Schematic diagram of bell-shaped storage pit.
Crushed pot in storage pit, BBB Motor site.
|
Activities requiring light, air, or which resulted in an unsightly or smelly
mess often took place at facilities outside the house. Wooden racks for drying
meat and gourds, maize, and other organic materials, for example, likely
required the space, air, and light outside of the house. Many of the isolated
postholes revealed during the excavation of Mississippian residential sites are
probably the only remnants of these sorts of facilities.
Other facilities, notably storage pits, garbage pits, and hearths, leave more
direct evidence of their function. Like pits inside the home, those outside its
walls were dug out of the soft alluvial earth and typically displayed
vertical walls, or less often a bell-shape. To prevent spoilage and loss to
vermin, many foods were placed in baskets and storage jars in the pits. The
pits may well have been lined with mats as well. Some pit floors were
"tiled" with limestone slabs and may have been covered by mats or animal
hides.
Excavation of a granary showing semi-subterranean
construction, Cahokia Tract 15B.
|