Awatixa Xi'e Village

At the edge of a large village of earthlodges, collapsed dwellings left circular mounds of earth around hardened saucer-like floors, revealing the village’s extent and inviting estimates of its population. The bowl-shaped earthlodge depressions lie surprisingly close together, with barely enough room for corn-drying scaffolds between dwellings. On the sprawling prairie, this crowded design suggests either a close-knit social structure or a need for protection against marauding tribes.

North Dakota · United States