Gran Quivira, called Las Humanas by early Spanish explorers, was the largest of the Salinas pueblos. From its beginnings as a nearby cluster of pithouses 1,200 years ago, it grew into a thriving village of more than 20 masonry house blocks and 1,500 to 2,000 people. Situated at the frontier between Pueblo and Plains Indian worlds, it was an important trade center for many years, both before and after the arrival of the Spaniards, and its people, homes, and way of life continued there over 900 years of occupation.