Casas Grandes

Site information

• Official name: Archeological Zone of Paquime, Casas Grandes
• Location: Municipality of Casas Grandes, Mexico
• Type: Cultural
• Year of inscription: 1998

Casas Grandes, also known as Paquime, is a major prehistoric archaeological site in Northern Mexico. Founded in the twelfth century and developed into a major urban system, it was linked through trading networks with several nearby smaller settlements and with Mesoamerica. Archaeological study has revealed evidence that suggests substantial Mesoamerican influence. The settlement was abandoned for unknown reasons around 1450 CE and rediscovered in the sixteenth century by Spanish conquistadors who gave it its widely used name.

History

Casas Grandes was first settled in the twelfth century and abandoned around the fifteenth century. By no means an isolated settlement, it must be seen as part of a wider regional pattern of development. Studies of settlements in the region have revealed that it is possible to talk of the North American Southwest—including northwestern Mexico, southeastern Arizona, southern New Mexico, and western Texas—as a distinct cultural region, fundamentally influenced by the civilizations of Mesoamerica.

Key archaeological findings have suggested Mesoamerican influence across the North American Southwest. Ancient ball courts similar to those in Mesoamerica have been discovered, and certain symbolic elements in Casas Grandes culture, such as the horned serpent and macaw figures, suggest strong Mesoamerican influences. Casas Grandes is believed to have been a major conduit for the transfer of Mesoamerican products and influence further north. Seen in the context of this wider regional development Casas Grandes emerges as the last major urban center of Pueblo prehistory.

Several archeologists have conceptualized three phases to Pueblo prehistory centered on three regional systems: the Hohokam (c. 700–950), the Chacoan (c. 1000–1300), and the Casas Grandes (c. 1250–1450). In each of these cases, a major urban center was surrounded by smaller satellite urban settlements which traded with and were closely connected to it culturally. Artifacts found in all three of these urban centers indicates that contact with Mesoamerica played a major role in the development of the three prehistoric cultures.

The culture and social structure of Casas Grandes society remains a matter of much speculation. There is substantial evidence that both Casas Grandes and Chaco were to some extent hierarchically organized, and a large number of human remains discovered in Casas Grandes have led some archaeologists to conclude that the society witnessed violent conflict. However, the nature of its hierarchy and social structure, as well the regulation of ritual, largely remains a mystery.

Significance

In roughly 1450, Casas Grandes was abandoned for reasons that remain undiscovered. Some archaeologists have suggested war as a possible cause; however, much further research is necessary before any firm conclusions may be reached. It is unknown to what extent Casas Grandes influenced the future development of Pueblo societies. Some archaeologists have suggested that the development of intense sites like Chaco and Casas Grandes should be seen as an experiment in urbanism, hierarchical government, and regional policy that were ultimately rejected by Pueblo peoples. Certainly, later Pueblo society was characterized by decentralized, communal, and egalitarian village structures. Given the lack of evidence surrounding Casas Grandes, it remains unclear see how the culture evolved and whether it did exert a significant influence on later indigenous development.

Casas Grandes was, at its height, a sizeable settlement in which many thousands of people lived. It featured immense, imposing architecture, including the distinctive large mounds that give Casas Grandes its name. It had a planned layout, canals, large reservoirs, wells, and storerooms. There is substantial evidence of animal sacrifice, particularly of macaws, and intricate burial practices. When the settlement was first discovered by Spanish conquistadors in the late sixteenth century, it was far more imposing than today and was described by Spaniards in the 1580s as a "great city."

In the intervening four hundred years, looting and erosion have caused the city to decline, but it still remains remarkably impressive. Casas Grandes demonstrates the degree of urban development that existed in the American Southwest and the extent to which vibrant, long-distance trading networks connected these societies to Mesoamerica. Most significantly perhaps, sites like Casas Grandes reveal a dynamic, evolving, and culturally innovative society that has had a major influence on the approach archaeologists, as well as the wider public, take toward indigenous American societies in recent decades.

Bibliography

Archeological Zone of Paquime, Casas Grandes. World Heritage List. World Heritage Cultural Centre, UNESCO, 2016. whc.unesco.org/en/list/560.

Minnis, P. E. Discovering Paquime. U of Arizona P, 2016.

Pauketat, Timothy R., editor. Oxford Handbook of North American Archaeology. Oxford UP, 2012.

Watson, Adam S., et al. "Early Procurement of Scarlet Macaws and the Emergence of Social Complexity in Chaco Canyon, NM." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, vol. 112, no. 27, 7 Jul. 2015, doi:10.1073/pnas.1509825112.

Whalen, M. E., and P. E. Minnis. Casas Grandes and Its Hinterland. U of Arizona P, 2004.