EXCAVATIONS I N A 17TH-CENTURY JUMANO PUEBLO GRAN QUIVIRA GORDON VIVIAN WITH A CHAPTER ON ARTIFACTS FROM GRAN QUlVlRA SALLIE VAN VALKENBURGH ARCHEOLOGICAL RESEARCH SERIES NUMBER EIGHT NATIONAL PARK SERVICE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Stewart L. Udall, Secretary NATIONAL PARK SERVICE George B. Hartzog, Jr., Director America's Natural Resources Created in 1849, the Department of the Interior–America's Department of Natural Resources– is concerned with the management, conservation, and de- velopment of the Nation's water, wildlife, mineral, forest, and park and recre- ational resources. It also has major responsibilities for Indian and territorial affairs. As the Nation's principal conservation agency, the Departmentworks to as- sure that nonrenewable resources are developed and used wisely, that park and recreational resources are conserved, and that renewable resources make their full contribution to the progress, prosperity, and security of the United States- now and in the future. Archeological Research Series No. 1. Archeology of the Bynum Mounds, Mississippi. No. 2. Archeological Excavations in Mesa Verde National Park, Colorado, 1950. No. 3. Archeology of the Funeral Mound, Ocmulgee National Monument, Georgia. No. 4. Archeological Excavations at Jamestown, Virginia. No. 5. The Hubbard Site and Other Tri-wall Structures in New Mexico and Colorado. No. 6. Search for the Cittie of Ralegh, Archeological Excavations at Fort Ralegh National Historic Site, North Carolina. No. 7. The Archeological Survey of Wetherill Mesa, Mesa Verde National Park, Colorado. No. 8. Excavations in a 17th-century Jumano Pueblo, Gran Quivira, New Mexico. THIS PUBLICATION is one of a series of research studies devoted to specialized topics which have been explored in connection with the various areas in the National Park System. Originally printed at the Government Printing Office, this book is done with a copy of the 1979 book (which was published with original plates) by Western National Parks Association, a cooperating association that helps support the information and education programs of the National Park Service. 2003 ii Ruins of the San Buenaventura Mission Church. ABSTRACT At Gran Quivira, N. Mex., are early historic remains of 17 Pueblo house mounds, numerous detached kivas, a small Spanish church, and a mission es- tablishment. One kiva, the small Spanish church, and 37 Pueblo rooms were excavated. Unpublished data from previous excavation of the mission struc- tures are summarized. Culture contactwith theadjoining Mogollon is examined and their probable presence as the "gente rayada" of the Spanish considered. The probable effects of a culturally mixed group lacking social stability are explored as a contributing factor in the abandonment of the area and dispersal of the people about 1672, well before the Pueblo Revolt of 1680. Administration Gran Quivira National Monument, established on November 1 , 1909, and containing 611 acres, is administered by the National Park Service, U.S. De- partment of the Interior. The National Park System, o f which this area is a unit, is dedicated to con- serving the scenic, scientific, and historic heritage of the United States for the benefit and inspiration of its people. A superintendent, whose address is P.O. Box 517 , Mountainair, N. Mex., 87036, is in immediate charge of the monument. THE COVER: Detail of Figure 42. iii FOREWORD GRAN QUIVIRA NATIONAL MONUMENT preserves remains of Spanish Missionary Development in the Southwest and the ruins of associated aboriginal dwellings. Many portions of our knowledge about the interaction of the Spanish and Indian cultures is scanty. In 1951, R. Gordon Vivian, archeologist of the National Park Service, directed excavations at Las Humanas Pueblo at Gran Quivira National Monument. Mr. Vivian's careful and detailed archeological work combined with his simi- larly careful review of the historical documents concerning the period, the area, and the site, have enabled him to publish this detailed work. Through the com- bined historical and archeological process, the author has been able to produce a report that is more complete than the two disciplines could have produced separately. With pleasure I commend to professional and interested laymen alike this eighth report in the Archeological Research Series of the National Park Service. George B. Hartzog, Jr. DIRECTOR PREFACE THIS PAPER reports excavations conducted in three separate structures at Gran Quivira National Monument from March through May 1951. The monument is in Torrance and Socorro Counties, in central New Mexico, near the geo- graphic center of the State. It is 40 miles east of the Rio Grande and just east of Chupadera Mesa. There were both earlier and