Archaeology in Action: Reframing the Pueblo Revolt

Join us for our flagship virtual lecture series, where leading experts share cutting-edge research and groundbreaking discoveries. Designed for history enthusiasts, students, educators, and lifelong learners, the series shows how the ever-evolving field of archaeology continuously expands our understanding of the human experience.

Once framed primarily through Spanish accounts, the 17th-century battlefield at Tunyo (Black Mesa) in San Ildefonso Pueblo, New Mexico, tells a very different story when viewed from the perspective of its Indigenous inhabitants. Dr. Joseph Aguilar presents an Indigenized history of Tunyo, where Pueblo communities fortified the mesa during escalating tensions with Spanish colonizers in the North American Southwest. Drawing on Pueblo oral histories, Spanish documentary records, and archaeological data, he reconstructs a narrative of resistance, survival, and sovereignty—challenging long-accepted versions of history that continue to shape contemporary Pueblo societies today.