Casas Grandes
Encyclopedia
Casas Grandes is the contemporary name given to a pre-Columbian
archaeological zone and its central site, located in northwestern Mexico
in the modern-day Mexican state of Chihuahua. It is one of the largest and most complex sites in the region. Regarded as one of the most significant archaeological zones in the northwestern region, Casas Grandes is centered in a wide, fertile
valley
on the Casas Grandes or San Miguel river, some 35 miles (56.3 km) south of Janos
and 150 miles (241.4 km) northwest of the state capital, the city of Chihuahua
. The archaeological zone is contained within the eponymous modern municipio (municipality)
of Casas Grandes. The valley and region has long been inhabited by indigenous groups
.
Between AD 1130 and 1300, the area's inhabitants began to congregate in small settlements in this wide fertile
valley
. The size of the settlements expanded during the 14th century, ultimately resulting in multi-storied communities which may have housed up to 2500 people. The larger communities are characterized by I-shaped Mesoamerican ballcourt
s, stone-faced platforms, effigy mounds, a market area and an elaborate water storage system.
Specialized craft activities included the production of copper
bells and ornaments, the manufacture of beads from marine molluscs, extensive pottery
production. These crafts were probably distributed by an extensive trading network. Casas Grandes pottery has a white or reddish surface, with ornamentation in blue, red, brown or black, and is sometimes considered of better manufacture than the modern pottery in the area. Effigy bowls and vessels often formed in the shape of a painted human figure. Casas Grandes pottery was traded as far north as New Mexico
and Arizona
and throughout northern Mexico.
The largest identified settlement is known today as Paquimé or Casas Grandes. It began as a group of 20 or more house clusters, each with a plaza and enclosing wall. These single-story adobe dwellings shared a common water system. Evidence shows that Paquimé had a complex water control system that included underground drain systems, reservoir
s, channels for water to get to the homes, and a sewage system.
This community was almost completely rebuilt during the 14th century. Multi-storied apartment buildings replaced the smaller dwellings. Paquimé was abandoned in the early 15th century.
s or corn-grinders, and earthenware
pottery
vessels of various kinds.
Before significant archaeological investigation, sizable portions of ruined buildings from pre-Columbian
times were still extant about half a mile from the modern community. The ruins
were built of sun-dried blocks of mud
and gravel
, about 22 inches thick, and of irregular length, generally about 3 foot (0.9144 m), probably formed and dried in place. The thick walls seem to have been plaster
ed both inside and outside. A principal structure extended 800 feet (243.8 m) from north to south, and 250 feet (76.2 m) east to west; generally rectangular, and appears to have consisted of three separate units joined by galleries or lines of lower buildings.
The homes of the people who lived at Paquimé were circular and semi-circular pit houses and coursed adobe room blocks built around plazas. The living spaces evidently varied in size from mere closet
s to extensive courtyard
s. Walls at many of the angles stand 40 to 50 feet (15.2 m) high, and indicate an original elevation of up to six or seven stories. Ruins about 450 feet (137.2 m) from the main grouping consist of a series of rooms ranged round a square court, seven to each side with a larger apartment at each corner.
A 5000 pound iron meteorite
was found in one of the rooms, carefully wrapped in linen. The meteorite is now on display in the Janet Annenberg Hooker Hall of Geology, Gems and Minerals at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History
.
Excavations in one compound produced eggshell fragments, bird skeletons and traces of wooden perches which led to the conclusion that the community raised scarlet macaws
, important in Mesoamerican rituals.
A major collection of Casas Grandes pottery is currently held by the Museum of Peoples and Cultures
, Brigham Young University
, Provo, Utah
.
Ruins similar to those of Casas Grandes exist near Gila
and Salinas
in New Mexico
, and in Colorado
, and it may be that they each represent cultural groups related to the Mogollon culture. Early ethnologist Hubert Howe Bancroft
, in The Native Races of the Pacific States of North America, was disposed to relate them to the modern day Hopi
, sometimes known as Moqui during his period, but today's scholars are unable to identify the descendants of the
Casas Grandes people.
