11 Archaeological Discoveries in New Mexico That Rewrote History Books

Ancient Artificacts in New Mexico

New Mexico’s sun-baked landscapes have given us some of North America’s most significant archaeological discoveries.

From ancient tools to footsteps, these 11 discoveries changed everything we thought we knew about the Southwest’s earliest people.

Pecos National Historical Park

The Pecos Pueblo once had over 2,000 people and was an important trading center between Rio Grande pueblos and Plains tribes. Over 10,000 years of human history are displayed here.

Scientists have since found thousands of artifacts from prehistoric times all the way through the Spanish colonial period.

Chaco Canyon Great Houses

The Pueblo people built these structures in Chaco Canyon between 850 and 1250 CE.

Their biggest building, Pueblo Bonito, covered 200,000 square feet and lined up perfectly with special events like solstices and equinoxes. Scientists studied more than 200,000 wooden beams and found builders brought wood from mountains over 50 miles away.

They also found evidence of ancient Puebloans trading with faraway people, including macaw feathers from Mexico, copper bells from Central America, and turquoise for jewelry.

Sandia Cave

High in the Sandia Mountains near Albuquerque, 10,000 feet above sea level, scientists found a special cave.

In the 1940s, archaeologist Frank H. H. Roberts Jr. discovered that the Sandia culture lived here 12,000 years ago.

They found tools these early hunters used, bones from the mammoths they ate, and remains of their fires.

Bandelier National Monument

Between 1150 and 1550 CE, Pueblo people carved homes into soft volcanic rock in the Jemez Mountains.

This huge site has over 11,000 archaeological locations across 33,677 acres, showing 1,000 years of human life. These ancient people left behind rock carvings (some of which might be star maps), beautiful black-and-white pottery, and stone tools.

White Sands Footprints

In 2021, Bournemouth University’s Matthew Bennett found preserved human footprints in White Sands National Park’s ancient lakebed.

The 80,000-square-foot area shows 26+ humans’ tracks, including playing children and parents carrying babies. Next to the human prints, he also found tracks from mammoths and giant sloths.

By studying seeds and sand near the prints, scientists learned they were 23,000 years old – that’s 7,000 years older than anyone thought people lived here.

Gila Cliff Dwellings

The Mogollon people built their homes inside natural caves in 1276 CE. They created six different cave dwellings in limestone hollows between 1276 and 1287 AD, breaking tradition by building within natural caves using rock, mortar, and timbers.

Scientists found well-preserved living spaces with about 40 rooms across six caves, including rooms for storing food, cooking areas, and ceremony chambers.

The pottery, dating from 1100 to 1300 AD, matches collections from the Reserve area, showing they had limited contact with other regions.

La Bajada Site

Near Santa Fe, scientists found evidence of people living here over 3,000 years ago.

As they dug deeper, they discovered multiple layers showing different time periods and advanced stone tool-making methods. They found special arrowheads, broken pottery, and sophisticated food preparation methods.

The site’s strategic location provides insights into how Pueblo peoples settled and organized their communities.

Aztec Ruins

The ancestral Pueblo people – not Aztecs despite its name – built this 400-room complex around 1100 CE.

They had irrigation systems and aligned their buildings with the sun and stars, showing advanced knowledge of astronomy and engineering. The site features a 12th-century Chacoan great house and the Southwest’s only restored Great Kiva.

Evidence also shows that they traded with others as far as California and Mexico.

San Jose de los Jemez

The Jemez Mountains hold evidence of Native American and Spanish settler interactions. Between 1621 and 1625, Franciscan priests built a church here with thick walls and an eight-sided bell tower.

Scattered across the ground lie European metal tools and religious items. After priests banned native practices and destroyed sacred buildings, the Jemez people joined the 1680 Pueblo Revolt, driving Spanish settlers from northern New Mexico.

Clovis Site

In the 1920s, scientists discovered special stone tools near Clovis, New Mexico. These Clovis points, used between 13,050 and 12,750 years ago, show some of the earliest human presence in America.

Researcher David Kilby showed these points were excellent for hunting Ice Age animals like mammoths and mastodons. Scientists found Clovis tools in many places, including 49 spots in Utah alone.

Petroglyph National Monument

Near Albuquerque, this 17-mile monument contains over 24,000 rock carvings by ancient Pueblo people and early Spanish settlers.

The carvings show animals, people, religious symbols, daily life, hunting scenes, and celestial objects. These petroglyphs remain sacred to Native Americans, who still use the site for ceremonies.