Architecture: There were two basic architectural styles used by the Wampanoags, both variations on a single structural type: A framework made of poles—large ends set into the ground, smaller ends bent to meet each other and lashed together—along with a series of horizontal elements that crossed the uprights at regular intervals and a covering of bark or woven mats. The smaller of the two styles was round in floor plan, and basically hemispherical in shape.[277]The larger type was oblong or oval in its floor plan, the side framework being two rows of parallel poles, retaining the rounded proof pattern.[278]
Dwellings: Both styles of house were used as dwellings; which one was used depended upon the season of the year. The larger house was a winter dwelling, the type used when the various constituent families of a village met to live together for that season. Dimensions varied, depending upon the size of the group that was living in the house.[279]They are described as being about thirty feet wide and ranging from fifty to one hundred feet in length.[280]Each family unit that lived in the house had its own fireplace, and a smoke hole was left in the roof over each of these.[281]There was a door at each end of the house.[282]
During the summer, when the Wampanoags were engaged in gardening, ocean fishing, and shellfish collecting, the smaller, round house was used. This is the sort of house, probably occupied by one or two nuclear family units, that early explorers saw strung out alongthe New England coast.[283]The size of the house varied according to the number of people to be fit in. Fifteen to twenty feet would probably be a good estimate of average diameter.[284]
The fireplace was located in the center of the floor, and above it was a smoke hole about one and a half feet across, which had a mat to cover it when the wind was strong.[285]Doorways were low—about a yard high—and had a mat or bark covering.[286]The location of the door was shifted as the wind changed; several panels were left with detachable coverings for this purpose.[287]Some Indians got boards and nails from the English and made doors and bolts for their wigwams after the fashion of the colonists. Both kinds of doors were fastened at night or if the family were leaving for a journey. In the latter case, the last one to leave fastened the door from the inside and left the house via the smoke hole.[288]
House frames for both styles of house were lashed together. One material mentioned for this use was walnut bark.[289]The outer covering of the house was either bark or matting. The mats were made of coarse grasses such as flagg or bulrush by sewing or weaving.[290]The bark used for house coverings was birch or chestnut.[291]It was removed from the trees when the “sap was up”. Sheets of green bark were placed under heavy logs to keep them from curling while they dried.[292]Bark-covered houses were considered to be warmer and preferable to those covered with mats.[293]
Bark covering is mentioned as being customary for summer houses of the Narragansetts.[294]Probably bark covering was the rule for winter village longhouses, since it was warmer. For groups dwelling along the coast and on Cape Cod, mat covering is most frequently mentioned.[295]Portability rather than warmth was likely the important factor in “summer” house coverings, since they also had to serve as covering for the hunting house in the fall and the fishing house in the spring. For this reason, mats were probably preferred over bark for summer houses. House frames were left standing when the family moved, and they were re-used the next year.
These houses were largely both dry and warm. There was a second layer of matting made of bulrushes on the inside of the house for added insulation. Since they were small and the fire was always burning, they were quite smoky, especially when the smoke hole and the door were closed against the elements. At such times the people inside often had to lie close to the floor in order to breathe properly.[296]
Other Structures: The Wampanoags had several other kinds of structures. Unfortunately, detailed descriptions of these are for the most part nonexistent.
It is reported that the houses of chiefs were different from the ordinary dwelling. They were larger, and finer mats were used for their walls.[297]Also different was the hunting house, which served as a base of operations for the fall hunting season. It provided shelter and a place to store the paraphernalia used in hunting.[298]Available data on construction tells only that they were of a more temporary nature than the regular dwelling house and that “barks and rushes” were used in the building.[299]Another structure was the dance house, built for ceremonial occasions. This was a longhouse measuring as much as one or two hundred feet.[300]
Other outbuildings in the settlement included: watch houses in the corn fields, menstrual huts, and sweat houses.[301]Of these, there is some information on the structural details of the sweat houses. They were commonly constructed by excavating a cave into the side of a hill. Sometimes an earth-covered extension was built out from the side of the cave, forming a structure that altogether measured about eight feet in diameter and four feet in height. The door covering was a blanket or a skin. The sweat house was placed as near as possible to a stream or lake, so that the bathers could plunge themselves into cold water at the termination of the bath. Heat was provided by a pile of stones heated on a fire.[302]