Pueblo Population Movements, Abandonment and Settlement Change in Sixteenth and Seventeenth Century New Mexico

Spanish colonization of the northern Southwest in the seventeenth century coincided with extensive abandonment of large Pueblo villages. This period of abandonment has been conventionally understood as a consequence of population decline. An examination of archaeological settlement patterns in two areas of the Rio Grande region of New Mexico, the Jemez Plateau and the Rio Abajo, during the period A.D. 1515-1700 reveals occupation at many more sites than those identified in historic documents. The patterns of settlement indicate the maintenance of long-standing mobility practices on the Jemez Plateau. In the Rio Abajo, there are significant population shifts as a consequence of movement to communities outside of the area, and from large to small settlements. These settlement changes during the first centuries of colonial rule demonstrate the use of established Pueblo settlement and mobility practices to respond to the new challenges of Spanish domination. They also indicate that abandonment during the early historic era cannot automatically be equated with population decline.