Historical Time-Line to the NM Cultural Database

Time-Line to Museum Collections

You may use this index to locate specific collections in our museums based on a particular date or time period. Click on general time period listed below to see a list of corresponding collections.

OR, if your browser is forms capable, you can do an automated search here by picking a start and end date and clicking on search.
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B.C.

c. 12,000-10,000: B.C. Sandia people leave earliest evidence of human existence in what is now New Mexico.

c. 10,000 - 9,000: B.C. Clovis hunters roam area in search of mammoth, bison and other game.

c. 9,000 - 8,000 B.C. Folsom people flourish throughout Southwest at the end of the last Ice Age.

c. 10,000 - 500 B.C. Cochise people are first inhabitants to cultivate corn, squash and beans, the earliest evidence of agriculture in the Southwest.

1 A.D. - 1500

A.D.1- 700 Anasazi Basketmakers elevate weaving to a high art, creating baskets, clothing, sandals, and utensils.

A.D.700- 1300 Anasazi Pueblo culture culminates in the highly developed Chaco Civilization.

A.D. 300-1400 Mogollon culture introduces highly artistic pottery and early architecture in the form of pit houses.

A.D. 1200-1500 Pueblo Indians establish villages along the Rio Grande and its tributaries.

1500s

1536 Cabeza de Vaca, Esteban the Moor and two others reach Culiacan, Mexico, after possibly crossing what is now southern New Mexico,and begin rumors of the Seven Cities of Cibola.
1539 Fray Marcos de Niza and Esteban lead expedition to find Cibola and reach the Zuni village of Hawikuh where Esteban is killed.
1540-42 Francisco Vasquez de Coronado explores area from Gulf of California to present day Kansas, discovers the Grand Canyon.
1598 Juan de Onate establishes the first Spanish capital of San Juan de los Caballeros at the Tewa village of Ohke north of present day Espanola.

1600s

1600 San Gabriel, second capital of New Mexico, is founded at the confluence of the Rio Grande and the Chama Rivers.
1608 Onate removed as governor and sent to Mexico City to be tried for mistreatment of the Indians and abuse of power. Decision made by Spanish Crown to continue settlement of New Mexico as a royal province.
1609-10 Governor Pedro de Peralta establishes a new capital at Santa Fe. Construction begins on the Palace of the Governors. Gaspar de Villagra publishes epic history on the founding of New Mexico, the first book printed about any area in the United States.
1626 Spanish Inquisition established in New Mexico.
1641 Governor Luis de Rosas assassinated by colonists during conflict between the church and state.
1680 Pueblo Indian Revolt; Spanish survivors flee to El Paso del Norte.
Late 1600s Navajos, Apaches, and Comanches begin raids against Pueblo Indians.
1692-93 Don Diego de Vargas recolonizes Santa Fe.Spanish civilization returns to New Mexico.
1695 Santa Cruz de la Canada founded.

1700s

1706 Villa de Albuquerque founded.
1743 French trappers reach Santa Fe and begin limited trade with the Spanish.
1776 Franciscan friars Dominguez and Escalante explore route from New Mexico to California.
1793 Padre Antonio Jose Martinez of Taos born.

1800s

1807 Zebulon Pike leads first Anglo American expedition into New Mexico. Publishes account of way of life in New Mexico upon return to U.S.
1821 Mexico declares independence from Spain. Santa Fe Trail opened to international trade.
1837 Chimayo Revolt against Mexican taxation leads to the assassination of Governor Albino Perez and top officials.
1841 Texas soldiers invade New Mexico and claim all land east of the Rio Grande. Efforts thwarted by Governor Manuel Armijo.
1846 Mexican-American War begins. Stephen Watts Kearney annexes New Mexico to the United States.
1847 Taos Rebellion against the U.S. military. Governor Charles Bent killed.
1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ends Mexican-American War.
1850 New Mexico (which included present day Arizona, southern Colorado, southern Utah, and southern Nevada) is designated a territory, but denied statehood.
1851 Bishop Jean Baptiste Lamy arrives in New Mexico and establishes schools, hospitals and orphanages throughout the territory.
1854 The Gadsden Purchase from Mexico adds 45,000 square miles to the territory.
1861 Confederates invade New Mexico from Texas.The Confederate Territory of Arizona is declared with the capital at La Mesilla.
1862 Battles of Velvarde and Glorieta Pass fought, ends Confederate occupation of New Mexico.
1862-67 Known as the "Long Walk," Navajos and Apaches are relocated to Bosque Redondo; finally allowed to return their homelands after thousands die of disease and starvation.
1863 New Mexico is subdivided in half; Territory of Arizona is created.
1878 Lincoln County War erupts in southeast New Mexico.
1879 The railroad arrives in New Mexico opening full scale trade and migration from the east and midwest.
1881 Billy the Kid shot by Sheriff Pat Garrett in Lincoln, N.M.
1886 Geronimo surrenders; Indian hostilities cease in the Southwest.

1900s

1910 New Mexico Constitution drafted in preparation for statehood.
1912 New Mexico admitted to the Union as the 47th state.
1916 Pancho Villa raids Columbus, New Mexico.
1920 Adoption of the 19th Amendment gives women the right to vote.
1922 Secretary of State Soledad Chacon elected first woman to hold statewide office.
1923-24 Oil is discovered on the Navajo Reservation.
1930-43 Great Depression. Federal New Deal funds provide employment for many and causes numerous public buildings to be constructed.
1942-45 New Mexico soldiers serving in the 200th Coast Artillery during World War II are captured by the Japanese and forced to endure the Bataan Death March. Secret atomic laboratories established at Los Alamos.
1945 World's first atomic bomb detonated at Trinity Site in southern New Mexico after its development at Los Alamos.
1948 Native Americans win the right to vote in state elections.
1950 Uranium discovered near Grants.
1966 New state capital building, the "Roundhouse" is dedicated.
1969 Proposed new state constitution is rejected by voters.
1982 Space shuttle Columbia lands at White Sands Space Harbor on Hollomon Air Force Base near Alamogordo.
1992 New Mexico observes Columbus Quincentenary, welcomes Cristobal Colon XX.
1995 New Mexico begins to prepare for its Quatercentenary in 1998.

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