BERNALILLO SITE WINS A NATIONAL AWARD

Archaeological work in Kuaua Pueblo involved 75 volunteers

Coronado Historic Site and the Friends of Coronado Historic Site honored for achievement in preservation and interpretation of state and local history.

The Bernalillo-based Coronado Historic Site and the Friends of Coronado Historic Site have won a prestigious national leadership award for achievement in the preservation and interpretation of state and local history.

The American Association for State and Local History has given the pair an Award of Merit for Dig Kuaua, according to a news release.

Dig Kuaua — part of the Coronado Historic Site — was a community project that took place over the summer of 2017. It featured 75 local volunteers and allowed more than 4,000 visitors to get an up-close view of real archaeology, organizers said.

Artifacts discovered there represent the last 2,000 years of human history in New Mexico.

As a joint effort with Coronado Historic Site, the New Mexico Office of Archaeological Studies and the Friends of Coronado Historic Site, the dig identified new sites and expanded the boundaries of Kuaua Pueblo, revealing previously undocumented rooms, according to the release.

One unexpected benefit has been that professional archaeologists, graduate students and even avocational researchers have begun new projects since the end of the dig, organizers said.

The award will be presented at a special banquet during the 2018 AASLH annual meeting in Kansas City, Mo., on Sept. 28.

Researchers conduct excavation work during the Dig Kuaua at the Coronado Historic Site last year. The project landed a prestigious national award for the preservation of history.