BYU Museum of Peoples and Cultures

Last Monday, 1 May 2017, we went on another field trip to the BYU Museum of Peoples and Cultures and Enoch and Kimball both wrote reports about their experience with the Paquimé exhibit.

The People of Paquimé 

by 

Enoch Thornock 

Paquimé (PAH-KEE-MAY) is an ancient city in northern Mexico, discovered in the mid 1560's by Baltasar de Obregón. It is the largest city in the Casas Grandes Culture region. The inhabitants were skilled in the art of clay pottery making. Interestingly, they made the pots by layers, starting at the bottom. While their pot making was unique, they also had a very productive trading business. They traded many birds. Hand made jewelry and their pots were also traded.

The people of Paquimé, who thrived from 1205 to 1260 BC, had a strange tradition of beheading and burying turkeys. Practicing their religion, the people worshiped both openly as well as privately. They built sacred shrines where they could worship. They cooked their food in huge stoves that could hold seven thousand pounds of food. Over the years, archeologists have studied Paquimé's amazing culture and way of life. Paquimé was and still is a fascinating city.

The Ancient People

by

Kimball Thornock

Paquimé is an ancient city in northern Mexico. Throughout the city, people made pots out of clay. Willingly, Paquimé people traded turkeys, copper bells, shells, and pots. If the people of Paquimé were still alive, I would excitedly ask them how they made their pottery. Having lots of space, the earthen oven, which was used by these people, can hold 7,000 pounds of food. Paquimé is very ancient.

Samuel, Brigham, Parley, Kimball, June and Enoch at the BYU Museum of Peoples and Cultures 

during the Paquimé exhibit May 1, 2017