Near Mountainair in Torrance County, New Mexico — The American Mountains (Southwest)
Dryland Crops and Game
⎯⎯⎯
Cazar y cosechar en tierra seca
Photographed by James Hulse, April 10, 2025
1. Dryland Crops and Game / Cazar y cosechar en tierra seca Marker
Drought-resistant corn, planted eight inches deep on this north slope, was the staff of life for this pueblo. Archeology here reveals tiny fragments of beans, squash, piñon nuts, yucca, and prickly pears, along with the bones of tens of thousands of jackrabbits, cottontails, deer, pronghorns, and even bison. After Spanish priests and settlers came to New Mexico, European wheat, cattle, sheep, and goats joined these earlier Indian foods.Hunters straightened and smoothed their arrow shafts on special grooved stones (below), arming them with points made of jasper, chert, chalcedony, or obsidian. Salt from nearby lakes preserved the game meat.
Captions
Yucca • Prickly pear fruit • Piñones • Indian corn
El pan de cada día de este pueblo fue un maíz resistente a la sequía, plantado en esta pendiente a veinte centímetros de profundidad. Arqueólogos han descubierto aquí pequeños fragmentos de calabaza, frijol, piñón, yuca y nopal junto a miles y miles de huesos de liebre, conejo, venado, berrendo, y bisonte. Después de que los sacerdotes y los colonizadores españoles llegaron a Nuevo México, añadieron
this page online
Los cazadores alinearon y alisaron las astas de sus flechas en piedras con ranuras especiales (abajo, izquierda), armándolas con puntas hechas de jaspe, sílice, calcedonia u obsidiana. Sal de las salinas vecinas se usaba para preservar la carne.
Subtítulos
yuca • tunas • Piñones • maíz
Erected by Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument and National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Indigenous Peoples and Communities • Settlements & Settlers.
Location. 34° 15.642′ N, 106° 5.533′ W. Marker is near Mountainair, New Mexico, in Torrance County. It is on Wsmr S Rte 41 south of New Mexico Route 55. The marker is located on the grounds of the Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument - Gran Quivíra Ruins. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Mountainair NM 87036, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in Greater Albuquerque. It is also in the American
Photographed by James Hulse, April 10, 2025
2. Dryland Crops and Game / Cazar y cosechar en tierra seca Marker
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: A Trap for Runoff / Trampa de agua (within shouting distance of this marker); A Larger Church: 1659-1670 / Una iglesia más grande: 1659-1670 (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); Underground Housing / Hogares subterráneas (about 300 feet away); Underground Worship / Ceremonias clandestinas (about 400 feet away); Plaza - Heart of the Pueblo / Plaza - centro del pueblo (about 400 feet away); Mission Church 1630-1650 / Iglesia misionera 1630-1650 (about 400 feet away); Exploring Las Humanas / Explorando Las Humanas (about 400 feet away); You Must Be Crazy! / ¡Sois tan locos! (about 400 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Mountainair.
Also see . . . Gran Quivira. National Park Service
The Gran Quivira unit of Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument is the largest of the three units at 611 acres. Prior to Spanish contact, Gran Quivira(Submitted on August 10, 2025, by James Hulse of Medina, Texas.)was a vast city with multiple pueblos, and kivas. Mound 7, a 226 room structure from the Pueblo IV period (A.D.1275/1300-1600), is the largest and only fully excavated pueblo at the site. During the excavation, an older Circular Pueblo was discovered under Mound 7. First contact with the Spanish probably happened in 1583 with the arrival of Don Antonio de Espejo who mentions a settlement that sounds very similar to Gran Quivira. The Spanish returned in 1598 with the expedition of Don Juan de Oñate who was the first Spaniard to colonize what would become New Mexico. Oñate visited a pueblo he called Las Humanas which was the southernmost settlements. As part of the mission system, Las Humanas (Gran Quivira) was first placed under the Pecos Mission District. Later, with the arrival of Fray Alonso de Benavides in 1626, Gran Quivira was given more attention and later became a visita (a satellite mission without a resident Father) of Abó in 1629. That same year construction began on the first permanent mission at Gran Quivira. Under the supervision of Fray Francisco Letrado, rooms on the west end of Mound 7 (Letrado's Convento) were used by the Spanish for housing and probably an early chapel. Letrado was moved to the Zuni Pueblo in 1631 and Gran Quivira came under the control of Fray Francisco de Acevedo at the Abó Mission. Construction on Iglesia de San Isidro was completed in 1635. In 1659 Fray Diego de Santander was permanently assigned to Gran Quivira. Soon after, construction on a new larger church, San Buenaventura, began. By 1672 a combination of disease, drought, famine, and Apache raiding led to the abandonment of Gran Quivira.Photographed by James Hulse, April 10, 20253. The view of the marker along the trail
Credits. This page was last revised on August 11, 2025. It was originally submitted on August 10, 2025, by James Hulse of Medina, Texas. This page has been viewed 84 times since then and 19 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on August 10, 2025, by James Hulse of Medina, Texas.
