F O R I M M E D I A T E R E L E A S E

Event: Free Illustrated Lectures
Title: “Was the Coronado Expedition in Southwest New Mexico?”
Schedule: (1) September 13, 2004: Auditorium of the Global Resource Center at Western New Mexico University in Silver City, 7:00 pm
(2) September 14, 2004: Lordsburg Civic Center, 8:00 pm
(3) September 16, 2004: Lost Frontier Museum in Reserve, 7:00 pm
Contact: Richard Flint or Shirley Cushing Flint
505-421-2515 or randsflint@plateautel.net

The Coronado expedition of 1539 – 1542 resulted in the first contact between Europeans and native peoples of the American Southwest and northwest Mexico. This extraordinary historical moment is not fully understood, however, because Coronado’s exact route remains a mystery. Today, we only have a handful of hotly debated theories.

To explore these theories, the Center for Desert Archaeology—a private non-profit organization in Tucson, Arizona—has initiated a public outreach project called “In Search of the Coronado Trail.” The project is soliciting information about possible Coronado expedition artifacts from residents of the region in the hope that a pattern of such artifacts may emerge and thus help define the expedition’s route.

Well-known authors and authorities on the Coronado expedition, and New Mexico residents, Dr. Richard Flint and Shirley Cushing Flint are participating in the project, and will present their latest research findings in these free illustrated lectures. Since 1980, Richard and Shirley have been researching the Coronado expedition. The Flints have conducted extensive research in archives in Mexico, Spain, and the United States and have participated in archaeological investigations related to the Coronado entrada in New Mexico, Texas, and Arizona. Both separately and in collaboration, the Flints have published extensively on the Coronado entrada, including The Coronado Expedition from the Distance of 460 Years (University of New Mexico Press, 2003) and Great Cruelties Have Been Reported, the 1544 Investigation of the Coronado Expedition (Southern Methodist University Press, 2001).

Presentation of the lecture series “Was the Coronado Expedition in Southwest New Mexico?” is supported in part by a grant from the New Mexico Humanities Council. Signers and other provisions for the physically challenged will be provided for requests received prior to two weeks before any of the lectures. To make such a request, persons should call the Center for Desert Archaeology at 1-800-557-8353 or 520-882-6946.

For more information about the “In Search of the Coronado Trail Project,” please visit the Center for Desert Archaeology’s website: www.cdarc.org