Sandia Pueblo Pottery

The Sandia Pueblo Pottery Tradition suffered a major setback when the Southern Tiwas returned from the Hopi mesas in 1742. They had been promised land, and peace to work that land. That took about 20 years of waiting, and suffering several attacks from the Utes, Apaches and Dineh. And even then, what they got was still in the path of incoming raiders for the next several decades.

When the Southern Tiwas had gone to Hopiland in the 1690s, they were steered to build a new pueblo for themselves, on a northern finger of Second Mesa. They named their new village Payupki, and there they made pottery, lots of it. Payupki pottery was traded all over the Southwest.

When they became convinced by the priests' promises in 1742, they chose to return to the area of Alameda, where their original pueblo was. They were not allowed to settle there, not for about 20 years. Then they were ordered to settle there. After that, it's like they made no more pottery until John Montoya appeared in the marketplace. Then he died.