Ceramics and Polity in the Casas Grandes Area, Chihuahua, Mexico

New research challenges the long-held belief that the Medio period (ca. A.D. 1150–1475) at Casas Grandes, Chihuahua, Mexico, represented an evolutionary peak of pottery development. Instead, it reveals that fine polychrome designs with elaborate motifs were introduced around A.D. 1300 alongside older, simpler styles, coinciding with the rise of the primate center's prestige. This symbolic shift likely contributed to Casas Grandes' prominence but also its collapse in the fifteenth century. Importantly, the study suggests that post-Casas Grandes communities may have persisted, contradicting the assumption of widespread abandonment. The research combines dating techniques and ceramic analysis to reexamine the region's political and cultural trajectory.

Whalen, M. E., & Minnis, P. E. (2012). Ceramics and Polity in the Casas Grandes Area, Chihuahua, Mexico. American Antiquity, 77(3), 403–423. https://doi.org/10.7183/0002-7316.77.3.403