Paquimé

Paquimé, also known as Casas Grandes, is an archaeological site in northern Mexico’s state of Chihuahua, near the town of Casas Grandes. It is the principal center of the Paquimé culture, sometimes called the Casas Grandes culture, which flourished roughly between AD 1200 and 1450.

The site comprises extensive adobe architecture, including multi-story compounds, plazas, and fortifications arranged around courtyards. It is noted for a sophisticated urban layout and an elaborate water-management system that used canals, cisterns, and drainage features to cope with the arid environment.

Paquimé produced distinctive material culture, including Casas Grandes pottery with black-on-white designs, as well as elaborate stone, shell, and copper ornaments. The presence of macaw remains and other exotic goods indicates Paquimé participated in long-distance exchange networks extending to Mesoamerica and distant regions of the American Southwest, with supplies such as turquoise, shells, and obsidian likely circulated through the town.

The site illustrates social organization and architectural planning typical of a regional political and economic center in the borderlands between what are now Mexico and the southwestern United States. Paquimé is recognized for its archaeological significance in understanding cross-cultural contact and the dynamics of desert urban life.

In 1998, Paquimé, Casas Grandes was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site for its key role in ancient trade networks and its well-preserved example of adobe architecture and urban planning in arid environments. The site remains protected and the subject of ongoing research and interpretation.