Casas Grandes

Casas Grandes (Spanish for Great Houses; also known as Paquim) 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. Regarded as one of the most significant archaeological zones in the northwestern region, Casas Grandes is centered in a wide, fertile valley on the Casas Grandes or San Miguel river, some 35 miles (56 km) south of Janos and 150 miles (240 km) northwest of the state capital, the city of Chihuahua. The archaeological zone is contained within the eponymous modern municipio (municipality) of Casas Grandes. The valley and region has long been inhabited by indigenous groups.