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 Pueblo refers to the settlements of the Pueblo peoples, Native American tribes in the Southwestern United States, currently in New Mexico, Arizona, and Texas. The permanent communities, including some of the oldest continually occupied settlement ...

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 Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine ** Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

. The Spanish chroniclers referred to it as ''Cevola'', ''Tzibola'', or ''Cibola''. 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 6,176 as of the 2020 Census. It is inhabited largely by me ...

, on the

Zuni Indian Reservation The Zuni Indian Reservation, also known as Pueblo of Zuni, is the homeland of the Zuni tribe of Native Americans. In Zuni language, the Zuni Pueblo people are referred to as A:shiwi, and the Zuni homeland is referred to as Halona Idiwan’a mea ...

Cibola County, New Mexico Cibola County is a county in the U.S. state of New Mexico. As of the 2020 census, the population was 27,172. Its county seat is Grants. It is New Mexico's youngest county, and the third youngest county in the United States, created on June ...

. In 1960 the site was designated as a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a National Register of Historic Places property types, building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the Federal government of the United States, United States government f ...

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 t ...

of archaeological sites, a larger

National Historic Landmark District A National Historic Landmark District (NHLD) is a geographical area that has received recognition from the United States Government that the buildings, landscapes, cultural features and archaeological resources within it are of the highest signific ...

designated by the United States Department of Interior in 1974.

History

In 1539, the Spanish sent

Marcos de Niza Marcos de Niza, Order of Friars Minor, OFM (or Marco da Nizza; 25 March 1558) was a Franciscan friar and missionary from the city of Nice in the Duchy of Savoy. Marcos led the first Spanish expedition to explore what is now the American Southw ...

along with

Estevanico Estevanico (–1539), also known as Mustafa Azemmouri and Esteban de Dorantes and Estevanico the Moor, was the first person of African descent to explore North America. He was one of the last four survivors of the Narváez expedition, along with ...

and Sonoran Natives to investigate rumors of the seven cities of gold. Estevanico became the first non-native to visit and die in Hawikuh. Rumors and legends revolving around the disappearance of Estevanico in the region eventually led to the

Tiguex War Tigua, Tiguex, Tigüex, Tiwan, and Tiwesh may refer to: * Albuquerque metropolitan area The Albuquerque Metropolitan Statistical Area, sometimes referred to as Tiguex (named after the Southern Tiwa), is a metropolitan area in central New Mexico ...

. 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''. Meaning of the name Francisco In Spanish, people with the name Francisco are sometimes nicknamed " Paco". San Francisco de Asís was known as ''Pater Comm ...

, 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 Cíbola (), 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 ...

". 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 (also ''estufa'') 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 circula ...
s, paved, which are made for winter and have something like hot baths.

Some Hawikuu residents fled to the ''

Dowa Yalanne Dowa Yalanne ( Zuni: "Corn Mountain") is a steep mesa southeast of the present Pueblo of Zuni, on the Zuni Indian Reservation. Plainly visible from the Zuni Pueblo, the mesa is located in McKinley County, New Mexico, and has an elevation of ...

'' 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 and 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 (human activity), labour system that rewarded Conquistador, conquerors with the labour of conquered non-Christian peoples. In theory, the conquerors provided the labourers with benefits, including mil ...

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

Apache The Apache ( ) are several Southern Athabaskan language-speaking peoples of the Southwestern United States, Southwest, the Southern Plains and Northern Mexico. They are linguistically related to the Navajo. They migrated from the Athabascan ho ...

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.

Archaeological excavations

Hawikuh is located within the boundaries of the

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 6,176 as of the 2020 Census. It is inhabited largely by me ...

. and The ruins of Hawikuh were excavated during 1917-23 by the Heye Foundation under the leadership of

Frederick Webb Hodge Frederick Webb Hodge (October 28, 1864 – September 28, 1956) was an American editor, anthropology, anthropologist, Archaeology, archaeologist, and historian. Born in England, he immigrated at the age of seven with his family to Washington, DC ...

, who was assistant director of the Museum of the American Indian, New York. The records and artifacts from this excavation are held by the National Museum of the American Indian, Washington, D.C. It acquired Heye's museum collection in 1989. Hawikuh was declared a

in 1961 by the Department of Interior. American archaeologists Watson Smith, Richard B. Woodbury, and Nathalie F. S. Woodbury published a report of the Hendricks-Hodge Expedition in 1966 through the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian and the Heye Foundation.Woodbury, Nathalie F. S., Richard B. Woodbury, Watson Smith, Frederick Webb Hodge, and Hendricks-Hodge Expedition (1917-1923). 1966. ''The Excavation of Hawikuh by Frederick Webb Hodge : Report of the Hendricks-Hodge Expedition, 1917-1923''. New York: Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation. https://doi.org/10.5479/sil.473242.39088016102782 Internet Archive link: https://archive.org/details/excavationofhawi00hodg, https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/000287688

References

External links

Hawikuh Historic Site
by the

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an List of federal agencies in the United States, agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government, within the US Department of the Interior. The service manages all List ...

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 on the National Register of Historic Places 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 Individually listed contributing properties to historic districts on the National Register in New Mexico Zuni culture National Historic Landmark District contributing properties

History

Archaeological excavations

See also

References

External links