In 1920 , Dr. Harry Mera , an archaeologist won a contest to design a new state flag and chose the Zia sun symbol because he was familiar with the one that was found in Zia Pueblo on a 19th century pot . A contest to design the new state flag was won by Dr. Harry Mera of Santa Fe , New Mexico . Mera was an archaeologist who was familiar with the Zia sun symbol found at Zia Pueblo on a 19th century pot .