Pueblo of Ácoma

The panel's dramatic battle was a massacre. In January 1599, after Acoma men killed Juan de Zaldívar and a dozen soldiers, Oñate sent his nephew Vicente back with about seventy men; around 500 Acoma men and 300 women and children died over three days. On February 12 Oñate sentenced the survivors to twenty years of servitude, men over twenty-five to lose a foot, children under twelve to the friars, and two Hopi men to lose a hand. Records suggest the maiming fell on twenty-four men. Spain later convicted Oñate of excessive cruelty.

What the plaque says

Official Scenic Historic Marker Pueblo of Ácoma Built atop a great mesa for de- fensive purposes, Ácoma has been continuously occupied since the 13th century. A dramatic battle between the Ácomas and Oñate's forces occurred here in 1599. The mission church of San Esteban was built between 1629 and 1641, and today looks much as described by Fray Francisco Atanasio Domínguez in 1776.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Acoma Sky City — 12 mi
  Haak'u, the village on a sandstone mesa west of Albuquerque, seen only on the pueblo's own tours, with a mission whose roof beams were carried on foot from Mount Taylor.

More markers nearby

• Pueblo of Laguna — steps away
• Old Acoma "Sky City" — 0.3 mi
• The Battle of Khe Sanh, Vietnam 1968 — 2.8 mi
• Old Acoma "Sky City" — 9.6 mi