Pre-Columbian
The pre-Columbian era incorporates all period subdivisions in the history and prehistory of the Americas before the appearance of significant European influences on the American continents, spanning the time of the original settlement in the Upper Paleolithic period to European colonization during...
archaeological zone and its central site, located in northwestern Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
in the modern-day Mexican state of Chihuahua. It is one of the largest and most complex sites in the region. Regarded as one of the most significant archaeological zones in the northwestern region, Casas Grandes is centered in a wide, fertile
Fertile soil
Fertile soil has the following properties:*It is rich in nutrients necessary for basic plant nutrition, including nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium....
valley
Valley
In geology, a valley or dale is a depression with predominant extent in one direction. A very deep river valley may be called a canyon or gorge.The terms U-shaped and V-shaped are descriptive terms of geography to characterize the form of valleys...
on the Casas Grandes or San Miguel river, some 35 miles (56.3 km) south of Janos
Janos, Chihuahua
Janos is a town located in the northern Mexican state of Chihuahua. It serves as the municipal seat of government for the surrounding Janos Municipality of the same name. The 2010 Mexican national census reported a population of 2,738 inhabitants....
and 150 miles (241.4 km) northwest of the state capital, the city of Chihuahua
Chihuahua, Chihuahua
The city of Chihuahua is the state capital of the Mexican state of Chihuahua. It has a population of about 825,327. The predominant activity is industry, including domestic heavy, light industries, consumer goods production, and to a smaller extent maquiladoras.-History:It has been said that the...
. The archaeological zone is contained within the eponymous modern municipio (municipality)
Municipalities of Mexico
Municipalities are the second-level administrative division in Mexico . There are 2,438 municipalities in Mexico, making the average municipality population 45,616...
of Casas Grandes. The valley and region has long been inhabited by indigenous groups
Indigenous peoples of Mexico
Mexico, in the second article of its Constitution, is defined as a "pluricultural" nation in recognition of the diverse ethnic groups that constitute it, and in which the indigenous peoples are the original foundation...
.
Pre-Columbian culture
Fertile soil
Fertile soil has the following properties:*It is rich in nutrients necessary for basic plant nutrition, including nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium....
valley
Valley
In geology, a valley or dale is a depression with predominant extent in one direction. A very deep river valley may be called a canyon or gorge.The terms U-shaped and V-shaped are descriptive terms of geography to characterize the form of valleys...
. The size of the settlements expanded during the 14th century, ultimately resulting in multi-storied communities which may have housed up to 2500 people. The larger communities are characterized by I-shaped Mesoamerican ballcourt
Mesoamerican ballcourt
A Mesoamerican ballcourt is a large masonry structure of a type used in Mesoamerica for over 2,700 years to play the Mesoamerican ballgame, particularly the hip-ball version of the ballgame. Over 1,300 ballcourts have been identified, 60% in the last 20 years alone...
s, stone-faced platforms, effigy mounds, a market area and an elaborate water storage system.
Specialized craft activities included the production of copper
Copper
Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29. It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. Pure copper is soft and malleable; an exposed surface has a reddish-orange tarnish...
bells and ornaments, the manufacture of beads from marine molluscs, extensive pottery
Pottery
Pottery is the material from which the potteryware is made, of which major types include earthenware, stoneware and porcelain. The place where such wares are made is also called a pottery . Pottery also refers to the art or craft of the potter or the manufacture of pottery...
production. These crafts were probably distributed by an extensive trading network. Casas Grandes pottery has a white or reddish surface, with ornamentation in blue, red, brown or black, and is sometimes considered of better manufacture than the modern pottery in the area. Effigy bowls and vessels often formed in the shape of a painted human figure. Casas Grandes pottery was traded as far north as New Mexico
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
and Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
and throughout northern Mexico.
