Trade

Paquimé, Casas Grandes

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This UNESCO World Heritage Site in Mexico is a large complex of Native American buildings dating back over 1,000 years. Set on ancient trading routes, these Casas Grandes (large houses)—or Paquimé in the native language—thrived for centuries in the Chihuahuan Desert, trading goods between communities like Casa Grande, Chaco and Mesa Verde, in what is now the US, with Tenochtitlán and the Yucatán in Mexico. Culturally the natives here are considered Mogollon, like those who built the Gila Cliff Dwellings.

Paquimé is built on the ‘Chaco Meridian’, the same north-south longitude line with the great kivas—holy sites—of Chaco and Aztec Ruins in New Mexico. Why build cultural centers on the same longitude beyond line of sight? That’s a good question. Also, how?

Latitude lines (west to east) are relatively easy to calculate by measuring the angle of the apex of the sun or the North Star against a calendar. But calculating longitude to this degree of accuracy (~108.95º West) requires a time piece. Line of sight techniques might explain Chaco and Aztec being built on the same meridian, but not Paquimé, which is 400 miles away over rough terrain. So, like the Ancient Greeks, the ancient Native American original builders here must have been able to calculate time to within a minute or so. Perhaps, like the Greeks, they used a water clock—which works like a large, stationary hourglass—, as the natives here were extremely sophisticated users of irrigation systems, as well as calendars and geometry. That would explain how.

If you sat outside your home all night to watch the stars on the same day every year, the stars would rise and fall at the same time each year. You could even tell stories about Gods or great people moving through the heavens, like the Ancient Greeks did about constellations. And if you knew the day’s story well, you would be able to name which constellation would rise first. But if you tried telling the same stories on the same day but in a different town or state, the timing would be different. Only if you are on the same longitudinal north-south line does the timing stay the same and keep your narrative aligned with the movement of the stars. If the ancient people told such stories about the stars, that would explain why they built these kivas on the Chaco meridian.

Some Americans wrongly view Native Americans as separate tribes that were always at war with each other and didn’t build anything. I think it goes back to the US War on Native America, where the military used ‘divide and conquer’ as a tactic and spread misleading and demeaning descriptions of Native American culture. I was told by a docent at Hopewell Culture quite confidently that there was no evidence that parrots were traded as far north as Ohio despite obvious signs they were. And I was repeatedly told in the Midwest that natives never built any permanent structures, even nearby the native pit dwellings used by early settlers or near giant ancient mounds of a native city larger than London at the time.

Paquimé offers proof that parrots and macaws were traded from the jungles of southern Mexico to people in the north, as the birds could not survive the desert and were kept in pens and bred here. Bird shaped sculptures & mounds, elaborate feather designs, parrot & macaw bones, and aviaries have been found here. Despite being burned, Paquimé rebuilt and thrived, demonstrating that peaceful trading was the norm. A complex system of dykes, irrigation canals and cisterns were built here to sustain folks in the harsh dry climate.

This is a fascinating and important site that can easily be visited by Americans on an overnight trip. The excellent on site museum has information in English on every exhibit, as do the signs throughout the site. Fees were waived on the day I visited, and I found an atmospheric hotel with a good breakfast just a few minutes from the entrance. Without a single delay, I crossed and got my TIP at Santa Teresa, charged once and returned by Tornillo the next day. (There’s also an Evergo charger at the Sueco intersection, but you need the app and an adapter). The town of Casas Grandes is quite safe and quaint, and everyone I met was friendly and welcoming.

Here are previous my road trips to Baja and to Mexico City.

El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro

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The Plaza Santo Domingo in the historic center of Mexico City is the southern terminus of ‘The Royal Road of the Interior Land’, a World Heritage Site. As you can see above, some vendors still use traditional market stands on this trade trail first developed by pre-Columbian empires. The whole trail was originally a native trading route for turquoise, obsidian and feathers, and after the Spanish conquest, it was used for military, religious expansion and for silver. From this plaza, the road runs north through San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato and Zacatecas all the way through El Paso (‘the pass’) to Santa Fe (‘holy faith’). The US section—with the same Spanish name—is a national historic trail.

In the background is the Palace of the Inquisition, which arrived from Spain to punish the son of Hernán Cortés, Martín, who threatened independence in 1566. Public burnings of witches and heretics were common for ~250 years, until Mexican Independence ended the practice in 1820. The ‘palace’ now houses a UNAM medical museum, although there is a small gory museum of the inquisition a few blocks away. Mexico City is the largest and oldest city in North America, and it is well worth visiting to be able to walk in the footsteps of history.

Navajo National Monument

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In the center of the alcove across the canyon is the cliff dwelling of Betatakin. Due to Covid, the five mile guided hiking tour is currently suspended, but a 1.3 mile round trip hike to the the view above is open and beautiful. There’s also normally a 17 mile permitted hike to Keet Seel, a large and well preserved village, where guided tours are also currently suspended. Navajo Nation is taking a cautious approach to the pandemic, and masks are required. Please respect their wishes and culture.

Many visitors confuse this site with Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park, which has been featured in many western films, but that site is northwest of here and run by Navajo Nation, not the park service. This park service site is in the Tsegi Canyon area and preserves Ancestral Puebloan dwellings, culture and homeland. As well as builders, they were great traders of tools, pottery, turquoise, shells, parrots and macaws. The Hopi, Navajo, Paiute and Zuni are some of the tribes that trace their roots back to this site. The visitor center has some trade items on exhibit and a gift store.

Here’s the link to my visits to all parks in Arizona.

Natchez Trace Parkway

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The “trace” or trail from Natchez to Nashville is now a parkway, under strict protection of the park service which limits development. The National Scenic Trail, also a park unit, has miles of hiking & equestrian trails along the way. I’ve more or less driven the length now, with lots of side trips to nearby sights, and the dense spring foliage is beautiful, soothing and seems endless.
The first stop traditionally is at Mount Locust pictured above, and the route was typically used northbound, returning by boat. The trail is far older than our country, as French fur traders followed Native American trading routes that had been used for thousands of years. After the steamship was invented, most people stopped walking, which put an end to the proprietor’s lucrative business of selling whiskey, food and basic shelter at the ”stand” or simple roadside inn.

We tend to see history as inevitable, and don’t often think about what might or should have been different. But the people back then were constantly trying to learn, make changes and adapt. The land in the photo belonged to Native Americans, then was claimed by England, then by America, then worked by slaves who turned sharecroppers, and is now run by the park service. At each transition there was loss and opportunity. Only fortunate and adaptable people made it through turbulent changes. Injustice was resolved by war. No success or failure was inevitable. In hindsight, better choices could and should have been made.

I need to believe that we’re capable of learning, making changes and adapting. Dramatic change is inevitable, common behaviors suddenly become unthinkable, and those who can’t change usually suffer most. The extent of damage from the climate crisis has not yet been determined. Not all the coming extinctions are inevitable. The actions we take today make a difference to our future. We must stop burning carbon now, no matter how inconvenient, and we must prepare for the coming challenges.