During most of El Cuartelejo's habitation, it was used by a band of Plains Apache rather than primarily by a Puebloan people. The Plains Apache were descendants of Indians who came into the Plains from the North, probably in late prehistoric times, and they first appeared in recorded history through the Coronado expedition in 1540-1541. They were a nomadic people who hunted bison and used dogs to carry their skin tipis and other belongings as they moved from place to place. After hunts, they visited Wichita villages and the Rio Grande pueblos, trading meat and hides for maize, cotton blankets, and pottery. They were usually friends and allies of the Spanish and the Pueblo peoples. By 1700, the Apache at El Cuartelejo had become more settled, continuing to hunt but living in their own villages during the growing seasons and raising maize, beans, and pumpkins. About the mid-18th century, the Comanche forced them toward the Southwest after sweeping into the Plains as mounted marauders after 1700.