The largest identified settlement is known today as Paquimé or Casas Grandes. It began as a group of 20 or more house clusters, each with a plaza and enclosing wall. These single-story adobe dwellings shared a common water system. Evidence shows that Paquimé had a complex water control system that included underground drain systems, reservoir
Reservoir
A reservoir , artificial lake or dam is used to store water.Reservoirs may be created in river valleys by the construction of a dam or may be built by excavation in the ground or by conventional construction techniques such as brickwork or cast concrete.The term reservoir may also be used to...
s, channels for water to get to the homes, and a sewage system.
This community was almost completely rebuilt during the 14th century. Multi-storied apartment buildings replaced the smaller dwellings. Paquimé was abandoned in the early 15th century.
Archeological ruins
At the time of the Spanish Conquest, the district of Casas Grandes was studded with artificial mounds, from which looters took large numbers of stone axes, metateMetate
A metate is a mortar, a ground stone tool used for processing grain and seeds. In traditional Mesoamerican culture, metates were typically used by women who would grind calcified maize and other organic materials during food preparation...
s or corn-grinders, and earthenware
Earthenware
Earthenware is a common ceramic material, which is used extensively for pottery tableware and decorative objects.-Types of earthenware:Although body formulations vary between countries and even between individual makers, a generic composition is 25% ball clay, 28% kaolin, 32% quartz, and 15%...
pottery
Pottery
Pottery is the material from which the potteryware is made, of which major types include earthenware, stoneware and porcelain. The place where such wares are made is also called a pottery . Pottery also refers to the art or craft of the potter or the manufacture of pottery...
vessels of various kinds.
Before significant archaeological investigation, sizable portions of ruined buildings from pre-Columbian
Pre-Columbian
The pre-Columbian era incorporates all period subdivisions in the history and prehistory of the Americas before the appearance of significant European influences on the American continents, spanning the time of the original settlement in the Upper Paleolithic period to European colonization during...
times were still extant about half a mile from the modern community. The ruins
Ruins
Ruins are the remains of human-made architecture: structures that were once complete, as time went by, have fallen into a state of partial or complete disrepair, due to lack of maintenance or deliberate acts of destruction...
were built of sun-dried blocks of mud
Mud
Mud is a mixture of water and some combination of soil, silt, and clay. Ancient mud deposits harden over geological time to form sedimentary rock such as shale or mudstone . When geological deposits of mud are formed in estuaries the resultant layers are termed bay muds...
and gravel
Gravel
Gravel is composed of unconsolidated rock fragments that have a general particle size range and include size classes from granule- to boulder-sized fragments. Gravel can be sub-categorized into granule and cobble...
, about 22 inches thick, and of irregular length, generally about 3 foot (0.9144 m), probably formed and dried in place. The thick walls seem to have been plaster
Plaster
Plaster is a building material used for coating walls and ceilings. Plaster starts as a dry powder similar to mortar or cement and like those materials it is mixed with water to form a paste which liberates heat and then hardens. Unlike mortar and cement, plaster remains quite soft after setting,...
ed both inside and outside. A principal structure extended 800 feet (243.8 m) from north to south, and 250 feet (76.2 m) east to west; generally rectangular, and appears to have consisted of three separate units joined by galleries or lines of lower buildings.
The homes of the people who lived at Paquimé were circular and semi-circular pit houses and coursed adobe room blocks built around plazas. The living spaces evidently varied in size from mere closet
Closet
A closet is a small and enclosed space, a cabinet, or a cupboard in a house or building used for general storage or hanging clothes. A closet for food storage is usually referred to as a pantry...
s to extensive courtyard
Courtyard
A court or courtyard is an enclosed area, often a space enclosed by a building that is open to the sky. These areas in inns and public buildings were often the primary meeting places for some purposes, leading to the other meanings of court....
s. Walls at many of the angles stand 40 to 50 feet (15.2 m) high, and indicate an original elevation of up to six or seven stories. Ruins about 450 feet (137.2 m) from the main grouping consist of a series of rooms ranged round a square court, seven to each side with a larger apartment at each corner.
