Bi-faceted or Caret-headed Nail

Caret-headed nails are considered some of the most diagnostic artifacts associated with the expedition of Vázquez de Coronado, 1540-1542. Caret-headed or bi-faceted nails occur in a variety of archeological contexts dating to the late 1400s and early 1500s. The caret-headed nails and other early Contact Period metallic artifacts recovered from El Morro National Monument, together with additional documentary, environmental, historical, and archeological data, strongly support the conclusion that some components of the Vázquez de Coronado expedition were present at El Morro between the summer of 1540 and spring of 1542.