Adobe
building material of earth and organic materials
Adobe ( ə-DOH-bee; Spanish: [aˈðoβe]; via Spanish, from Arabic الطّوب (at-tūb)) is a building material made from loam and organic materials. Adobe is Spanish for mudbrick. In some English-speaking regions of Spanish heritage, such as the Southwestern United States, the term is used to refer to any kind of earthen construction, or various architectural styles like Pueblo Revival or Territorial Revival. Most adobe buildings are similar in appearance to cob and rammed earth buildings. Adobe is among the earliest building materials, and is used throughout the world.
Adobe architecture has been dated to before 5,100 BP.
Description
Traditional adobe bricks are unfired masonry units made from earth mixed with water. The earth generally contains sand and clay and may include gravel, while straw or grass is often added to help the bricks shrink more uniformly as they dry. The prepared mixture is placed in wooden moulds, compacted and levelled; after being removed from the moulds, the bricks are dried for several days and then turned on edge to continue curing.
Adobe bricks have no universal dimensions, and their size and weight vary according to local practice and period. A New Mexico State University guide, for example, lists several common formats ranging from 10 cm × 20 cm × 41 cm (4 by 8 by 16 inches) to 13 cm × 30 cm × 46 cm (5 by 12 by 18 inches), weighing approximately 13 to 27 kg (28 to 59 pounds).
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Adobe” as building material of earth and organic materials. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the places & architecture register because the source frames it as building material of earth and organic materials. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Place names and jurisdictional language are key evidence: both can reveal earlier catalogue descriptions and overlooked record series. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 18, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q183496. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference.
Modern boundaries and familiar names can conceal earlier jurisdictions or structures that do not align with the present site. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Adobe”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Adobe primary sources, Adobe archive and Adobe research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Adobe”?
- Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
- What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Adobe” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.