Casas Grandes (Spanish for Great Houses; also known as Paquimé)
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. Developed as multi-storied
dwellings about 1350 CE after earlier settlement beginning after
1130 CE, the community was abandoned approximately 1450 CE.
Regarded as one of the most significant archaeological zones in
the northwestern region, Casas Grandes is located in a wide,
fertilevalley on the Casas Grandes or San Miguel River, 35 miles
(56 km) south of Janos and 150 miles (240 km) northwest of the
state capital, the city of Chihuahua. The settlement relied on
irrigation to support its agriculture. Casas Grandes has been
designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The archaeological zone
is contained within the eponymous modern municipio
(municipality) of Casas Grandes. The valley and region have been
inhabited by indi