. They encountered diverse Indigenous cultures, including the Pueblo people, with whom they had complex interactions involving both trade and conflict.

While there’s no definitive proof that Coronado himself set foot within the Kuaua Pueblo, historical records and archaeological evidence strongly suggest that his expedition camped nearby and interacted with the people of Kuaua. This construction was the first sight of the reconstructed ruins before we entered the historic site. Archaeologists excavated Kuaua Pueblo in the 1930s and found the original adobe walls extremely fragile. The adobe walls we see today were built on top of the buried ruins to give visitors a sense of the layout and size of the original pueblo.

Kivas were (and are) ceremonial structures for Puebloan peoples. They’re typically round and subterranean (partially underground), symbolizing a return to the earth and the underworld from a Puebloan perspective. Beyond ceremonies, kivas served as gathering places for social functions, decision-making, and the transmission of knowledge.

The Kiva at Kuaua Pueblo is rectangular, unlike most kivas. Archaeologists discovered that it had been rebuilt multiple times over the centuries. The walls were plastered each time, and new murals were painted over the old ones. This created a fascinating record of artistic styles and cultural changes.

We could not climb the ladder to enter the Kiva as they only offer guided tours, and none were scheduled that day.

Another reconstruction features the interior of a room within the Kuaua Pueblo. The walls are made of adobe. The left wall is relatively smooth, suggesting it has been plastered, while the right wall shows the adobe bricks’ more rough, layered texture.
A doorway provides a glimpse of the outside, and the light coming through it indicates the thickness of the walls.
The floor is a simple, packed earth surface, typical of traditional adobe structures.

Adobe bricks give a sense of the scale and complexity of the original pueblo. In the background, water was nearby in the Rio Grande floodplain below the Sandia Mountains. The Rio Grande was much fuller than it is today.

Another view of the reconstruction includes a warning to stay on the trail, which is always good advice in the deserts of the southwestern United States.

We expected the Rio Grande to be low this time of year. Still, all along the river, agricultural use, urban development, and reservoir storage for flood control all affect the river’s water level. The Rio Grande’s reduced flow is a complex issue resulting from human water usage, climate change, and river management practices. As water demand grows and climate change intensifies, the river faces increasing pressure.

This placard describes the cottonwood forest that grows in the Rio Grande floodplain. Here’s a transcript of the text on this placard:

“The Bosque refers to the cottonwood forest that lines the Rio Grande in New Mexico. Rio Grande cottonwoods have flourished here for millions of years. They can grow as large as three feet in diameter and ninety feet tall, but require a steady source of underground water and thus rely on flooding to thrive. Indigenous populations have long used the cottonwood for diverse purposes, including making drums and medicine.

“The Bosque, which means “woods” or “forest” in Spanish, is a vital part of the Rio Grande ecosystem. The woodland provides integral habitat for countless birds, reptiles, mammals, insects, and other wildlife. Sadly, manmade changes that altered the flow of the Rio Grande and prevented its flooding, in addition to invasive species such as the saltcedar and Russian olive, have caused the cottonwood forest to substantially shrink. Fortunately, efforts are ongoing to save this important riparian environment.”

The oxcart in this photo at the Coronado Historic Site represents the type of transportation used by Spanish colonists when they arrived in the region with Coronado’s expedition in 1540.

Coronado’s expedition was an enormous undertaking, requiring significant logistical support. Oxcarts were essential for transporting supplies, equipment, and provisions across long distances. The Spanish introduced wheeled vehicles to the region. The Pueblo people had not used wheeled transportation before the arrival of the Spanish. The oxcart starkly contrasts the traditional methods of transportation used by the Pueblo people, who relied on foot travel and pack animals.

The site is open from Wednesday through Monday. Details on hours, admission, and additional information can be found here. No docents were available for the Kiva tour on the day of our visit. You can call ahead to find out if tours are available on any given day. The link also provides some background and history of the site. More photos in 2K HD can be found in my Flickr album here.

John Steiner