Hawikuh (also spelled ''Hawikku'', meaning "gum leaves" in ZuniLanmon, Dwight P. and Harlow, Francis, "A brief history of the Ashiwi (Zuni) pueblos", in ''The Pottery of Zuni Pueblo'', 2008, Museum of New Mexico Press. ), was one of the largest of the Zuni

pueblo In the Southwestern United States, Pueblo (capitalized) refers to the Native tribes of Puebloans having fixed-location communities with permanent buildings which also are called pueblos (lowercased). The Spanish explorers of northern New Spain ...

s at the time of the Spanish ''entrada''. It was founded around 1400 AD. It was the first pueblo to be visited and conquered by

Spanish explorers Exploration refers to the historical practice of discovering remote lands. It is studied by geographers and historians. Two major eras of exploration occurred in human history: one of convergence, and one of divergence. The first, covering most ...

. The pueblo site is located southwest of

Zuni Pueblo Zuni Pueblo (also Zuñi Pueblo, Zuni: ''Halona Idiwan’a'' meaning ‘Middle Place’) is a census-designated place (CDP) in McKinley County, New Mexico, United States. The population was 6,302 as of the 2010 Census. It is inhabited largely b ...

, on what is now the Zuni Indian Reservation in

Cibola County, New Mexico Cibola County is a county in the U.S. state of New Mexico. As of the 2010 census, the population was 27,213. Its county seat is Grants. It is New Mexico's youngest county, and the third youngest county in the United States, created on June 19, ...

. In 1960 the site was designated as a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places liste ...

known as the Hawikuh Ruins. It is included as a contributing part of the

Zuni-Cibola Complex The Zuni-Cibola Complex is a collection of prehistoric and historic archaeological sites on the Zuni Pueblo in western New Mexico. It comprises Hawikuh, Yellow House, Kechipbowa, and Great Kivas, all sites of long residence and important in the ...

of archaeological sites, a larger

National Historic Landmark District National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ...

designated by the United States Department of Interior in 1974.

History

In 1539,

Estevanico Estevanico ("Little Stephen"; modern spelling Estebanico; –1539), also known as Esteban de Dorantes or Mustafa Azemmouri (مصطفى الزموري), was the first African to explore North America. Estevanico first appears as a slave in Portu ...

was the first non-native to visit Hawikuh. Rumors and legends revolving around the disappearance of Estevanico in the region eventually led to the Tiguex War. The war occurred during a later expedition by

Francisco Vásquez de Coronado Francisco is the Spanish and Portuguese form of the masculine given name '' Franciscus''. Nicknames In Spanish, people with the name Francisco are sometimes nicknamed " Paco". San Francisco de Asís was known as ''Pater Comunitatis'' (father o ...

, as he searched for the legendary "

Seven Cities of Gold The myth of the Seven Cities of Gold, also known as the Seven Cities of Cibola (), was popular in the 16th century and later featured in several works of popular culture. According to legend, the seven cities of gold referred to Aztec mythology r ...

". He wrote about the pueblo:

Although they are not decorated with turquoises, nor made of lime or good bricks, nevertheless they are very good houses, with three, four, and five stories, where there are very good apartments ... and some very good rooms underground
Kiva A kiva is a space used by Puebloans for rites and political meetings, many of them associated with the kachina belief system. Among the modern Hopi and most other Pueblo peoples, "kiva" means a large room that is circular and underground ...
s, paved, which are made for winter and have something like hot baths.

Some Hawikuu residents fled to the '' Dowa Yalanne'' mesa top to escape the attackers of the Coronado expedition. The 14 structures at ''Dowa Yalanne,'' which were used as a refuge from the Spaniards between 1540-1680, were called ''Heshoda Ayahltona'' ("ancient buildings above").Flint, Richard and Shirley Cushing Flin
"Dowa Yalanne, or Corn Mountain."
''New Mexico Office of the State Historian.'' 21 April 2012. In 1628 the Spanish established Mission La Purísima Concepción de Hawikuh at this pueblo. The Spanish attempted to suppress the Zuni religion, and introduced the ''

encomienda The ''encomienda'' () was a Spanish labour system that rewarded conquerors with the labour of conquered non-Christian peoples. The labourers, in theory, were provided with benefits by the conquerors for whom they laboured, including military ...

'' forced-labor system. In 1632, the Hawikuh Zuni rebelled, burned the church, and killed the priest. In 1672,

Apache The Apache () are a group of culturally related Native American tribes in the Southwestern United States, which include the Chiricahua, Jicarilla, Lipan, Mescalero, Mimbreño, Ndendahe (Bedonkohe or Mogollon and Nednhi or Carrizaleño a ...

raiders burned the church. In 1680 it was burned again during the Great Pueblo Revolt, when all the Nuevo México pueblos rose against the Spanish. After this revolt, the Zuni permanently abandoned Hawikuh. Hawikuh is located within what are now the boundaries of the Zuni Indian Reservation near

Zuni, New Mexico Zuni Pueblo (also Zuñi Pueblo, Zuni: ''Halona Idiwan’a'' meaning ‘Middle Place’) is a census-designated place (CDP) in McKinley County, New Mexico, United States. The population was 6,302 as of the 2010 Census. It is inhabited largely by ...

. The ruins of Hawikuh were excavated during the period 1917-23 by the Heye Foundation under the leadership of Frederick Webb Hodge, who was assistant director of the Museum of the American Indian. The records and artifacts from this excavation are now held by the

National Museum of the American Indian The National Museum of the American Indian is a museum in the United States devoted to the culture of the indigenous peoples of the Americas. It is part of the Smithsonian Institution group of museums and research centers. The museum has three ...

. It acquired Heye's museum collection in 1989.Hawikuh
at National Park Service Hawikuh was declared a

in 1961 by the Department of Interior. and

References

External links

Hawikuh Historic Site
by the

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational properti ...

Hawikuh by the Center for Desert Archeology

{{National Register of Historic Places Protected areas of Cibola County, New Mexico National Historic Landmarks in New Mexico Archaeological sites on the National Register of Historic Places in New Mexico Ruins in the United States Populated places established in the 13th century Former populated places in New Mexico History of Cibola County, New Mexico Puebloan buildings and structures National Register of Historic Places in Cibola County, New Mexico Populated places on the National Register of Historic Places in New Mexico Historic district contributing properties in New Mexico

History

See also

References

External links