A History of New Mexico in 100 Objects

A unique history of New Mexico told through the fascinating stories of one hundred representative artifacts from around the state—from the ancient fossilized footprints recently discovered at White Sands to J. Robert Oppenheimer’s revolutionary “gadget” that ushered the world into the Atomic Age.

Historians continually probe archives, museums, libraries, and less conventional sources in search of new ways to understand and explore the past. A History of New Mexico in 100 Objects will, for the first time, explore New Mexico’s remarkable history through the lens of material objects.

Distinguished historian Richard Melzer takes readers on a marvelous journey through New Mexico’s past, telling the story of New Mexico by way of fascinating objects that reflect the state’s ethnic, cultural, social, economic, and political history. Among the artifacts included are:

• a Mimbres ceramic pot
• a turquoise carving from Chaco Canyon
• Don Juan de Oñate’s inscription at El Morro
• healing soil from Chimayó
• a steamer trunk carried along the Santa Fe Trail
• Geronimo’s headdress
• Pat Garrett’s Colt revolver used to kill Billy the Kid
• the Loretto Chapel’s “Miracle Staircase”
• Georgia O’Keeffe’s bighorn sheep skull
• Ernie Pyle’s typewriter
• a World War II Navajo code talker’s radio receiver
• “the Gadget” developed by the Manhattan Project and tested at Trinity Site
• “Dave’s Dream” lowrider

A foreword by Alicia Romero, head curator of the Albuquerque Museum, offers insight into how objects are used in the study of history.

Together, the amazing stories of these one hundred objects offer a one-of-a-kind group portrait of the Land of Enchantment.