Where the Rivers Run North

Archaeological research suggests that the development of the Casas Grandes Culture, centered around the UNESCO World Heritage Site Paquimé, was not solely due to immigration from the Ancestral Pueblos during the Medieval Drought. Instead, it likely emerged from local population growth and adaptation in northern Chihuahua's valleys, including those of the Rio Grande, Gila, Salt Rivers, and Río Casas Grandes. This challenges earlier theories that attributed the culture's origins primarily to southern migration. The study integrates archaeological evidence with environmental data to re-evaluate the region's complex history, highlighting its role as a dynamic corridor for human movement, trade, and cultural exchange across millennia.

Hills, J. (Ed.). (2012). Where the Rivers Run North. Journal of the Southwest, 54(1), 1–5. https://doi.org/10.1353/jsw.2012.0009