Chihuahuan Archaeology

Northwestern Chihuahua, Mexico, and the U.S. Southwest share broadly similar pre-colonial cultures and sequences of change. In fact, the present-day international boundary artificially divides a single culture area. Even so, northwestern Chihuahua is not simply a southern extension of the U.S. Southwest. This chapter reviews the past of northwestern Chihuahua from the early pre-ceramic era through late pre-Hispanic times, showing how these cultures were similar to and different from their counterparts in the Southwest. It is clear that maize farming and at least semi-sedentary life were introduced early in Chihuahua, and this formed a basis for the rapid development of subsequent cultures. The apogee of the area’s late pre-colonial period is the famous center of Paquimé (or Casas Grandes). It is widely recognized as one of the most complex societies of the pre-Hispanic Pueblo world.