DIG!
COMPLETED + ¡Dig Historia! - 2019
Railroad & Spanish Colonial History
Many volunteers enjoyed this archaeological survey of the northern part of Coronado Historic Site. The 2019 survey lasted a month and a half from October 4 through November 17. Artifacts were collected and analyzed. A report will be shared here when it is completed.
Based on archival documents and artifacts, it was suggested that a “small
undesignated site several hundred yards north [of Kuaua] which has been cut by
the old railroad grade which crossed the river…” might have belonged to Diego
Montoya prior to the revolt or to his parents. Travel through time as we explore
this possibility while learning about the Spanish Colonial Period and the
1920’s-1940s Santa Fe Northwestern Railway.
DESCRIPTION: Led by UNM graduate student Carlyn Stewart as part of her
Master’s project, and overseen by Matthew Barbour, Friends of Coronado members once again get the opportunity to survey, excavate and analyze artifacts along the beautiful Rio Grande. This year, Friends of Coronado members and UNM graduate students will excavate an early railroad line and possibly discover a 17th-century hacienda.
Little is known about this site, so this project aims to find out the answer to many questions. Is the hacienda buried beneath the railroad embankment? If it is, what time period was it occupied? How were the hacienda and surrounding lands used when occupied? How was the railroad embankment constructed? Is there any evidence of people camping in the area while building the railroad? How does the railroad relate to the ethnographic gardens located only 50m away? These are some of the questions to be addressed during the survey, excavation and artifact analysis.
Friends of Coronado members are invited and encouraged to participate in this exciting new project. ¡Dig Historia! will run most Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays beginning October 4th, 2019 and ending on November 17th. We will break for Fiesta of Cultures the weekend of October 19th. We want 6-8 people on the crew per day and we’ll meet at the Coronado Visitor Center.
If you wish to participate please email cstewart2@unm.edu and she will send you more information as well as a schedule sign-up!
Volunteers will rotate week to week based on their availability in order to give as many people the opportunity to participate as possible.
¡Dig Historia! 2019 Tentative Schedule
October 4th- 6th – Survey. Flag and GPS artifacts. Stakeout testing units.
October 11th-13th- Finish staking units. Begin excavating test units.
October 18th-20th - Break for Fiesta of Cultures! Run a table talking about the project.
October 25th-27th – Continue excavating test units and begin lab artifact analysis.
November 2nd-3rd – Continue excavations and lab artifact analysis.
November 8th-11th – Continue excavations and lab artifact analysis.
November 15th-17th- Finish excavations and continue lab artifact analysis.