Keres

Keres, or Keresan, is the language of the seven Keres pueblos of New Mexico and is treated as a language isolate, since attempts to attach it to Hokan–Siouan or other large groupings have not been substantiated. Its dialects fall into Eastern and Western groups, differing enough to be counted as separate languages by some scholars.

Biological evidence and Cochiti oral tradition suggest the Keres entered the Rio Grande drainage from the west in the early 1300s, after the El Morro valley was abandoned. Coronado's lieutenant Hernando de Alvarado visited cliff-top Acoma in 1540.

When Juan de Oñate colonized New Mexico, Acoma rose against the intruders and in 1599 Spanish troops sacked the pueblo in the Acoma Massacre. Missions and saints' names followed, and in 1680 the Keres pueblos joined the Pueblo Revolt.