Dr. Paul Minnis presents, New Views on Paquimé. The size and massive architecture of Paquimé (Casas Grandes) in northwestern Chihuahua has impressed visitors for centuries, ever since the first Spanish entradas to the area. During the Medio Period, approximately A.D. 1200-1450, this site was one of the major and most influential communities in the SW/NW (Southwest U.S./Northwest Mexico). The Joint Casas Grandes Expedition’s excavations, guided by the Amerind Foundation and Mexico’s Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia, during the mid-20th century revealed even more impressive archaeological data such as 1½ tons of shell, hundreds of tropical parrots, an amazingly well-designed water system, and extraordinary architecture engineering. The results of several recent archaeological projects offer a revised and precise understanding of this remarkable community and its neighbors. This community, a large regional center, and neighboring cultures were a connection between the prehistoric southwest United States and Mesoamerican cultures through probable distant and local exchange networks.
Dr. Paul Minnis is a Professor Emeritus of Anthropology at the University of Oklahoma. He earned a Ph.D. University of Michigan in 1981 and was a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the University of Colorado. Dr. Minnis has worked throughout the borderlands, currently focusing on Paquimé. During the past quarter-century, he and his colleague, Michael Whalen, have recorded 450 sites and excavated sites in the region. In addition, he conducts prehistoric ethnobotanical research. Dr. Minnis is a past president of the Society of Ethnobiology, Treasurer and Press Editor for the Society for American Archeology, and co-founder of the Southwest Symposium. He has authored, co-authored, or edited 12 books and many journal articles and book chapters.
The public may attend an Arizona Archaeology Society – Desert Foothills Chapter meeting at no charge, except for the holiday party in December. The AAS-DFC meetings are held on the second Wednesday of each month, September through May. There are refreshments available at 7:00 PM and the meeting begins at 7:30 PM, usually ending prior to 9:00 PM. The meetings are held in the community room (Maitland Hall) at The Good Shepard of the Hills Episcopal Church, 6502 East Cave Creek Road, Cave Creek, AZ 85331 (near the Dairy Queen). www.azarchsoc.wildapricot.org/desertfoothills
