Casas Grandes and Its Hinterlands: Prehistoric Regional Organization in Northwest Mexico [Hardcover]

Michael E. Whalen (Author), Paul E. Minnis (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1, 2001

Casas Grandes, or Paquimé, is one of the most important settlements in the prehistoric North American Southwest. The largest and most complex community in the Puebloan world, it was characterized by its principal excavator, Charles Di Peso, as an outpost of the Toltec empire, which used it as a trade link between Mesoamerican and southwestern cultures. Michael E. Whalen and Paul E. Minnis have worked extensively in the Casas Grandes area and now offer new research arguing that it was not as similar to the highly developed complex societies of Mesoamerica as has been thought. In the first book of its kind in 25 years, the authors analyze settlement pattern data from more than 300 communities in the area surrounding Casas Grandes to show that its Medio period culture was a local development. Whalen and Minnis propose that Casas Grandes lacked extensive stratification, well-established decision-making hierarchies, and formalized positions of authority. They suggest instead that emerging elites used bribes, promises, and threats to build factions and extend their power. The communities at the periphery are shown to have had varying levels of social and economic interaction with Casas Grandes. This innovative study offers a new model for the rise and fall of Casas Grandes that departs considerably from the view most scholars have come to accept and will be of interest to all concerned with the comparative study of emergent complexity. It clearly shows that the idea of extensive regional centralization by Casas Grandes is no longer tenable and merits reconsideration by the archaeological community.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A must-have book for anyone who wishes to understand the archaeology of northwest Mexico." —Journal of Anthropological Research "A pioneering, exploratory, path-breaking work." —Journal of Field Archaeology "Whalen and Minnis take a giant step forward in the understanding of this site and the regional system in which they believe it occupied a primary place." —Traditional Dwellings and Settlements

About the Author

Paul E. Minnis is Associate Professor of Anthropology at the University of Oklahoma.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 242 pages
• Publisher: University of Arizona Press; First Edition edition (March 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0816520976
• ISBN-13: 978-0816520978
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,305,171 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Inteteresting book, views are somewhat in left field, January 19, 2008

By 

Jeff K. Romney (El Paso, Texas) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Casas Grandes and Its Hinterlands: Prehistoric Regional Organization in Northwest Mexico (Hardcover)

Nicely bound and formatted book. Views of the authors are a bit off base and a bit in left field in my oppinion. Still, a good addition to any Casas Grandes/Paquime enthusiast who wants to see contrasting views in current trends.