This article investigates the relationship between pithouse orientation and thermal efficiency in the American Southwest. Since prehistoric pithouse dwellers in this region did not have any heating facilities other than small fire pits placed inside their homes, investigators have assumed that the ancient inhabitants considered environmental variables (especially passive solar energy) when designing their adobes. To test this idea, some construction details from Anasazi, Mogollon, and Hohokam pithouses are examined, including pithouse orientation, depth, and shape. At the same time, two competing interpretations—materialistic and ideational—of pithouse orientation are compared.
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