ARKANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — Archaeologists from across the U.S. are in south-central Kansas this week searching for artifacts that would confirm a five-mile stretch once was home to a Native American tribe of 20,000 people.

KAKE-TV reports volunteers have found small pieces of tools and pottery in a dusty Arkansas City field that are believed to be from a settlement discovered by Spanish explorer Juan De Onate in 1601.

Another group just down the road is using a sensor that detects magnetic fields and has found what it believes to be homes, storage areas and a dancing ground.

A third site a few roads away is believed to be where Spanish explorers battled a Native American tribe.

Local residents hope the findings help the area become one of the country’s major historic sites.