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Archaeology Cafe: Following Their Footsteps Indigenous Geography and the Anza Expedition
Join us on Tuesday, November 4, 2025, at 6:00 p.m. (doors open at 5:30 p.m.) for “Following Their Footsteps: Indigenous Geography and the Anza Expedition of 1775–1776.” Attend in person at Archaeology Southwest Headquarters, 300 N Ash Alley in downtown Tucson, or join us online via Zoom Webinar.
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.
Archaeology Café is a free public lecture series by Archaeology Southwest that brings experts and lifelong learners together in an informal setting. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. for light refreshments. The talk begins at 6:00 p.m., followed by Q&A.
If you can’t attend in person, register for the Zoom Webinar to watch live from anywhere.
Event Links
Tickets: https://go.evvnt.com/3305476-0
Website: https://go.evvnt.com/3305476-2
