The Pithouse

Plateau, Southwest, and Arctic Housing

Dec 29, 2008 Jeffrey R Gudzune

Highly similar to the earth lodge, the pithouse (pit house) is among the oldest permanent structures in North America.

The earth lodge has been long established as one of the dominant shelters of sedentary communities in the North American Plains region. Using an excavated hole, upon which a sturdy frame is erected and sealed with compact soil, the earth lodge is an example of a partially subterranean dwelling. However, this type of architecture was not unique to the Plains region. The indigenous communities of the Plateau, Southwest, and Arctic regions constructed a similar dwelling that was known as the pithouse. The pithouse (also spelled pit house) and the earth lodge are similar in constituent materials but slightly different in overall structural design. Like the earth lodge, the pithouse is a structure that was created by sedentary communities for extended use.

While the exact origins of the pithouse are a subject of much debate, the oldest evidence of this design within the confines of North America has been dated to between 500 and 900 A.D. This figure corresponds with the cultural apex of the Mogollon people, who flourished along the borders of Arizona and New Mexico between 300 B.C.E and 1300 A.D. The Mogollon were among the first bands to develop this particular architecture. However, the pithouse as it stands today was actually an improvement upon another structure that was designed and used by Paleo-Indian bands (the term mound builders has often been ascribed to these groups). As indigenous bands originally migrated into North American over several thousand years, it is possible that the pithouse (or its similarly designed ancient relative) was the first permanent structure to be constructed on the continent.

Expert bow hunters, the Mogollon soon developed a complex agriculture that allowed them to flourish within the borderlands of Arizona and New Mexico. The development of an agricultural base allowed the Mogollon to settle into sedentary communities, which necessitated the creation of a permanent housing system. Around this same period of time, another indigenous cultural group was making the transition from nomadic to sedentary. The Hohokam, whose area of dominance extended throughout southern Arizona, also settled into a community structure that was centered around an agricultural base. Both groups used the pithouse as a primary residence.

To construct a pithouse, indigenous architects dug a circular (in some cases oval) pit three to four feet deep. Once the foundation of the dwelling was sufficiently excavated, an overlaying structure made from wooden beams was built around it. When finished, the outer structure of the pithouse resembled a trapezoid. The outer frame is held together with either sinew or packed earth and then covered by an outer layer of thatch. The outer structure is subsequently covered in compact earth.

Some historians have mistakenly claimed that the pithouse is simply a synonym for the earth lodge and not a separate dwelling. While the constituent materials of these dwellings are similar, they are not the same. The difference between the two structures is minimal, however. The pithouse has a flat, plateau shaped roof and walls that meet at a flat roof as opposed to the earth lodge which has a domed roof. Regardless of the parallel, the pithouse stands out as the dominant form of permanent housing for the Plateau, Southwest, and Arctic communities of North America.

Peter Nabokov, Native American Testimony: A Chronicle of Indian-White Relations From Prophecy to Present. (New York: Penguin Book, 1978).

Carl Waldman, Atlas of the North American Indian. (New York: Checkmark Books, 2000).

Carl Waldman, Encyclopedia of Native Tribes. (New York: Checkmark Books, 2006).

The copyright of the article The Pithouse in Native American/First Nations History is owned by Jeffrey R Gudzune. Permission to republish The Pithouse in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.