Historical Marker

Tiguex Province

More than one hundred prehistoric and historic pueblos and other archaeological sites and over 15,000 petroglyphs or rock art sites give ample evidence of the occupation of this valley for at least 12,000 years. Spanish explorers who came into the area in the sixteenth century gave the name “Tiguex Province” to the dozen or more Tiwa-speaking Indian pueblos (towns) they found in the middle Río Grande Valley.