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Native Americans did not build any kind of dwelling with mud, which is too unstable to build with.

Perhaps you are thinking of "earth lodges", made by the Mandans, Arikaras, Hidatsas, Pawnees and many of the marginally Plains tribes. These were semi-subterranean, starting with a shallow circular hole about 1 or 2 feet deep in the ground and perhaps 90 feet across. In the middle were erected four or more stout upright posts, each forked at the top, with horizontal posts laid to join the tops in a square or circle shape.

Much shorter posts were then erected around the edge of the building and roof beams were laid radiating downwards, leaving a central smoke hole; an entrance porch was also added on the east side.

The entire structure was then covered with twigs, then a layer of turf or bundles of dried grass, then a thick layer of waterproof clay. The Pawnees used sheets of elm bark to prevent the clay falling through the roof radials.

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13y ago

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