In the opinion of archeologist Eduardo Gamboa, the director of INAH, the Instituto Nacional de Antropologia y Historia in the state of Chihuahua, the pre-historic ruins in that area are the result of Anasazi migrations in their declining phases. Although ruins are scattered throughout the state of Chihuahua, the best known of these ruins is the site of Paquime that is located in northern Chihuahua adjacent to the town of Casas Grande. Paquime was the largest pre-Historic city in North America, covering 88 acres. Paquime is 27 times the size of the Chacoan site Pueblo Bonito, long thought to be the largest Anasazi city in the Southwest. Paquime’s rise follows the adandonment of the northern Anasazi sites such as Mesa Verde and Chaco. It flourished between 1200 and 1400 when it was mysteriously burnt and never re-inhabited. Charles Di Peso, the archeologist who excavated Paquime in the 50s and 60s, identified at least 6 other major sites in Chihuahua close in size or bigger than Paquime that have never been excavated.

Further to the south, the region around the town of Madera is densely populated with cliff dwellings. A handful of these have been restored by INAH and are accessible to the public while at least a thousand more remain untouched. Through our good fortune, the J.M. Kaplan Fund of New York, who has supported restoration efforts of these ruins, requested that we photograph some of the sites. There is something exquisitely unique about them, particularly a group known as the “Huapoca” ruins. Their sheltered locations look upon distant mountains and canyons that seem unending. Their construction is aesthetically sophisticated and decorative as well as functional. 

Some of the cliff dwellings have granaries that are very similar to current day versions found in southern Mexico called "Cuezcomates." Both versions have walls shaped like a pot and are built from coiled bundles of grass and clay. The only notable difference between them and the ones in southern Mexico is that they are sheltered by overhanging cliffs, and they don’t have thatch roofs.

In the presence of these ruins, thought seems to fade, especially in the late afternoon light when the colors grow soft. Then, in that quiet, as if by magic, something shifts, offering a glimpse of understanding into their past.