From all indications this house was constructed in a manner similar to
that described by early Spanish and French explorers in the Caddoan Area
(Swanton, 1942: 148-154). A ring of poles, each with its base end set in
a deep hole, was placed in upright position around a tall center post
used as a work platform. The tops of the poles were drawn together at
the center and bound. Small tree branches were then woven, horizontally,
between the upright poles, grass thatching was applied, and, in some
cases, the exterior was plastered with a coat of clay mud. (Many pieces
of burned clay daub, some bearing impressions of sticks and grass, were
found on and above the floors of all the houses at the Harroun Site.)
After the house was completed, the center post, used only to facilitate
construction, was removed. Interior support posts may have been added,
and platforms for sleeping or storage were built inside the house.
DISCUSSION
House No. 3, a circular, wattle-and-daub structure with a southeastern
entranceway, was built on the surface of the Cypress Creek floodplain.
There were probably four interior roof support posts, two or more
interior platforms for sleeping or storage, and a centrally located,
prepared hearth with a clay base. Possibly, a low embankment of sand was
thrown against the wall around the exterior of the house.
The period of occupation at the house is unknown, but the scarcity of
artifacts suggests that it was of short duration, or else that it was
used for specialized—perhaps ceremonial—purposes. A domiciliary
structure ordinarily would have much more cultural refuse about it than
did House No. 3, unless it was occupied for only a very brief period of
time. Stone chips and a few artifacts in the floodplain beneath the
house floor indicate that the spot had been lightly occupied prior to
the construction of the house.
That House No. 3 burned is evident from the charred poles and bits of
heavily burned, wattle-impressed, clay daub lying on and above the house
floor. Shortly after the burning, a mound of sandy soil, undoubtedly
derived from the adjacent surface of the floodplain, was heaped over the
house ruins.
Burial of the house remains beneath a mound implies that the house had a
special significance, possibly of a ceremonial nature. Consequently it
may be conjectured that perhaps House No. 3 was a small temple or chapel
which was ceremonially burned and buried.
Mound C
Mound C was situated on the west bank of the lake, 350 feet northwest of
Mound B (Fig. 1). This mound was in the shape of a broad oval with its
long axis oriented in an east-west direction. It measured 62 by 52 feet
at the base and reached a maximum elevation of 102.6 feet, or slightly
more than three feet above the modern surface of the floodplain (Figs. 6
and 11, B).
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