Casas Grandes

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Casas Grandes (Great Houses), a small village in Mexico, in the state of Chihuahua, situated on the Casas Grandes or San Miguel river, about 35 m. S. of Janos and 150 m. N.W. of the city of Chihuahua. The community is centered in a wide, fertile valley long inhabited by indigenous people. The railway from Ciudad Juárez to Terrazas passes through the modern town.

1 Archeological ruins
2 Pre-Columbian culture
3 See also
4 References

[edit] Archeological ruins

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 in. thick, and of irregular length, generally about 3 ft., probably formed and dried in place. The thick walls seem to have been plastered both inside and outside. A principal structure extended 800 ft. from north to south, and 250 ft. east to west; generally rectangular, and appears to have consisted of three separate units joined by galleries or lines of lower buildings.

The living spaces evidently varied in size from mere closets to extensive courtyards. Walls at many of the angles stand 40 to 50 feet high, and indicate an original elevation of up to six of seven stories. Ruins about 450 ft. 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.

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, metates or corn-grinders, and earthenware pottery vessels of various kinds.

Mexican artist Juan Quezada, a descendant of native peoples of the region, has been credited with the modern revival of Casas Grandes ceramics. Largely self taught, although his mother's relatives were traditional potters, Quezada's work shows continuity from the pre-Columbian art tradition rather than from European techniques. His work incorporates elements from the work of the Raramuri people as well as the peoples of the Casas Grandes Valley.

[edit] Pre-Columbian culture

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 ball courts, 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, and 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 Paquime 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. Excavations in one compound produced eggshell fragments, bird skeletons and traces of wooden perches which led to the conclusion that the community raised macaws, perhaps for their colorful feathers. This community was almost completely rebuilt during the 14th century. Multi-storied apartment buildings replaced the smaller dwellings. Paguime was abandoned in the early 15th century.

Ruins similar to those of Casas Grandes exist near the Gila, the Salinas, and the Colorado and it is probable that they all represent one cultural group related to the Mogollon culture to the north. 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.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

Cahill, Rick. The Story of Casas Grandes Pottery. Bodjum Books, 1991. ISBN 0-9630853-0-1
Fagan, Brian M. Ancient North America: The Archaeology of a Continent. Thames and Hudson Ltd, London, 1995. ISBN 0-500-05075-9.
This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.