Paraje (de Fra Cristobal): Investigations of a Territorial Period Hispanic Village Site in Southern New Mexico

摘要

The historic village site of Paraje (de Fra Cristobal) lies on Federal land controlled by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, within the maximum flood pool of the Elephant Butte Reservoir, Rio Grande Project. Historical research and limited archaeological testing of the site (LA 1124) were recently conducted by the Bureau of Reclamation. Paraje was an important Territorial period village in southern New Mexico and has been nominated for the National Register of Historic Places. The recent investigations suggest that while Paraje was very dominantly Hispanic, the material culture from the site gives very little indication of this ethnic affiliation.