Etowah’s Wattle and Daub House

Etowah’s Wattle and Daub House. . Beginning in April of 2008, American Indians, Etowah staff, and volunteers constructed this wattle and daub house. Reminiscent of those that once covered this site between 1250 and 1325 AD, it was constructed using upright posts with woven green cane (wattle) between each. Volunteers applied daub or red Georgia clay mixed with grass and water to cover the wattle., Archaeologists and Native Americans worked together to design Etowah's new wattle and daub structure based on excavations at the site and cultural knowledge. While some of Etowah's structures were round, the majority built during Etowah's most densely populated period were square. Muscogee (Creek) Cultural Advisor Tim Thompson said, "In the past, when I visited [the Southeast], I didn't see much cultural exposure, but now it is coming along," referring to the history of American Indians. Very pleased to be asked to help with the house construction, Thompson believes the structure will be a viable educational tool for Etowah Indian Mounds., Take a look inside this reproduction. Imagine events that might have taken place inside a similar hut 700 years ago. Think about how a family might have lived back then., (captions) , Archaeological Plan View of Wilbanks Phase House Uncovered at Etowah , Archeological units dug by Dr. Sears in 1953 , Feature 7 discovered by Dr. Adam King , This plan is of a house to the west of Mound B. It was used to build our replica house. We placed our posts using exact measurements from this plan., Modern construction supports and tools helped the volunteers build the initial framework of the house. Green cane or wattle was woven between the upright posts by hand. The workers are Carl Etheridge (left) and Steven Stewart., While the wattle was still being woven to create the walls, workers began placing daub on the exterior. , On the left is an example of wattle and daub construction. Local clay soils formed the basis for the daub., This photograph demonstrates the attachment of the grass roof. Native grasses grew quite tall and were often very coarse. This type of roof served to keep out most rain and snow., Emman Spain (on left) of the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma and Tim Thompson of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation applied the first daub.