Archaeology Cafe: Following Their Footsteps; Indigenous Geography and the Anza Expedition 1775-1776
Category: Event Calendar
Date and Time
- Tuesday, Nov 4, 2025 5:30pm - 7:30pm
Location
Archaeology Southwest
300 N Ash Ave
Details
Join us in-person downtown at the Archaeology Southwest Headquarters or online via Zoom Webinar on Tuesday, November 4, 2025, when Aaron Wright (Preservation Archaeologist) will discuss “Following Their Footsteps: Indigenous Geography and the Anza Expedition of 1775–1776.” Spanish colonialism succeeded in part by co-opting Indigenous knowledge, resources, and infrastructure—including methods for navigating difficult and dangerous terrain unfamiliar to the colonizers. A prime example is the 1775–1776 overland expedition led by Captain Juan Bautista de Anza, launched to claim and colonize San Francisco Bay, then a remote harbor in Alta California critical to trade between Asia and Spain’s expanding presence in the Americas. In recognition of the expedition’s 250th anniversary, this presentation shares findings from recent archaeological investigations that reveal how the expedition relied on an established Indigenous trail network to successfully traverse the Sonoran Desert—arguably the most challenging segment of the five-month, 1,200-mile journey.
