In 1540 Francisco Vazquez de Coronado, the governor of Nueva Galicia in western Mexico, led an expedition of reconnaissance and expansion to a place called Cibola, far to the north in what is now New Mexico. The papers collected in this book bring multidisciplinary expertise to the study of that expedition. Although scholars have been studying the Coronado expedition for over 460 years, there is a rich documentary record that is still being examined. The volume editors have arranged the book around the questions: Who?, What?, When?, Where?, Why?, and How? The essays on Who?, addressing such subjects as the muster roll of the Coronado expedition, will be of particular interest to genealogists, and the chapters on What?, addressing the technicalities of horseshoes and crossbow boltheads, will be useful to archaeologists. The other sections make use of these two disciplines as well as geography and ethnohistory. Among the contributors are W Michael Mathes, Frank Gagne, Ann F Ramenofsky, John Kessell, and Maureen Ahern.
Richard Flint is research associate in history at the Center for Desert Archaeology, Tucson, Arizona. His publications also include Documents of the Coronado Expedition, 1539-1542: "They Were Not Familiar With His Majesty, nor Did They Wish To Be His Subjects." Shirley Cushing Flint is based at New Mexico Highlands University in Las Vegas, New Mexico.
""The Coronado Expedition" contains seventeen essays. Generally thay are of the highest quality making this collection a must for any scholar or library interested in Spanish explorations of the Southwestern United States in the early modern era." "All in all, this is a volume worth reading. It contributes substantially to the existing collection on Coronado history." "Richly satisfying. . . . Casts new light on the history of the American West and the history of European relations with American Indians." "The efforts of this team of writers have produced an insightful view of the Coronado Expedition. This book is a shining example of how scholars from different disciplines, working together, can add to the knowledge of such a studied topic." "This book provides an excellent background for anyone studying or teaching the U.S. West, Native American history, or the Spanish Borderlands by weaving together archaeology, folklore, geography, and history to give an excellent picture of an often overlooked period of exploration and contact." "Richly satisfying academic book. . . Casts new light on the history of the American West and the history of European relations with American Indians."
