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Houses Marker
Photographer: William J. Toman
Taken: September 4, 2010
Caption: Houses Marker
Additional Description: Two house types are found at Aztalan: circular and rectangular. Each contained separate entrance chambers and hearths inside. Although no rows of houses have been found, houses are densely grouped, suggesting some level of community planning. House construction began by setting wall posts into individual holes or within a trench dug to the size and shape of the house. The walls were then covered with branches and the same type of plaster that covered that stockade (made of grasses and clay) -- this technique is known as "wattle-and-daub." Based on historic accounts and the structures themselves, we can infer that roofs were covered with bark or thatch. People likely lived in these houses all year, and many houses had entrances facing south, away from harsh winter winds. Inside were pole frame beds, probably covered with tamarack boughs, deer skins, and furs. Fireplaces were either in the center of the house or by the doorway, with a central hole in the roof to release smoke, acting as a chimney.

(Diagrams)
The structure of two different types of Aztalan houses. The top drawing is a plan view, as you might see if you looked down on where the house was. The middle view shows the interior of the house and its construction; the bottom view shows how the outside of the house looked. Please add the following caption under the Stone Tools Marker photo: Stone tools last longer than artifacts made out of any other raw material. The stone is shaped into an artifact either by chipping, fine-grained rocks such as flint or chert, or by grinding and polishing coarse rock such [as] granite. Both technologies were used at Aztalan. Chipped-stone artifacts were most often shaped into triangular arrows, but also made into things like scrapers, drills, hoes, and knives. Ground stone tools generally included items such as axes, celts (a celt is an ungrooved ax), gaming pieces, and pendants. Some of the stone used at Aztalan was imported from long distances, and it is somewhat common to find such evidence of long distance trade at Mississippian sites. Mississippian craftspeople were very talented not only in how they made their tools, but also in the consistency with which they fashioned tools. There is comparatively little variation in kinds of points or styles or axes.
Submitted: October 30, 2010, by William J. Toman of Green Lake, Wisconsin.
Database Locator Identification Number: p134088
File Size: 3.470 Megabytes

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