The archaeology of houses and households in the Native Southeast /

Archaeologist Steere (Western Carolina Univ.) presents a detailed analysis of changes in Native American domestic buildings between about 200 BCE and 1800 CE in the US Southeast and Mississippi Valley. His data-rich presentation covers details as complex as wall construction as well as more generalized features, such as shape, floor area and interior divisions, and settlement planning. Seeking explanations behind the changes over this period, Steere rejects simplistic conclusions for change (like environmentalism, materialism, ideology) and concludes that while there were broadscale factors with widespread influence (for example, the introduction of corn-based agriculture after 1000 CE, which greatly modified human settlement), there were changes at the narrower regional level that could reflect a variety of historical factors. Combining data sets with illustrations of houses and statistical analyses, the book is an academic study indispensable for libraries serving programs in anthropology, archaeology, and history, and regional programs in the US Southeast. It will be of less interest to general readers. Summing Up: Essential. All academic levels/libraries. --R. Berle Clay, University of Kentucky