Native American architecture—Plateau
Native American architecture in the Plateau region reflects the cultural adaptations and environmental conditions of the tribes inhabiting this area. Key structures included sleeping dwellings, sweatlodges, menstrual huts, food storage pits, and temporary shelters. The two primary types of winter dwellings were the circular semi-subterranean pit house and the inverted-V rectangular tule mat lodge. The pit house, typically between 9 to 15 feet in diameter, featured sloping earthen walls and a roof supported by poles, providing warmth and protection against harsh winters. In contrast, the tule mat-covered lodge was a larger, rectangular structure that could accommodate several families and served as a communal space for gatherings and ceremonies. The introduction of horses brought new influences and materials, leading to changes in architectural styles, such as the adoption of tipis. By the mid-1800s, traditional materials like bark and tule began to be replaced with canvas in various dwellings, reflecting a shift in both function and aesthetics. This architectural evolution underscores the dynamic relationship between the Plateau tribes and their environment, as well as their interactions with other cultures.
Native American architecture—Plateau
Tribes affected: Bannock, Gosiute, Kawaiisu, Paiute, Panamint, Shoshone, Ute, Washoe
Significance: Plateau architecture was characterized by circular pit houses
The principal structures within the Plateau culture area were sleeping dwellings, the ubiquitous sweatlodge, isolated menstrual huts, excavated food storage pits, food-drying scaffolds and racks, and temporary lean-to shelters. Though architecture type varied through time and spatial distribution, there were essentially two types of winter dwelling: the circular semi-subterranean pit house and the inverted-V rectangular tule mat lodge. The older pit house was an excavated, flat, circular pit measuring 9 to 15 feet in diameter, with gradually sloping earthen walls of 3 feet. The aboveground shape was achieved by erecting three or four top-forked poles which, when secured, accommodated smaller lodge poles to support cedar planks, which were covered with sewn willow mats. The exterior was made of layered sewn tule mats, with the apex of the structure being open to serve as a smoke hole and entrance up or down a notched log or hafted, runged ladder. Various grasses, old tule mats, and bear skins covered the dwelling floor.
The second type of winter village dwelling was the tule mat-covered, inverted-V type pole-constructed lodge, usually with no ridge pole. Often the floor was excavated to a depth of one foot. These rectangular structures averaged 30 feet in length and approximately 10 feet in width; they could accommodate three to six extended families. Entrance was usually from both ends, where firewood was kept; food was stored in hemp and pliable root bags suspended from the ceiling. This structure was often used for large gatherings and ceremonial rituals.
A major influence on southern Plateau architecture was the introduction of the horse, permitting greater involvement with Plains culture through trade and bison hunting, as evidenced by the adoption of the tipi. In the mid-1800’s, bark, tule, and cattail mats began to give way to canvas as a preferred covering material for sweatlodges, tipi dwellings, and longhouses.