Every city has history, but in Santa Fe, history surrounds us. It is a record not of 100 years, but of several thousand years. From the terraces above town to the river floodplain below, reminders of the city’s past inhabitants are woven into the fabric of Santa Fe. As the city expands and development continues, archaeologists uncover ever more evidence of the older center beneath it. In this issue of Archaeology Southwest Magazine, we hope to introduce readers to Santa Fe and its remarkable history.
Issue editors: Cherie L. Scheick, Southwest Archaeological Consultants, and Stephen S. Post, Zia Archaeology
Every city has history, but in Santa Fe, history surrounds us. It is a record not of 100 years, but of several thousand years. From the terraces above town to the river floodplain below, reminders of the city’s past inhabitants are woven into the fabric of Santa Fe. As the city expands and development continues, archaeologists uncover ever more evidence of the older center beneath it. In this issue of Archaeology Southwest Magazine, we hope to introduce readers to Santa Fe and its remarkable history.
Photo Collage: Above and Below the Streets of Santa Fe
Special thanks to Santa Fe resident and photographer Ellen Herr and to santafe.org for the many beautiful images in this collage and throughout the magazine.
Palace of the Governors. Photo by Ellen Herr.
Change through Time and Historic Events in and around Santa Fe — Cherie L. Scheick, Stephen S. Post, Kate Sarther Gann, and Kathleen M. Bader
“The Truchas Molino is one of the only examples of a Spanish Colonial style grist mill powered by a rodenzo, a horizontal water wheel, that is currently operational in the United States. These molinos (grist mills) are unique because of their horizontal wheels, which turn in a counterclockwise rotation, and operate without any gear mechanism. After serving the Village of Truchas from 1873–1940, the mill was saved and moved in 1968, and restored to working condition in 1991. It was relocated alongside La Cienega Acequia, a community shared irrigation ditch that has been active since ca. 1715. The Truchas Molino survives as a unique example of Spanish technological influence, and is a rare survivor of a once prevalent feature of eighteenth- and nineteenth-century rural northern New Mexico.”
Water Wheel at Grist Mill. The wooden sluiceway depicted in Bill Doelle’s “Back Sight” leads to this mill. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress. Read more here.
