Are Settlement Patterns Enough? The Re-Evaluation of Assumptions Concerning A Huron Chief's House Using Assembalge Variation and Artifact Distribution Analyses

Abstract

<p>Archaeological settlement data has been used to identify Huron chief's houses. Finlayson identified chief's houses (1985) at the Draper site, a 15th century Huron village in the Puckering Township. His interpretations were based on settlement characteristics such as being the longest and widest house, having the highest density of wall. sweatbath and interior house isolated post moulds, and having the greatest distance between hearths. This thesis analyzes two houses from the Draper site-one, based on the above criteria, a chief's house, and another a 'non-chief's' house. By examining the variation within and between the artifact assemblages and the distributions of artifacts through these two houses, another mean of identifying a chief's house has been tested and the settlement pattern analyses tested.</p>