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New Mexico History

New Mexico

Early History

Apart from the brief visit of the Scandinavians in the early eleventh century, the Western Hemisphere remained unknown to Europe until Columbus's voyage in 1492. However, the native peoples of North and South America arrived from Asia long before, in a series of migrations that began perhaps as early as forty thousand years ago across the land bridge that connected Siberia and Alaska.

New Mexico Early History

First Early Inhabitants of New Mexico

Early history examines the archaeological record that tells the story of the first inhabitants of New Mexico. Learn about the history and culture of the first inhabitants, and what lessons it might teach us about the early history of New Mexico.

New Mexico First Early Inhabitants

c. 25000 B.C. - Sandia people leave earliest evidence of human existence in what is now New Mexico.
c. 10000-9000 B.C. - Clovis hunters roam area in search of mammoth, bison and other game.
c. 9000-8000 B.C. - Folsom people flourish throughout Southwest at the end of the last Ice Age.
c. 10000-500 B.C. - Cochise people are first inhabitants to cultivate corn, squash and beans, the earliest evidence of agriculture in the Southwest.
A.D. 300-1400 - Mogollon culture introduces highly artistic pottery and early architecture in the form of pit houses.
A.D. 1-700 - Anasazi basket makers elevate weaving to a high art, creating baskets, clothing, sandals and utensils.
A.D. 700-1300 - Anasazi culture culminates in the highly developed Chaco Civilization.
A.D. 1200-1500s - Pueblo Indians establish villages along the Rio Grande and its tributaries.

The Clovis-Paleo Indians later discovered the eastern plains of New Mexico, the same expansive romping grounds of the dinosaurs around 10,000 B.C. The river valleys west of their hunting grounds later flooded with refugees from the declining Four Corners Anasazi cultures.

Sometime between A.D. 1130 and 1180, the Anasazi drifted from their high-walled towns to evolve into today's Pueblo Indians, so named by early Spanish explorers because they lived in land-based communities much like the villages, or pueblos, of home. Culturally similar American Indians, the Mogollón, lived in today's Gila National Forest.

The Anasazi occupied the region where present day Arizona, New Mexico and Colorado meet. They were among the most highly civilized of the Native American cultures. They raised corn and cotton, and tamed wild turkeys, using the meat for food and the feathers for clothing. In the winter, the Anasazi wore garments fashioned from turkey feathers.

The Anasazi were cliff dwellers and built many apartment houses out of closely fitted stones. One such building, the Pueblo Bonito, had nearly 800 rooms.

Around 1500 A.D., the Navaho and Apache tribes came to the New Mexico region from the north. Utes and Comanches entered the area a few years later.

US History

Understanding history is empowering. An incident is but the furthest ripple of an ever-expanding wave that may have started eddying outward hundreds of years ago. One who has "insight" in history is able to harness the power of that wave's entire journey.

United States of America has an early history beginning sometime prior to 15,000 years ago, as well as the past 200 years or so of rich and proud history, which is relatively short compared to other countries and nations. From Independence to the Civil War to the World Wars to the Cold War, we have a lot of things to tell and things to be proud of.