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Archaeology of Indigenous-Colonial Interactions in the Americas
Revolt: An Archaeological History of Pueblo Resistance and Revitalization in 17th Century New Mexico
Published in cooperation with the William P. Clements Center for Southwest Studies, Southern Methodist University.
The Pueblo Revolt of 1680 is the most renowned colonial uprisings in the history of the American Southwest. Traditional text-based accounts tend to focus on the revolt and the Spaniards' reconquest in 1692—completely skipping over the years of indigenous independence that occurred in between. Revolt boldly breaks out of this mold and examines the aftermath of the uprising in colonial New Mexico, focusing on the radical changes it instigated in Pueblo culture and society.
In addition to being the first book-length history of the revolt that incorporates archaeological evidence as a primary source of data, this volume is one of a kind in its attempt to put these events into the larger context of Native American cultural revitalization. Despite the fact that the only surviving records of the revolt were written by Spanish witnesses and contain certain biases, author Matthew Liebmann finds unique ways to bring a fresh perspective to Revolt.
Most notably, he uses his hands-on experience at Ancestral Pueblo archaeological sites—four Pueblo villages constructed between 1680 and 1696 in the Jemez province of New Mexico—to provide an understanding of this period that other treatments have yet to accomplish. By analyzing ceramics, architecture, and rock art of the Pueblo Revolt era, he sheds new light on a period often portrayed as one of unvarying degradation and dissention among Pueblos. A compelling read, Revolt's "blood-and-thunder" story successfully ties together archaeology, history, and ethnohistory to add a new dimension to this uprising and its aftermath.
The Pueblo Revolt of 1680 is the most renowned colonial uprisings in the history of the American Southwest. Traditional text-based accounts tend to focus on the revolt and the Spaniards' reconquest in 1692—completely skipping over the years of indigenous independence that occurred in between. Revolt boldly breaks out of this mold and examines the aftermath of the uprising in colonial New Mexico, focusing on the radical changes it instigated in Pueblo culture and society.
In addition to being the first book-length history of the revolt that incorporates archaeological evidence as a primary source of data, this volume is one of a kind in its attempt to put these events into the larger context of Native American cultural revitalization. Despite the fact that the only surviving records of the revolt were written by Spanish witnesses and contain certain biases, author Matthew Liebmann finds unique ways to bring a fresh perspective to Revolt.
Most notably, he uses his hands-on experience at Ancestral Pueblo archaeological sites—four Pueblo villages constructed between 1680 and 1696 in the Jemez province of New Mexico—to provide an understanding of this period that other treatments have yet to accomplish. By analyzing ceramics, architecture, and rock art of the Pueblo Revolt era, he sheds new light on a period often portrayed as one of unvarying degradation and dissention among Pueblos. A compelling read, Revolt's "blood-and-thunder" story successfully ties together archaeology, history, and ethnohistory to add a new dimension to this uprising and its aftermath.
328 pages, Hardcover
First published July 1, 2012
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About the author
Matthew Liebmann
5 books2 followersMatthew Liebmann is a Professor of Archaeology in the Department of Anthropology at Harvard University. His research interests include the archaeology of the Southwest U.S., historical archaeology and historical anthropology, collaborative archaeology, the archaeology of colonialism, archaeological theory, and postcolonialism.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
October 7, 2024
If I was an archaeologist/ anthropologist I would have rated this higher; however I am only an undergrad trying to get through an afternoon history class so...
September 14, 2014
After hearing Matthew Liebmann give a talk at at the Jemez Historical Site on August 10, 2013 (the 333rd anniversary of the Pueblo revolt), I knew this was a book I wanted to read. It focuses on the Pueblo revolt by examining archaeological evidence in the Jemez Province of sites that were occupied before, during and immediately after the period when the Spanish were ousted from New Mexico for a period of twelve years, with an aim to seeing what the material evidence suggests of the effect the revolt had on the Jemez people. Although the main focus is on the Jemez people, there is a good deal of information about the Tiwa, Tewa, Keres, Tano, Zuñi and Hopi peoples as well, and a little about the Utes, Comanches and the people whom the Spanish called Apaches, namely, the Athabaskan peoples who eventually came to be known as the Navajo and the various Apache tribess. The account offers a good deal of historical background and a nuanced assessment of the archaeological data. Every aspect of the book was done in cooperation with and the approval of contemporary Jemez people (whose history with modern archaeology has not always been happy).
While the focus of the book is on the particularities of the Pueblo revolt, there is a good deal of information of a more general nature about nativist movements, revivalist movements and relations between colonizers and subaltern societies. Liebmann both shows how aspects of the Pueblo war of independence from the Spanish exemplifies general trends found around the world when colonized people strive to regain something of their pre-colonial culture, and uses those general trends to help make sense of some of the particular features of the Pueblo revolt.
At every stage of his telling of the story, Liebmann resists the tendency to oversimplify and indeed stresses how complex the relations were among the various peoples whom the Spanish called the Pueblos (who among them spoke seven languages from four unrelated language families and had significant differences in religion and culture from one another); he also shows how complex relations were even within a single one of the many communities called Pueblos. The book provides an excellent antidote to a way of thinking that is tempted to see all Pueblos as a monolithic cultural unity, (or, worse, to see all native peoples as having a uniform culture). Liebmann also carefully avoids taking sides with anyone in the conflict; he does chronicle some of the brutality to which los indios were subjected by the Spanish, but he also chronicles ways in which the native peoples acknowledged the benefits they received through their contacts with the Spanish.
Although moderately technical in some parts, the book reads well. Where professional jargon is used, it is carefully explained for the lay reader. I found the level of detailed information too much to absorb in one reading but will keep the book on hand as a reference work as I read other books dealing with the same subject matter.
While the focus of the book is on the particularities of the Pueblo revolt, there is a good deal of information of a more general nature about nativist movements, revivalist movements and relations between colonizers and subaltern societies. Liebmann both shows how aspects of the Pueblo war of independence from the Spanish exemplifies general trends found around the world when colonized people strive to regain something of their pre-colonial culture, and uses those general trends to help make sense of some of the particular features of the Pueblo revolt.
At every stage of his telling of the story, Liebmann resists the tendency to oversimplify and indeed stresses how complex the relations were among the various peoples whom the Spanish called the Pueblos (who among them spoke seven languages from four unrelated language families and had significant differences in religion and culture from one another); he also shows how complex relations were even within a single one of the many communities called Pueblos. The book provides an excellent antidote to a way of thinking that is tempted to see all Pueblos as a monolithic cultural unity, (or, worse, to see all native peoples as having a uniform culture). Liebmann also carefully avoids taking sides with anyone in the conflict; he does chronicle some of the brutality to which los indios were subjected by the Spanish, but he also chronicles ways in which the native peoples acknowledged the benefits they received through their contacts with the Spanish.
Although moderately technical in some parts, the book reads well. Where professional jargon is used, it is carefully explained for the lay reader. I found the level of detailed information too much to absorb in one reading but will keep the book on hand as a reference work as I read other books dealing with the same subject matter.
January 20, 2015
An excellent work of archaeology, anthropology, and history, this book is definitely the best one I've read about the Pueblo Revolt. It is very much a history of the revolt based on fact and ethnography, supported by hard archaeology and grounded solidly in accepted social theory. Having just read Jared Diamond's The World Until Yesterday, the cultural aspects make perfect sense to me--in particular the complex relationships between the different Pueblo tribes with their separate languages and goals and experience. Highly recommended if you're interested in the history of the West.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews