Final answer:
American Indian groups in the Eastern Woodlands region used natural materials to construct wattle-and-daub homes. The Mississippian culture was known for mound-building, which included residential structures. These types of dwellings reflect the cultural and social dynamics of the Indigenous peoples of the region.
Step-by-step explanation:
The Indigenous Dwellings of the Eastern Woodlands
Among the various American Indian groups in the Eastern Woodlands, there were distinct types of dwellings that were common. The Indigenous peoples living in this area before European contact had diverse means of constructing homes, suited to their environment and lifestyle. A prominent feature of housing among these groups was the use of natural materials available in the forests that surrounded them.
One of the types of Indigenous housing in the Eastern Woodlands was the wattle-and-daub structure. This involved creating a framework of woven lattice branches (wattle) which was then covered with a mixture of wet mud, clay, sand, and straw (daub) to create sturdy walls. Another iconic form was the mound-building tradition of the Mississippian culture, which included both ceremonial and residential mounds.
Wattle-and-daub houses were generally found in small hamlets of the Hopewell culture, which thrived from the first century CE to 400 CE. These homes were functional, providing shelter and a communal living space for the groups that built them. Additionally, the relationships and trade that these people engaged in with distant groups show that communication and the movement of both goods and cultural practices were important to the peoples of the Eastern Woodlands.