University of Pennsylvania ScholarlyCommons Publicly Accessible Penn Dissertations 2019 Asserting Sovereignty: An Indigenous Archaeology Of The Pueblo Revolt Period At Tunyo, San Ildefonso Pueblo, New Mexico Joseph R. Aguilar University of Pennsylvania, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations Part of the History of Art, Architecture, and Archaeology Commons Recommended Citation Aguilar, Joseph R., "Asserting Sovereignty: An Indigenous Archaeology Of The Pueblo Revolt Period At Tunyo, San Ildefonso Pueblo, New Mexico" (2019). Publicly Accessible Penn Dissertations. 3465. https://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations/3465 This paper is posted at ScholarlyCommons. https://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations/3465 For more information, please contact [email protected]. Asserting Sovereignty: An Indigenous Archaeology Of The Pueblo Revolt Period At Tunyo, San Ildefonso Pueblo, New Mexico Abstract This dissertation presents the results of investigations into the archaeological, textual, and other evidence of the Pueblo Revolt period (A.D. 1680-1696), with a close focus on the events of the Spanish reconquest (1692-1696) at, Tunyo, Powhogeh Owingeh (San Ildefonso Pueblo), New Mexico. Guided by the tenets of traditional Pueblo values and Indigenous archaeology, this research examines the character and expressions of the Tewa Pueblos’ assertion of sovereignty in the face of Spanish settler colonial authority. The overarching goal of this research is to present an indigenized history of events that occurred at Tunyo and in the surrounding Tewa landscape during the height of the Spanish reconquest in 1694. Adopting a place-based approach that emphasizes the ontological interdependence of time, space, and history, this research merges Pueblo oral histories, Spanish documentary accounts, ethnohistorical studies, and archaeological data. This research also addresses the false dichotomy between “history” and “prehistory,” resisting the implicit assumption that European records provide the most authoritative sources of information on Indigenous encounters with settler colonialism. The core of this research involves the cartographic mapping and analyses of digital terrain models of Tunyo created by data collected in aerial photography surveys using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), or drones. The evidence indicates that the Tewa people successfully created and defended alternative village sites during Vargas’s siege in 1694. The Tewa adapted to Tunyo’s unique geology by using innovative construction techniques that resulted in distinct village architectural patterns. Oral traditions collected at San Ildefonso and elsewhere reveal that the breadth of the Tewa resistance extended far beyond Tunyo, to places and villages previously occupied by Tewa ancestors. This study concludes that the Tewa strategies of resistance were grounded in spiritual understandings of landscape and contingent on mobility to ancestral places, not only for strategic purposes, but for spiritual reasons. Pueblo survival strategies, and the agency of people and place across time and space, are best understood through holistic analyses that incorporate Pueblo ontologies. Tewa peoples’ engagements with their landscape, and with Tunyo in particular, have long been shaped by reciprocal relationships that embody and transcend the spans of history and time. Degree Type Dissertation Degree Name Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) Graduate Group Anthropology First Advisor Richard M. Leventhal Keywords archaeology, colonialism, drone, New Mexico, Pueblo, Southwest Subject Categories History of Art, Architecture, and Archaeology This dissertation is available at ScholarlyCommons: https://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations/3465 ASSERTING SOVEREIGNTY: AN INDIGENOUS ARCHAEOLOGY OF THE PUEBLO REVOLT PERIOD AT TUNYO, SAN ILDEFONSO PUEBLO, NEW MEXICO Joseph R. Aguilar A DISSERTATION in Anthropology Presented to the Faculties of the University of Pennsylvania in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy 2019 Supervisor of Dissertation ___________________________ Dr. Richard M. Leventhal Professor of Anthropology Graduate Group Chairperson _________________________ Dr. Theodore G. Schurr Professor of Anthropology Dissertation Committee Dr. Robert W. Preucel , Professor of Anthropology, Brown University Dr. Margaret Bruchac, Associate Professor of Anthropology, University of Pennsylvania ASSERTING SOVEREIGNTY: AN INDIGENOUS ARCHAEOLOGY OF THE PUEBLO REVOLT PERIOD AT TUNYO, SAN ILDEFONSO PUEBLO, NEW MEXICO COPYRIGHT 2019 Joseph R. Aguilar This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution- NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 License