San Lazaro is an

archaeological site An archaeological site is a place (or group of physical sites) in which evidence of past activity is preserved (either prehistoric or historic or contemporary), and which has been, or may be, investigated using the discipline of archaeology an ...

pueblos The Puebloans or Pueblo peoples, are Native Americans in the Southwestern United States who share common agricultural, material, and religious practices. Currently 100 pueblos are actively inhabited, among which Taos, San Ildefonso, Acoma, Zu ...

in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ker ...

. Located in the basin of the

Galisteo River The Galisteo Basin is a surface basin and a closely related groundwater basin in north-central New Mexico. Its primary watercourse is the Galisteo River or Galisteo Creek, a perennial stream, for part of its course, that flows from the ea ...

south of Santa Fe, it was home to a clan of the

Tanoan Tanoan , also Kiowa–Tanoan or Tanoan–Kiowa, is a family of languages spoken by indigenous peoples in present-day New Mexico, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas. Most of the languages – Tiwa (Taos, Picuris, Southern Tiwa), Tewa, and Towa – a ...

peoples at the time of Spanish colonial contact in the 16th century. It was abandoned in the aftermath of the Spanish reconquest of the area after the 1680

Pueblo Revolt The Pueblo Revolt of 1680, also known as Popé's Rebellion or Popay's Rebellion, was an uprising of most of the indigenous Pueblo people against the Spanish empire, Spanish colonizers in the province of Santa Fe de Nuevo México, larger than prese ...

, its people believed to have eventually settled at

First Mesa First Mesa ( Hopi: Wàlpi) is a census-designated place (CDP) in Navajo County, Arizona, United States, on the Hopi Reservation. As of the 2010 census, the CDP population was 1,555, spread among three Hopi villages atop the 5,700-foot (1,740 m ...

among the

Hopi The Hopi are a Native American ethnic group who primarily live on the Hopi Reservation in northeastern Arizona, United States. As of the 2010 census, there are 19,338 Hopi in the country. The Hopi Tribe is a sovereign nation within the Unite ...

. The site was declared 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 listed ...

in 1964.

Description

San Lazaro is one of a large number of archaeological sites in the Galisteo Basin, a region historically occupied by the Tanoan people. The San Lazaro complex is one of the largest in the valley, with an estimated two to five thousand chambers in several room blocks on the south side of the river. Other features of the site include kilns, a water diversion canal, and a hilltop shrine. The site is more than in size. It was excavated in the 1910s by

Nels Nelsen Nels Nelsen (3 June 1894 – 3 June 1943), born Nils Johan Nilsen and sometimes referred to as Nels Nelson, was a Norwegian-born Canadian ski jumper active between 1916 and 1932. Later he was ski jumping organizer. He was among the world's best ...

History

The Galisteo River basin was first encountered by European explorers in the 1581-82

Chamuscado and Rodríguez Expedition The Chamuscado and Rodríguez Expedition visited the land on what became present day New Mexico in 1581-1582. The expedition was led by Francisco Sánchez, called "El Chamuscado," and Fray Agustín Rodríguez, the first Spaniards known to have visit ...

, in which the site now identified as San Lazaro has been associated by some researchers with the expedition's name "Malagón". It was known to be occupied when

Juan de Oñate Juan de Oñate y Salazar (; 1550–1626) was a Spanish conquistador from New Spain, explorer, and colonial governor of the province of Santa Fe de Nuevo México in the viceroyalty of New Spain. He led early Spanish expeditions to the Great Pla ...

established the Spanish province of

Santa Fe de Nuevo México Santa Fe de Nuevo México ( en, Holy Faith of New Mexico; shortened as Nuevo México or Nuevo Méjico, and translated as New Mexico in English) was a Kingdom of the Spanish Empire and New Spain, and later a territory of independent Mexico. The ...

in the late 1590s. Its people were active participants in the 1680

, occupying Santa Fe during the interregnum and suffering significant casualties during its recapture by the Spanish. Governor

Diego de Vargas Diego de Vargas Zapata y Luján Ponce de León y Contreras (1643–1704), commonly known as Don Diego de Vargas, was a Spanish Governor of the New Spain territory of Santa Fe de Nuevo México, to the US states of New Mexico and Arizona, titular ...

evicted them from their pueblo in 1695, resettling it with Mexicans. The people were first relocated to

Pecos Pueblo Pecos National Historical Park is a United States National Historical Park in San Miguel and Santa Fe Counties, New Mexico. The park, operated by the National Park Service, encompasses thousands of acres of landscape infused with historical ...

, many of whose inhabitants are later thought to have migrated to the

Tewa The Tewa are a linguistic group of Pueblo Native Americans who speak the Tewa language and share the Pueblo culture. Their homelands are on or near the Rio Grande in New Mexico north of Santa Fe. They comprise the following communities: * ...

villages on the Hopi First Mesa.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:San Lazaro Archaeological Site Archaeological sites in New Mexico Native American history of New Mexico National Historic Landmarks in New Mexico Protected areas of Santa Fe County, New Mexico Archaeological sites on the National Register of Historic Places in New Mexico Bureau of Land Management areas in New Mexico Buildings and structures in Santa Fe County, New Mexico Northern Rio Grande National Heritage Area National Register of Historic Places in Santa Fe County, New Mexico

Description

History

See also

References