AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |
Back to Blog
Hohokam houses4/1/2023 During the Early Agricultural period, postholes were dug around the inside edge of the pit and small saplings were inserted, the soil tamped back down, and then the saplings were tied down to form a dome. 1150-1450), builders also began to construct above-ground adobe or masonry rooms, sometimes arranged in a row, while still creating pithouses.Īfter completing the pit, the builders then had to erect walls and a roof. 500 to 1450) houses are most often rectangular or subrectangular (with rounded corners), again with protruding entryways. 50 to 500) can be oval, rectangular, or square, each with an entryway projecting from one side. Most Early Agricultural period (2100 B.C. The size, shape, and depth of the foundation pit varied through the years. Pithouse construction began with people digging a hole in the ground, probably using digging sticks, stone hoes, and baskets to loosen and remove the dirt and caliche (hard layers of naturally occurring calcium carbonate). Pithouses were used for dwellings, storage places, or ceremonial purposes. The recovered artifacts can date the house and tell what types of activities took place inside it, while animal bones and plant material can reveal the diet of its occupants and the local environment surrounding it. Archaeologists excavate pithouses to get samples of artifacts, animal bones, and plant remains and to study the house’s architectural attributes. In either case, the pits are identified by the presence of charcoal-stained earth, by wall and floor plaster, or by the presence of trash. Archaeologists usually find these pits in backhoe trenches or by stripping away overburden. Why dig a pit? Earth has insulating qualities and the sunken houses may have been warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer than surface structures. The main attribute of pithouse architecture is a pit dug into the ground that forms the foundation of the house. Pithouses, also called pit structures, were the most common form of Native American dwelling found in the Sonoran Desert from at least 4,000 years ago into the 1400s. Desert Archaeology employees are frequently asked “What is a pithouse?” and “How were they built?” The illustration at the top is by Robert Ciaccio.įor several thousand years people have been constructing pithouses in the Sonoran Desert. Homer Thiel explores pithouse architecture and how the most common prehistoric dwellings in southern Arizona changed over time. Answering Archaeology Questions: Pithouse Architecture
0 Comments
Read More
Leave a Reply. |