Dig Diary: Living in a Pit House

by Joe Watkins

The people who produced the archaeology of Range Creek lived in "pit houses" — structures built partly below ground and partly above ground. Further south, in New Mexico near Taos, the pit houses were totally below ground, with the roof beams resting on the ground and on top of four supports.

In the summer of 1975, I developed an experiment aimed at gaining a better understanding of the archaeological record in the Taos area. With the help of some other people, I constructed a pit house 12 feet in diameter and 8 feet deep. The construction itself wasn't part of the experiment — I was interested primarily in the day-to-day activities of the occupants and the ways the activities were impacted by the space limitations.

After constructing the pit house, I lived in it for nearly 9 months of the heat, rain, and snow of summer, autumn and winter. I contented myself with doing what I thought needed to be done to survive in the area. I made arrowheads, ground corn and other food, made pottery, worked animal skins, cooked, slept, and ate in the pit house. On the nice days of summer and autumn I lived mostly outside, moving into the pit house to sleep, eat, and to escape the late afternoon rain showers. In the short days and long nights of winter I holed up in the pit house, letting the small fire in the central hearth provide warmth and light for activities.

I realize now, nearly 35 years later, how elementary the experiment was. Most of the information I have is "anecdotal" (not backed up by scientific information) and based on personal experience. It does, however, help me understand some of the issues that the people of Range Creek may have faced.

The pit house itself, dug as it was into the ground, benefited from the insulating capabilities of the earth. Small fires kept the inside of the pit house warm, and provided enough light to allow me to do much of the work I wanted to do. Grinding corn was hot work, and I found it better to do this chore away from the heat of the fire and near cooler air. Making pottery required light from the fire, but if I got too close to the fire, the clay dried out too quickly. I took advantage of the interior support posts to make a frame for working deer hides, but also learned through experience that the fire was both a help and a hindrance — too much heat and the hides dried out too quickly and became more difficult to work. I figured out that you should not make arrowheads too close to where you sleep, or you'll wake up with sharp little flakes embedded in parts of your body!

Ultimately, I discovered that regardless of how well one cleaned the pit house floor, there were always left-over flakes, tools, and miscellaneous items. These items are part of what we find archaeologically, and my experience in "experimental archaeology" helps me interpret the activities and lifestyles of the people of the archaeological cultures who inhabited such structures.