University Showcase, 04/15 8a: When the Coronado Expedition came to New Mexico in 1540, there were 12 to 16 inhabited pueblos just in the middle Rio Grande Valley with as many as 10,000 to 20,000 people living here. Matthew Schmader has spent years studying archeological evidence around this incursion into the Southwest and the battles that ensued with Pueblo people. His new book chronicles his work uncovering Piedras Marcadas Pueblo, a village of over 1,000 rooms located in what is now Albuquerque. His book, “Uncovering America’s First War: Contact, Conflict, and Coronado’s Expedition to the Rio Grande” was just published by University of New Mexico Press. Schmader is also an adjunct professor in Anthropology and says this war has a large cultural significance beyond the battles.
New details emerge of Coronado incursion and pueblo battles
Courtesy of Dennis Holloway, Architect, and Matthew Schmader
