Archaeology without Borders: Contact, Commerce, and Change in the U.S. Southwest and Northwestern Mexico

20. The Cultural Landscape of Cliff Houses in the Sierra Madre Occidental, Chihuahua

This study examines cultural landscapes in the highland catchment area of the Río Papigochic and its tributaries, the Río Chico and the Río Tutuaca, in the Sierra Madre Occidental in the northeastern part of the state of Chihuahua. The central part of the project is in the municipality of Madera in that state (Figure 20.1). In general, the ecosystems of the Huápoca and Sírupa canyons and the highland catchment area of the Papigochic are very fragile, and conservation of the region’s immense biodiversity is important. Among other considerations, the region is a migratory bird route and is important for the hydraulic recharging of areas of the Chihuahuan semidesert ecosystem. Humans have inhabited the canyons of this region for thousands of years. Among the most significant traces left by humans are the cave sites, or cliff dwellings , earthen architectural structures built in rocky shelters. These complexes have been identified as part of the Casas Grandes Culture, although the reach of this influence has yet to be established. More than 150 cliff dwellings have been recorded in this part of the Sierra Madre, representing one of the most dispersed and extensive populations in northern Mexico. Given their natural and cultural characteristics , these resources are unique not only for Mexico but also in terms of the Eduardo Gamboa Carrera and Federico J. Mancera-Valencia The Cultural Landscape of Cliff Houses in the Sierra Madre Occidental, Chihuahua 20 355 Figure 20.1. Map of northeastern Chihuahua, showing the distribution of cliff-house sites. The Cultural Landscape of Cliff Houses in the Sierra Madre Occidental, Chihuahua 357 cultural diversity of the southwestern United States. These sites possess aesthetic and scientific value, yet they remain largely unknown to researchers studying the archaeology of the Southwest. Through the project “Sites of the Highland Province of Paquimé,” the Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia (INAH) has begun to document and preserve sites in the mountains of Chihuahua. An inventory of the cultural resources of the Madera region was undertaken in 2003. This first phase of this project, “Integral Conservation of the Madera Region,” was made possible by a grant from the J. M. Kaplan Foundation and the support of the World Monuments Fund and the Wilson Fund to help preserve the cultural heritage of Mexico. Thus far, archaeological excavations have been undertaken in the mountain basin of the Río Papigochic and in the Sírupa and Huápoca areas, a region nearly 120 kilometers in length. The cultures of this region have been investigated, and an inventory of archaeological sites has been completed. One component of the project has been the implementation of a conservation program within the city of Madera, a community committed to managing these sites and the natural landscape (Gamboa Carrera 2001). At some cave sites, including Cueva de Ranchería and Cueva de Apache in Sírupa Canyon and Cueva Grande and Conjunto Huápoca (the Huápoca Complex ) in Huápoca Canyon, architectural measurements and conservation projects have been undertaken. These efforts have included the documentation of these cultural properties, including the archaeological materials within their immediate boundaries. This has been done using specialized archaeological techniques, facilitating the interpretation of cultural activities associated with the excavated material. These techniques were also utilized for the present study. THE CULTURAL LANDSCAPE AS INTERPRETIVE MODEL The concept of landscape was initially documented through the field of geography . The German geographer A. Hommeyerem introduced the word “landscape” (die landshaft)1 to scientific and geographic discourse. This term was understood to mean the sum of all areas as observed from a higher vantage point and as represented by their association with and situation from nearby mountains, forests, and other significant features on earth (Mateo 1982). More pragmatic definitions of landscape also exist and serve as points of reference for regional studies, making it easier to order the descriptive data. These have been applied in a homogeneous manner to the concept of region, without any sense of classification or categorization of the physical elements of terrestrial space. Even simpler definitions exist for commercial use, as advertisements for tourist programs or to promote views of a supposedly pristine nature (Mancera-Valencia 2002:92). Geographer Pierre Gourou (1984) considered landscapes “united to man’s interventions . . . . From their first examination—be it through direct observation or by means of maps or aerial photographs (and satellite images)—landscapes show Eduardo Gamboa Carrera...