page_title: Chihuahua (state)
section_title: Prehistory
hierarchical_section_title: Chihuahua (state) / History / Prehistory
caption_attribution_description: Las Jarillas Cave is one of the least known and hardest to get to archaeological cliff dwellings sites of the Paquime Culture at Cuarenta Casas, scrambled along the canyons of the Sierra Madre Occidental in Northwestern Chihuahua, Mexico. La Cueva de las Jarillas es uno de los sitios arqueológicos menos conocidos y mas difíciles de acceder, de la cultura Paquime, esparcidos entre las barrancas de la Sierra Madre en el noroeste de Chihuahua, México.
context_page_description: Chihuahua, officially the Estado Libre y Soberano de Chihuahua, is one of the 32 states which comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is located in Northwestern Mexico and is bordered by the states of Sonora to the west, Sinaloa to the southwest, Durango to the south, and Coahuila to the east. To the north and northeast, it shares an extensive border with the U.S. adjacent to the U.S. states of New Mexico and Texas. Its capital city is Chihuahua City.
  Although Chihuahua is primarily identified with the Chihuahuan Desert for namesake, it has more forests than any other state in Mexico, with the exception of Durango. Due to its variant climate, the state has a large variety of fauna and flora. The state is mostly characterized by rugged mountainous terrain and wide river valleys.
  The Sierra Madre Occidental mountain range, part of the continental spine that also includes the Rocky Mountains, dominates the state's terrain and is home to the state's greatest attraction, Las Barrancas del Cobre, or Copper Canyon, a canyon system larger and deeper than the Grand Canyon.
context_section_description: The earliest evidence of human inhabitants of modern-day Chihuahua was discovered in the area of Samalayuca and Rancho Colorado. Clovis points have been found in northeastern Chihuahua that have been dated from 12,000 BC to 7000 BC. It is thought that these inhabitants were hunter gatherers. Inhabitants of the state later developed farming with the domestication of corn. An archeological site in northern Chihuahua known as Cerro Juanaqueña revealed squash cultivation, irrigation techniques, and ceramic artifacts dating to around 2000 BC.
  Between AD 300 and 1300 in the northern part of the state along the wide, fertile valley on the San Miguel River the Casas Grandes (Big Houses) culture developed into an advanced civilization. The Casas Grandes civilization is part of a major prehistoric archaeological culture known as Mogollon which is related to the Ancestral Pueblo culture. Paquimé was the center of the Casas Grandes civilization. Extensive archaeological evidence shows commerce, agriculture, and hunting at Paquimé and Cuarenta Casas (Forty Houses).
  La Cueva de las Ventanas (The Cave of Windows), a series of cliff dwellings along an important trade route, and Las Jarillas Cave scrambled along the canyons of the Sierra Madre in Northwestern Chihuahua date between AD 1205 and 1260 and belong to the Paquimé culture. Cuarenta Casas is thought to have been a branch settlement from Paquimé to protect the trade route from attack. Archaeologists believe the civilization began to decline during the 13th century and by the 15th century the inhabitants of Paquimé sought refuge in the Sierra Madre Occidental while others are thought to have emigrated north and joined the Ancestral Pueblo peoples. According to anthropologist current natives tribes (Yaqui, Mayo, Opata, and Tarahumara) are descendants of the Casas Grandes culture.
  During the 14th century in the northeastern part of the state nomad tribes by the name of Jornado hunted bison along the Rio Grande; they left numerous rock paintings throughout the northeastern part of the state. When the Spanish explorers reached this area they found their descendants, Suma and Manso tribes. In the southern part of the state, in a region known as Aridoamerica, Chichimeca people survived by hunting, gathering, and farming between AD 300 and 1300. The Chichimeca are the ancestors of the Tepehuán people.
caption: Cliff dwellings at Las Jarillas Cave, part of the Cuarenta Casas archeological site.
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