468 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1924 



lengthwise and having notches cut in it for placing the toes. Some- 

 times these houses are very large, giving accommodation to a number 

 of families. The whole structure is substantial and solid. 



The detailed construction of this house differs from tribe to tribe. 

 It may be said, however, that this type of dwelling, including the 

 entrance through the smoke hole, is found over a very large area in 

 the interior of British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, and Cali- 

 fornia — an area characterized by two things, aridity and the rela- 

 tively low or simple culture of the tribes. The most characteristic 

 forms are found perhaps among the Shushwap and Lillooet. The 

 distribution of tribes which have, or have recently had. such houses 

 is shown on Figure 1. 



MODIFIED FORMS OF THE PIT DWELLING: THE EARTH LODGE OF 



THE PLAINS 



In near-by areas, where different conditions were encountered, the 

 lodge became somewhat modified in form. For example, among 

 most tribes on the Plains the pit became so shallow that the struc- 

 tures can hardly be described as pit dwellings. The general form 

 was similar, but the space where the family lived was scarcely below- 

 the level of the gTound, the excavation going down in some cases 

 only one foot. In many localities, however, as in the houses reported 

 from the Oto, Osage, Omaha, and Ponka, the pit was dug four or 

 five feet deep. In some cases, as among the Pawnee and Hidatsa, the 

 houses were entered through the smoke hole. With the Hidatsa this 

 happened only on " rare or special " (ceremonial?) occasions. There 

 can be little doubt but that these earth lodges, w^idely distributed 

 among the Plains tribes, were the same thing as the pit dwellings 

 of the Plateau. The structures are always covered over with earth, 

 so much so that they look almost like natural mounds, whence the 

 common term " earth lodge." The sloping roofs of these dwellings, 

 covered w^ith turf, offered an ideal vantage point for observation. 

 On the inside the lodges were roomy and quite comfortable and re- 

 ported to be warm even in the most severe weather. The family life 

 grouped itself around the fireplace in the center. After the introduc- 

 tion of horses, these animals were often stabled in one corner of the 

 dwelling; this was the case, however, only with highly valued ani- 

 mals. Tlie best and most conniiodious dwellings of this type Avere 

 found, perhaps, among the Mandans who at one time had very large 

 villages on the upper Missouri. The Arikara and Pawnee also fur- 

 nish good examples. (See pi. 5, fig. 1.) 



It is interesting to note that some ancient houses in this region 

 are described as entirely underground, being entered from above by 

 means of a ladder. Thus, as we go back in the history of the region, 

 the resemblance of the dwellings described to the characteristic pit 



