Earthen Architecture in the Northern United States

“Earthen Architecture in the Northern United States: European Traditions in Earthen Construction” by Richard Pieper

“In the United States, the use of earth for building is most frequently associated with Hispano-American traditions of adobe construction in the Southwest. There is also, however, in the northern United States a significant tradition of earthen wall construction that is related to techniques of northern European immigrants.”

Paquime Ruins

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The Paquime ruins, located near Nuevo Casas Grandes in the state of Chihuahua, Mexico, is a archeological, sculptural and architectural wonder. Paquime emerged from shadowy origins early in the thirteenth century. It became the largest and most culturally complex settlement in northern Mexico and the southwestern United States. Much like the Hohokam to the north and west, the Paquime people began building rectangular walled surface structures next to their pithouse lodges late in the first millennium.