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Earthlodge
The farming people of the Great Plains lived in relatively fixed settlements, growing corn, beans, and squash, along with watermelons and tobacco. The bison hunters of the plains traded hides at these villages for agricultural products, and later, for horses.
The earthlodge illustrated here is an example of the earthlodge structures created by the people of the upper Missouri River region in the Dakotas, including the Mandan and Hidatsa. Larger earthlodges were located in the summer villages, while smaller earthlodges with greater protection from tree cover were the people's homes during the winter months.
Diagram of Hidatsa earthlodge based on Nabokov and Easton 1989
In this example, four central posts were joined by upper cross beams. An outer ring of posts and beams created a circle. Longer posts extended from the outer circle to the central frame, forming roof rafters. Sidewalls were created from vertical or slanting posts or planks. The entire structure was covered with sticks and brush, then topped with a thick layer of earth or sod.
Women owned the earthlodges and supervised construction in the Mandan and Hidatsa cultures. Women planned the structures and laid out the dimensions, while men were responsible for cutting the necessary wood and constructing the frame.
Source: Nabokov, Peter and Robert Easton. Native American Architecture. New York: Oxford University Press. 1989.
