Archaeologists have discovered America’s first firearm that was used by explorers searching for the ‘Seven Cities of Gold’ nearly 500 years ago.
The bronze cannon, or wall gun, was part of the Coronado expedition led by Spanish conquistador Francisco Vázquez de Coronado, who traveled to the New World searching for a fabled city filled with treasures.
The 40-pound weapon was designed to fire round projectiles, or buckshot, which would attacked enemies like ‘a swarm of hornets.’
The team conducted a radiocarbon analysis on the artifact, finding it was fashioned between 1500 and 1520 with metal that indicated it was cast in Mexico due to the lack of traditional Spanish ornate designs.
It’s ‘an important artifact,’ the study said, ‘and is, no doubt, the earliest known surviving firearm in the US and one of, if not the, earliest found in a reliable context in the New World.’
The cannon was uncovered at the site of San Geronimo III, a town set up by members of the Coronado expedition.
The settlement was attacked by the Sobaipuri O’odham people, marking ‘the earliest, most consequential Native American uprising in the continental US.’
The battle forced the Spanish to abandon the town, leaving behind the cannon that was never fired.
The bronze cannon was discovered on the floor of a Spanish adobe house used by settlers who embarked on the Coronado expedition nearly 500 years ago
In 1540, Coronado led an armed expedition of more than 2,500 Europeans and Mexican-Indian allies through what is now Mexico and into the American Southwest in search of riches
Previous research suggested that the first cannons in the continental US were used in colonial Boston during the Revolutionary War.
But the latest discovery pushes that timeline back about 300 years.
Deni Seymour, an independent archaeologist and lead author of the study, told Gizmodo: ‘Until this particular cannon was found no firearms from the Coronado Expedition had been discovered.
‘No firearms from this early period are known from the US or on the continental land mass as a whole.’
In 1540, Coronado led an armed expedition of more than 2,500 Europeans and Mexican-Indian allies through what is now Mexico and into the American Southwest in search of riches.
The two-year journey took them as far north and east as present-day Kansas and brought them in contact, and conflict, with centuries-old Indigenous cultures along the way.
Historians believe that the expedition led the Spanish explorers along the Rio Sonora through northern Mexico and the San Pedro River into what is now Arizona, settling at the now-ruined San Geronimo III.
The cannon was 42 inches long and weighed 40 pounds, making it ideal to carry across vast swaths of land as the expedition searched for the seven cities of gold
Archaeologists found that the cannon had never been fired because there was a lack of black residue that would have been consistent with corrosion from the ammunition
The team uncovered thousands of artifacts at the site, including arrowheads, lead bullets and other weapons, but the prize was uncovering the cannon.
The researchers used radiocarbon dating and luminescence techniques to link the cannon to the expedition, determining it was made 483 years ago.
The weapon was ideal for the expedition because it was lightweight and had a ‘durable nature and ease of use,’ the study said, adding that ‘a pair of these could have been strapped onto a horse or mule, with one or more on each side for balance during transport.’
Despite its small size, the cannon could handle heavy round lead balls, called buckshot, accompanied by gunpowder and a wad of paper or grass that kept the ammunition from rolling out.
The cannon was found at San Geronimo III in 2020, and radiocarbon dating has linked it to the Coronado expedition
The lack of design on the cannon indicated that it was likely made in Mexico in the mid-to-late 1400s
The lack of black residue inside the barrel, which was often caused by corrosion from firing the weapon, indicated that it had never been used.
The study, published in the International Journal of Historical Archaeology, said the gun’s design was consistent with those made in the mid-to-late 1400s, making it obsolete by the time the Coronado expedition set out, which could indicate why the group left it behind when they fled the area.
Researchers speculated that the cannon was deserted because it the Spanish didn’t have time to load it when the Sobaipuri O’odham tribe successfully launched an attack against them in late 1541.
The tribe attacked in the early morning, killing many of the Spanish in their beds, while the gunners were either ‘killed, captured or fled,’ the study said.
It added that under normal circumstances, the gun would have been too expensive to leave behind.
‘All professionals who have seen this evidence and been to the site concur that this is a Coronado site, and that this is evidence of a battle and a settlement,’ Seymour told Gizmodo.
‘From the standpoint of interpretation, this cannon and the battle that occurred around it are are significant in that they represent the earliest successful Native American uprising in the Continental US since the Spaniards did not come back for 150 years.’