A 5000 pound iron meteorite
Meteorite
A meteorite is a natural object originating in outer space that survives impact with the Earth's surface. Meteorites can be big or small. Most meteorites derive from small astronomical objects called meteoroids, but they are also sometimes produced by impacts of asteroids...
was found in one of the rooms, carefully wrapped in linen. The meteorite is now on display in the Janet Annenberg Hooker Hall of Geology, Gems and Minerals at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History
National Museum of Natural History
The National Museum of Natural History is a natural history museum administered by the Smithsonian Institution, located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., United States. Admission is free and the museum is open 364 days a year....
.
Excavations in one compound produced eggshell fragments, bird skeletons and traces of wooden perches which led to the conclusion that the community raised scarlet macaws
Scarlet Macaw
The Scarlet Macaw is a large, colorful macaw. It is native to humid evergreen forests in the American tropics. Range extends from extreme south-eastern Mexico to Amazonian Peru, Bolivia and Brazil in lowlands up to up to...
, important in Mesoamerican rituals.
A major collection of Casas Grandes pottery is currently held by the Museum of Peoples and Cultures
Brigham Young University Museum of Peoples and Cultures
The Brigham Young University Museum of Peoples and Cultures, located in Provo, Utah, is the university's museum of archaeology and ethnology. The Museum of Peoples and Cultures has a wide variety of collections containing over a million objects...
, Brigham Young University
Brigham Young University
Brigham Young University is a private university located in Provo, Utah. It is owned and operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , and is the United States' largest religious university and third-largest private university.Approximately 98% of the university's 34,000 students...
, Provo, Utah
Provo, Utah
Provo is the third largest city in the U.S. state of Utah, located about south of Salt Lake City along the Wasatch Front. Provo is the county seat of Utah County and lies between the cities of Orem to the north and Springville to the south...
.
Ruins similar to those of Casas Grandes exist near Gila
Gila, New Mexico
Gila is an unincorporated town in Grant County, New Mexico, United States. It is 30 miles northwest to Silver City, New Mexico.-History:Gila and the nearby town of Cliff were settled in 1884. The area was and is primarily a ranching and farming community...
and Salinas
Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument
The Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument is located in the U.S. state of New Mexico, near Mountainair. The main park visitor center is in Mountainair.-History:...
in New Mexico
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
, and in Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
, and it may be that they each represent cultural groups related to the Mogollon culture. Early ethnologist Hubert Howe Bancroft
Hubert Howe Bancroft
Hubert Howe Bancroft was an American historian and ethnologist who wrote and published works concerning the western United States, Texas, Mexico, Central America, British Columbia and Alaska.-Biography:...
, in The Native Races of the Pacific States of North America, was disposed to relate them to the modern day Hopi
Hopi
The Hopi are a federally recognized tribe of indigenous Native American people, who primarily live on the Hopi Reservation in northeastern Arizona. The Hopi area according to the 2000 census has a population of 6,946 people. Their Hopi language is one of the 30 of the Uto-Aztecan language...
, sometimes known as Moqui during his period, but today's scholars are unable to identify the descendants of the
Casas Grandes people.
See also
- Colonia DublánColonia DublanColonia Dublán began as a Mormon colony, located in the state of Chihuahua, Mexico. It is now a part of Nuevo Casas Grandes. It is one of the few surviving Mormon colonies in Mexico .-History:...
- Cueva de la Olla, Paquimé culture.
- Mata OrtizMata OrtizMata Ortiz is a small village in the state of Chihuahua, Mexico, less than from the US-Mexico border. The community, population 2,000, is one of the designated localidades in the municipio libre of Casas Grandes, one of several such pueblos in a wide, fertile valley long inhabited by indigenous...
- Nuevo Casas GrandesNuevo Casas GrandesNuevo Casas Grandes, also known as Nueva Casas Grandes, is a city and seat of the Nuevo Casas Grandes Municipality in northern Mexico. It is located in the northwestern part of the state of Chihuahua, on the Casas Grandes or San Miguel river, situated in a wide, fertile valley on the 4,000-foot...