Paquimé, the great multistoried pre-Hispanic settlement also known as Casas Grandes, was the center of an ancient region with hundreds of related neighbours. Sixteen scholars with direct and substantial experience in Casas Grandes archaeology present nine chapters covering its economy, chronology, history, religion, regional organisation, and importance.

Paul E. Minnis is professor emeritus of anthropology at the University of Oklahoma. He has studied Paquimé since 1984. He is past president of the Society of Ethnobiology, treasurer and press editor for the Society for American Archaeology, and co-founder of the Southwest Symposium. He is the author or editor of more than a dozen books.

Michael E. Whalen is a professor of anthropology at the University of Tulsa. His research interests include complex societies, processes of sociocultural evolution, prehistoric social structure, and ceramic analysis. Before Casas Grandes, he worked in southern Mesoamerica and the U.S. Southwest. His published works include books, chapters, and journal articles on Oaxaca, western Texas, and northwestern Chihuahua. His research has been supported by the National Science Foundation and the National Geographic Society.