contemporary Pueblo settlements along the Rio Grande and slightly earlier Pueblo groups on the Chupadera Mesa, but broadly speaking the Jumano settlements to which Gran Quivira belonged, formed the southeastern limits of the Pueblo area in early his- toric times. Beyond these Jumano settlements, to the south and to the east, was the range of the Jornada Mogollon and in later years this outlying region became the habitat of Apache groups. The Gallinas Mountains, a low range, lie some 15 miles east of Gran Quivira, across a shallow basin. Recent pipeline surveys indicate that this area to the east is particularly devoid of Pueblo remains. Gran Quivira was some 20 miles south of the Saline Lakes and was the south- ern tip of a triangle of roughly contemporaneous pueblos. Abó was 18 miles to the north; Quarai and the mountain-dwelling Tiwas were deeper in the Man- zano range. To the northwest was the populous middle Rio Grande; to the north and east were Paa-ko and the Galisteo settlements, and beyond these, Pecos. Specifically, the ruin area at Gran Quivira National Monument is split by the base and county line between Torrance and Socorro Counties and portions of it are in Section 34-T 1 N, R 8 E NMPM; the remaining part, on the opposite side of the base line, is in Section 3, T 1 S, R 8 E (fig. 1). iv The excavation at Gran Quivira was done by the Navajo crew of the Ruins Stabilization Unit, with the addition of some local labor; the group ranged from 6 to 10 men. The excavation was intended to expose Pueblo structures for in- terpretation to visitors. All waste material was trucked away from the ruins, out of sight; all test pits, trenches, and other exploratory work had to be backfilled and the area left in a condition that would provide good surface drainage, rela- tively uncomplicated stabilization, and easy visitor access. These requirements of waste removal and rough landscaping reduced the effective labor force avail- able for digging, by a quarter to a third. The excavated materials were worked on intermittently through 1951 and 1952 at Chaco Canyon. Early in 1953, I was given the opportunity to do library research and examine collections in Santa Fe. At that time Sallie Van Valken- burgh prepared her section on the artifacts, other than pottery. The final draft of the manuscript was typed by various members of my family and it was submitted to the National Park Service in July 1953. A scheme to have the report published by the Southwestern Monuments Association failed, and the report languished in the files for 6 years. Early in 1959 it was decided to make minor changes, bring some of the material up to date, and submit it for publication in the present medium. Press of other work delayed completion of this revision until early 1961. The most extensive additions have been made in the section on ceramics; otherwise this report is essentially the same as the report submitted in 1953. I am indebted to my friend Ray Ringenbach, then superintendent of Gran Quivira, for making my stay there a pleasant one and for the many courtesies he extended. It was a pleasure to work with him. My superiors in the National Park Service, who were then, among others, General Superintendent John Davis, Naturalist Dale King, and Regional Archeologist Erik Reed, are due a large measure of thanks, both for giving me an opportunity to do the excavation and for time in 1953 to compile the material. Erik Reed, out of his encyclopedic knowledge, has been most helpful at all stages of this work. During the time that I was in Santa Fe, the staff at the Laboratory of Anthropology provided gra- cious assistance; the librarians cheerfully produced books and manuscripts from my often nebulous descriptions. Imust mention the late Stanley Stubbs in par- ticular; he gave much of his time to the study of sherds; he suggested lines of in- quiry, and he filled in for me many gaps in Rio Grande prehistory. The revision of the manuscript to its present form was done in Globe. The location map and plot of the ruins area at Gran Quivira were redrawn from basic plans in the Park Service files. Except as noted below, all drawings and photo- graphs are the work of the author. Lorrayne Langham's unfailing good humor and expert work in typing the revision are greatly appreciated as is her accu- rate pen and ink rendering of the pottery designs taken from sherds. GORDON VIVIAN Globe, Arizona January 1961. v CONTENTS Page GRAN QUIVIRA 1 NATURAL SETTING 2 SITES 3 PREVIOUS EXCAVATIONS 5 HISTORICAL BACKGROUND 7 IDENTITY OF GRAN QUIVIRA 8 IDENTITY OF THE POPULATION 9 LINGUISTIC AFFILIATION 10 PERIOD OF EXPLORATION 11 COLONIZATION 13 MISSION PERIOD 16 PUEBLO OF LAS HUMANAS 1610-72 21 GRAN QUIVIRA: TREASURE 31 EXCAVATIONS: HOUSE A 35 PLAN 37 MASONRY 37