At Plimoth Plantation, I observed Pilgrim homes of the 1620s and also the shelters Native Americans built at that time. I don't think we give the Native people enough credit. They did develop a high tech boat, the canoe, that was light, fast and strong, rather easy to build and capable of carrying men and supplies for considerable distances on a network of lakes and rivers.
The Native Americans also built a variety of warm, comfortable houses that protected from one to many families. Some homes were made from a frame of branches with reed mats or tree bark lashed in place. Others were more substantial structures made of packed earth, animal hides, even logs and stone.
Europeans never really adopted the Native style. Instead they spent much time and labor building the style of house they had occupied in England, France or Germany. . Tiny homes with huge walk-in hearths, stick and mud chimneys, massive timber-frames filled-in with waddle and daub walls. Homes that were hot in the summer, drafty in the winter and easily set on fire.
This Native American home is made of mats tied to a framework of saplings. A hole or two in the ceiling allowed smoke to escape. People slept on a thick mattress of furs piled on benches. All the materials were natural,recyclable, easy to collect and portable.
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