Documentary History of the Rio Grande Pueblos of New Mexico; I. Bibliographic Introduction: Papers of the School of American Archaeology, No. 13

Bandelier's work stands as a foundational text in Southwestern archaeology and Native American historical research. This bibliographic introduction reconstructs the complex history of Rio Grande Pueblo peoples through colonial-era documents, revealing the profound challenges of interpreting records created by missionaries, explorers, and settlers whose perspectives were shaped by conquest and conversion. Bandelier demonstrates rigorous methodology in analyzing primary sources, acknowledging how language barriers, cultural biases, and deliberate exaggerations in historical documents distort our understanding of indigenous experiences. His emphasis on cultural and linguistic context transforms this from a simple chronology into a meditation on how we know what we know about the past. The work remains essential for understanding both Pueblo history and the epistemological challenges inherent in colonial documentation.