Qualla: Coronado Historic Site: The Painted Kiva of Kuaua

Coronado Historic Site: The Painted Kiva of Kuaua: Introduction

Wed, 28 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Anton Flegar, CC BY-SA 3.0. The name is misleading. Coronado Historic Site is named for Francisco Vasquez de Coronado, the Spanish explorer who camped in the vicinity during 1540 to 1542, but the real story belongs to Kuaua Pueblo and the people who built it two centuries before any European arrived. Settled around 1325 by Tiwa-speaking Puebloan people, Kuaua (meaning "evergreen" in the Tiwa language) stood on the west bank of the Rio Grande for nearly three centuries. What makes it extraordinary are the murals discovered inside a square kiva in the pueblo's south plaza, pre-contact paintings that rank among the finest examples of Native American art found anywhere on the continent.

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Image: Anton Flegar | CC BY-SA 3.0

Coronado Historic Site: The Painted Kiva of Kuaua: Three Centuries on the Rio Grande

Wed, 28 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Skarz, CC BY-SA 4.0. Kuaua Pueblo was one of several Tiwa-speaking villages along the Rio Grande when it was settled around 1325. The pueblo grew over three centuries, expanding from south to north as archaeologists would later discover. Six kivas were built within the village in round, square, and r...

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Image: Skarz | CC BY-SA 4.0

Coronado Historic Site: The Painted Kiva of Kuaua: The Murals Beneath the Plaster

Wed, 28 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Jonathunder, Public domain. Between 1934 and 1939, an archaeological team led by Edgar Lee Hewett and Marjorie F. Tichy excavated the ruins of Kuaua. The dig revealed the expected progression of pueblo construction and habitation, but it also uncovered something remarkable: a series of pre-contact murals re...

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Image: Jonathunder | Public domain

Coronado Historic Site: The Painted Kiva of Kuaua: New Mexico's First Public Archaeological Site

Wed, 28 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Skarz, CC BY-SA 4.0. The Coronado Historic Site was the first state archaeological site in New Mexico to open to the public. It was dedicated on May 29, 1940, as part of the Cuarto Centenario, the 400th anniversary commemoration of Coronado's entry into New Mexico. James F. Zimmerman served as its fi...

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Image: Skarz | CC BY-SA 4.0

Coronado Historic Site: The Painted Kiva of Kuaua: Where the River Remembers

Wed, 28 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Anton Flegar, CC BY-SA 3.0. Today Coronado Historic Site sits along U.S. Route 550, one mile west of Bernalillo and 16 miles north of Albuquerque. It is part of the state-governed Museum of New Mexico system. The setting along the Rio Grande remains much as it was when the Tiwa people chose this spot nearly...

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Image: Anton Flegar | CC BY-SA 3.0