PREHISTORIC ARCHITECTURE: A STUDY OF HOUSE TYPES IN THE OHIO VALLEY1

"Man's home is his castle. " Whether this old axiom applies to prehistoric man is a matter of conjecture. There is now, however, ample evidence of various types of house structures—both dwelling and ceremonial—that have been un-covered and have been associated with the various prehistoric Indian groups that once occupied Ohio and the Ohio Valley. Present knowledge indicates that the first permanent houses were constructed by the Adena people between 1000 B.C. and 400 A.D. It was a time of "settling down " for small family or related groups. A sedentary existence brought about the beginning of simple agriculture and encouraged the development of pottery-making and the weaving of textiles. This is not to say that Adena's predecessors— the Archaic and Palaeo-Indian peoples—did not have shelters. William S. Webb (personal communication, 1956) has reported postmold patterns (patterns of bases of posts in the soil) of windbreaks and lean-to structures at Archaic sites in Ken-tucky. These features, however, provided only temporary protection from the elements. Too, natural features such as rock shelters and caves have been use