Kachina and the Cross

By Carroll L Riley

In The Kachina and the Cross, Carroll Riley weaves elements of archaeology, anthropology, and history to tell a dramatic story of conflict between the Pueblo Indians and Franciscan missionaries in the seventeenth-century Spanish colony of New Mexico.

Until now, histories of the early Southwest have tended to concentrate on the Spanish presence, with little mention of Indian resistance or the decade-long war that eventually erupted. In The Kachina and the Cross Riley completes the picture by utilizing archaeological and anthropological research from the past forty years, fleshing out the story of the first century of sustained Spanish-Pueblo relations.

Carroll Riley is emeritus distinguished professor of anthropology at Southern Illinois University. He is author of Rio del Norte: People of the Upper Rio Grande from Earliest Times to the Pueblo Revolt and Becoming Aztlan: Mesoamerican Influence in the Greater Southwest, A.D. 1200–1500, both available from the University of Utah Press.

Table of Contents:

List of Illustrations
Preface
Acknowledgments

1. Spain at the Flood
2. The Native Americans
3. A Clash of Cultures
4. Oñate
5. The Pueblos and Their Neighbors in 1598
6. The First Decade in Spanish New Mexico
7. Church and State through Mid-Century
8. Missionization
9. Spanish Society in New Mexico
10. Bernardo López de Mendizábel
11. The Gathering Storm
12. Fateful Decisions
13. The Currents of War
14. An Era Ends, An Era Begins

Sources and Commentary
List of New Mexico Governors, 1598–1704
Glossary
General Index
Index of Initial Citations

Praise and Reviews:

"An informative and readable account of the interaction of Spaniards and native peoples in New Mexico."—CHOICE

"Riley has done a good job of pulling a diverse string of facts together and has woven them into a fine-textured story of early New Mexico."—Patrick Beckett, Center of Anthropological Studies, Las Cruces, NM

"This new book reads like a novel and contains some new and surprising information, making it a valuable contextual reference on 17th-century New Mexico history."—New Mexico Magazine

“With his usual clarity, sound research, and objectivity, Cal Riley interweaves the events and personalities into a chronological account.”—The Journal of American History

“A fascinating synthesis of recent scholarship.”—Utah Historical Quarterly

“[An] important study. Readers…will not be disappointed by the thorough presentation of works consulted, including a body of relatively obscure technical literature.”—The Journal of Arizona History