Bernalillo in Sandoval County, New Mexico — The American Mountains (Southwest)

Pedro de Castañeda

1540-41

Photographed by James Hulse, April 9, 2025

1. Pedro de Castañeda Marker

Inscription. Click to hear the inscription.

"They all work together to build the villages, the women being engaged in making the mixture and the walls, while the men bring the wood and put it in place. They have no lime, but they make a mixture of ashes, coals, and dirt which is almost as good as mortar, for when the house is to have four stories, they do not make the walls more than half a yard thick. They gather a great pile of twigs and grass and set it afire, and when it is half coals and ashes they throw a quantity of dirt and water on it and mix it all together. They make round balls of this, which they use instead of stones after they are dry, fixing them with the same mixture which comes to be like stiff clay."
Pedro de Castaneda 1540-41

(Fotografia: El Pueblo de Taos)

Spanish:
"Todos trabajan juntos para construir las aldeas, estando las mujeres a cargo de hacer la mezcla y las paredes, mientras que los hombres traen la madera y la ponen en su lugar. No tienen cal, pero preparan una mezcla con ceniza, rescoldos y tierra, que es casi tan buena como si fuera mortero, porque cuando construyen una casa de cuatro pisos, no hacen las

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paredes con más de media yarda de grueso. Juntan una gran pila de ramas pequeñas y pasto y le prenden fuego; y cuando está medio quemada en cenizas y brasas le echan una cantidad de tierra y agua y lo mez clan todo junto. Con esto hacen bolas redondas, que usan en lugar de piedras cuando se secan, fijándolas con la misma mezcla que viene a ser como barro endurecido."
Pedro de Castañeda 1540-41

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Anthropology & Archaeology • Hispanic Americans • Indigenous Peoples and Communities.

Location. 35° 19.791′ N, 106° 33.463′ W. Marker is in Bernalillo, New Mexico, in Sandoval County. It is on Kuaua Road half a mile east of U.S. 550. The marker is located in the Kuaua Ruins (Coronado Historic Site). Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 485 Kuaua Rd, Bernalillo NM 87004, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in the San Juan Basin

and in Greater Albuquerque.

It is also in the American Southwest

and at the Four Corners.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Spain

and also the Republic of Texas.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Experimental Archaeology / Arqueología Experimental (here, next to this marker); Kivas (a few steps from this marker); The Pueblo of Kuau (within shouting distance of this marker); The Plazas / Las Plazas (within shouting distance of this marker); Pueblo (within shouting distance of this marker); Kuaua

The view of the Pedro de Castañeda Marker along the walkway image. Click for full size.

Photographed by James Hulse, April 9, 2025

2. The view of the Pedro de Castañeda Marker along the walkway

(within shouting distance of this marker); Grind the Meal (within shouting distance of this marker); Archaeological excavations / Excavaciones arqueológicas (within shouting distance of this marker). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Bernalillo.

More about this marker. There is a small fee to visit the Kuaua Ruins (Coronado Historic Site).

Also see . . .
1. Coronado Historic Site. New Mexico Historic Sites

Coronado Historic Site and the ancient Kuaua Pueblo are located just minutes north of Albuquerque (off of I-25, Exit 242) in Bernalillo. In 1540, Francisco Vásquez de Coronado—with 500 soldiers and 2,000 Indigenous allies from New Spain—entered the Rio Grande valley somewhere near this site. Coronado was searching for the fabled Seven Cities of Gold.

(Submitted on May 26, 2025, by James Hulse of Medina, Texas.)

2. Pedro de Castañeda: Chronicler of the Coronado Expedition. Pedro de Castañeda: Chronicler of the Coronado Expedition

Pedro de Castañeda, a member and chronicler of the Coronado expedition, was a native of Nájera, a town in the state of Vizcaya in northern Spain. At the time of the organization
Photographed by James Hulse, April 9, 2025

3. The view of the Reconstructed Pueblo and the Pedro de Castañeda Marker (Left Side)
of the Coronado expedition, Castañeda was at a Spanish outpost at Culiacán, in northwestern Mexico. He was married and had at least eight children. Castañeda's original account, Relación de la jornada de Cíbola compuesta por Pedro de Castañeda de Nácera donde se trata de todas aquellos poblados y ritos, y costumbres, la cual fué el año de 1540, has been lost, but a copy made in 1596 is in the Lenox Library in New York City. The narrative appears most recently in both Spanish and English, edited by George Parker Winship.

(Submitted on May 26, 2025, by James Hulse of Medina, Texas.)

Credits. This page was last revised on May 26, 2025. It was originally submitted on May 25, 2025, by James Hulse of Medina, Texas. This page has been viewed 157 times since then and 14 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on May 26, 2025, by James Hulse of Medina, Texas.