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Preface The earthlodge is the largest and most complex artifact present in archaeological sites on the Great Plains of North America. Untold thousands of earthlodges (a term we construe somewhat broadly, as we discuss in Chapter I) were built over a period of about a millennium and, in the past century, archaeologists have excavated hundreds of their remains. Yet despite the importance of the earthlodge, the framework for their interpretation is poorly developed. Archaeologists working with lodge remains seem to know too little about the considerations that went into their construction, how they became part of the archaeological record, what they symbolized, and how they were integrated into the social order. We have a wealth of manuals for the analysis of pottery, lithics, bone, floral remains, and so forth, but houses are features, and while techniques for their excavation may be discussed in field manuals, we have nothing even remotely comparable to these manuals to help with the analysis and interpretation of lodges. Although each of us came to the study of earthlodges via a different path, we began talking with each other about them in the late 1990S and haven't ever stopped. Over the years, each of us has written a number of articles and given conference papers on topics concerned with earthlodges. We have also organized Plains Conference round-table luncheons dealing with them. In late summer 2002, we decided to go the next step and organize a symposium for the 2003 Society for American Archaeology meeting in Milwaukee. We put out a call for papers and, in addition to our own contributions, received five other commitments. This volume has grown out of the symposium. We are pleased that all of the authors who participated in the symposium also were interested in contributing to the book and delivered written papers within a few months of the meeting. All papers were expanded from the 15-minute teasers presented at the conference, and most were revised in other ways too. To help bring together the diverse perspectives presented in Milwaukee, we have written introductory and concluding chapters specifically for this volume, based in part on some discussions we have had in person at conferences, on the telephone , and bye-mail. W Raymond Wood was originally going to be a discussant for the symposium, but a scheduling conflict precluded his atten- XVI Preface dance at the meeting. We have, therefore, prevailed on him to write a foreword to this volume and are grateful to him for agreeing to do so. We do not believe this will be the standard manual on Plains earthlodges -certainly we do not intend it to be. We do believe, however, that the papers assembled here sample the range of topics that are being addressed and reflect the diversity of types of research to which earthlodge data can contribute. We hope the volume will stimulate further research into these structures and the manner in which they structured the lifeways of their occupants. A book cannot be completed without the help of many people, and this one is true to that rule. Of course, all of its shortcomings remain our responsibility . We would like to thank Judith Knight and the University of Alabama Press for their interest in this volume and Kathy Cummins for her editorial skills. We also thank all the symposium participants/chapter authors for their contributions and for meeting deadlines with minimal prodding. Press reviewers Don Wyckoff and George Odell presented many helpful comments . We hope we have adequately addressed their concerns and know that their comments have made this a better book. W. Raymond Wood, in the course of preparing his foreword to this volume, also reviewed its content and saved several authors some embarrassment by providing a number of corrections of historical details. The Office of the State Archaeologist at the University of Iowa (UI-OSA) bore many of the expenses of copying, mailing, telephone calls, and reproduction fees and provided material assistance with manuscript production, a contribution that has been greatly appreciated. At UI-OSA, we are especially thankful for Linda Langenberg's assistance in the physical production of the manuscripts. ...

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