Thundersticks and Coats of Iron

Description

WHAT: Francisco Vazquez de Coronado Presentation and Ancient Pueblo Tour

WHERE: Open Space Visitor Center | 6500 Coors Blvd NW at the end of Bosque Meadows Rd. between Montaño and Paseo del Norte

WHEN: May 25, 10 a.m.

FEE: FREE, but registration is required. CALL 897-8831 to register

Francisco Vázquez de Coronado (1510 – 1554) led the largest land-based exploration in the continental United States conducted by colonial Spain.  From 1540 to 1542, the expedition had the first Europeans to see such places as the Colorado River, the Grand Canyon, the Rio Grande, many pueblo settlements, and the Great Plains.  Matt Schmader, PhD, will examine the current state of knowledge and retrospectives about the man and his famed expedition.  Guided tour of a recently investigated Coronado site will follow.

Matt Schmader has been conducting archaeological research in central New Mexico for over 30 years and obtained a PhD in Anthropology from the University of New Mexico.  As principal investigator on dozens of projects, he has excavated at sites ranging from PaleoIndian campsites and Archaic dwellings to pithouse villages, pre-Contact pueblos, and historic downtown Albuquerque.  More recently, he has been focused on research on the Contact period and the Coronado expedition in the Rio Grande valley.  He is Superintendent of the City of Albuquerque Open Space Division and serves as the City Archaeologist.

This program is part of the Department of Cultural Affairs New Mexico Heritage Preservation Month http://www.nmhistoricpreservation.org/programs/preservation-month.html

Price