Entry into the Southwest Apache

the coronado expedition, 1540–1542

in april 1541, while traveling on plains east of pueblo region, francisco coronado referred people dog nomads. wrote:

after seventeen days of travel, came upon rancheria of indians follow these cattle (bison). these natives called querechos. not cultivate land, eat raw meat , drink blood of cattle kill. dress in skins of cattle, people in land clothe themselves, , have well-constructed tents, made tanned , greased cowhides, in live , take along follow cattle. have dogs load carry tents, poles, , belongings.

the spanish described plains dogs white, black spots, , not larger water spaniels. plains dogs smaller used hauling loads modern inuit , northern first nations people in canada. recent experiments show these dogs may have pulled loads 50 lb (20 kg) on long trips, @ rates high 2 or 3 miles per hour (3 5 km/h). plains migration theory associates apache peoples dismal river culture, archaeological culture known ceramics , house remains, dated 1675–1725, has been excavated in nebraska, eastern colorado, , western kansas.

although first documentary sources mention apache, , historians have suggested passages indicate 16th-century entry north, archaeological data indicate present on plains long before first reported contact.

a competing theory posits migration south, through rocky mountains, reaching american southwest 14th century or perhaps earlier. archaeological material culture assemblage identified in mountainous zone ancestral apache has been referred cerro rojo complex . theory not preclude arrival via plains route well, perhaps concurrently, date earliest evidence has been found in mountainous southwest. plains apache have significant southern plains cultural influence.

when spanish arrived in area, trade between long established pueblo peoples , southern athabaskan established. reported pueblo exchanged maize , woven cotton goods bison meat, , hides , materials stone tools. coronado observed plains people wintering near pueblo in established camps. later spanish sovereignty on area disrupted trade between pueblo , diverging apache , navajo groups. apache acquired horses, improving mobility quick raids on settlements. in addition, pueblo forced work spanish mission lands , care mission flocks; had fewer surplus goods trade neighbors.

in 1540, coronado reported modern western apache area uninhabited, although scholars have argued did not see american indians. other spanish explorers first mention querechos living west of rio grande in 1580s. historians, implies apaches moved current southwestern homelands in late 16th , 17th centuries. other historians note coronado reported pueblo women , children had been evacuated time party attacked dwellings, , saw dwellings had been abandoned moved rio grande. might indicate semi-nomadic southern athabaskan had advance warning hostile approach , evaded encounter spanish. archaeologists finding ample evidence of proto-apache presence in southwestern mountain zone in 15th century , perhaps earlier. apache presence on both plains , in mountainous southwest indicate people took multiple migration routes.