In the rugged municipality of Madera, Chihuahua, Cuarenta Casas preserves a settlement that turns natural rock shelters into architecture. The name means “Forty Houses,” but it is not a reliable count of buildings. INAH explains that the local name refers broadly to the numerous archaeological shelters in the region. The best-known structures occupy caves and overhangs in the Huápoca landscape, where walls, beams and small openings sit within the contours of the canyon rather than on a flat urban grid.
INAH dates one significant occupation to about eight centuries ago, when Paquimé was a major centre in the region and archaeological researchers later described related material traditions as Casas Grandes. That connection places Cuarenta Casas within a wider cultural landscape, but it should not be reduced to a simple outpost of Paquimé. The site’s builders adapted local caves and materials to make residential spaces, and its architecture reflects the choices of people who lived in the northern Mexican highlands.