To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/us/ To my mom, Patricia Marie Aguilar (February 24, 1960 – December 10, 2018) iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Support for this research and writing has been given by many individuals and institutions, and without this support, this work could not be achieved. My archaeological field work was funded through the generous support from the University of Pennsylvania Department of Anthropology, the University of Pennsylvania Teece Family Foundation Fellowship, and the Society for American Archaeology Graduate Archaeology Scholarship. The Fontaine Society and the Benjamin Franklin Fellowships afforded me the opportunity to attend graduate school at the University of Pennsylvania. The School for Advanced Research (SAR) in Santa Fe, New Mexico, provided unconditional support throughout the latter stages of my work. My time as a resident scholar there helped shape the development of my dissertation and was one of the most fulfilling experiences I have ever had. I would like to thank David Stuart, Michael Brown, James Brooks, Elysia Poon, Lisa Pacheco, Laura Sullivan and Leslie Shipman for their support. I would also like to thank Brian Vallo, former director of the Indian Arts Research Center at SAR, and current Governor of Acoma Pueblo, for his friendship and kind words over the years. He is a true friend and great leader. During my time at the University of Pennsylvania, I had the fortune of being surrounded by amazing people who all had a role in shaping the outcome of this dissertation and my development as a person and scholar. At Penn, I would like to thank: Clark Erickson, Janet Monge, Robert Schuyler, Deborah Thomas, Marie Manski, Zoe Beckerman, Mary Kate Hildebrandt and Tad Schurr in the department of Anthropology for providing invaluable advisement; Lucy Fowler-Williams, and Bill Wierzbowsky in the Penn Museum for accommodating my interests in the collections; and Randy Mason and Frank Matero in the School of Design for helping me gain a deeper appreciation for historic preservation. I would also like to give a very special thank you to: Valerie de Cruz and Vanessa Iyua who welcomed me with open arms to the Greenfield Intercultural Center and helped make a very unfamiliar university and city, a more familiar one; to Eve Trout-Powell whose efforts behind the scenes made the completion of my dissertation feasible – and her late husband, Tim Powell, whose influence can be seen throughout this dissertation. and to the late Harold Dibble. He made archaeology and academia so much more fun. This dissertation is, in part, about the reciprocal relationship between people and place. In this sense, I must acknowledge the City of Philadelphia for allowing me to be a part of the fabric of the city. Philly will always remain my home away from home. The many friends I have gained while living in the city have made my time here much more fulfilling. Sergio Guerra, Bobby Carrol, Jiles Pourier, Jackson Brossy, Stephanie Mach, Steven Johnson, Wendy Green, Kevin Burke, Sam Lin, Tom Hardy, Dave Rogoff, Noam Osband, Kyle Olson and Whit Schroeder – thanks for being my friends. I would have had a much harder time making it in Philly were it not for the friendship and hospitality of Bob Roberts and Roberta Groves. Our paths have had an interesting way of crossing, but I am glad they did. I will remember my times in Philly with fondness because of you two. iv Thank you for all you have done for me and a making me a part of your Philadelphia family. My development as a southwest archaeologist owes a debt of gratitude to other archaeologists who I have had the fortune of working with and befriending over the years: Chip Wills and Patty Crown helped carve my path as an archaeologist since my time as an undergraduate at the University of New Mexico; TJ Ferguson, Maren Hopkins, and Michael Spears have taught me the true meanings of collaboration; Sam Duwe, who helped with some of the figures in this dissertation. Sev Fowles, who, in addition to being an all-around cool guy, has challenged me to find the deeper meanings in the work I do; Matthew Liebmann, whose work with and for the Pueblo of Jemez serves as a model for my own, and who’s influence is apparent in my own work. My field work, and as a result, this dissertation, would not be possible without the help of Chet Walker of Archaeo-Geophyical Associates, and his associate, Mark Willis who flew drones and processed the data presented in this work. They are the best at what they do. Others who have supported me along the way and who I wish to thank include: Kelly Fayard, who understands what it is like to do research with one’s own community, and whose advice and friendship made all the difference in my work. Barbara Tenorio- Grimes, who has remained an important