Longhouse video

IN THIS VIDEO, we see a model of an Iroquoian longhouse. Its structure is made of large wooden poles, rounded at the top and covered with bark. The typical longhouse looks like a loaf of bread, rounded on top, with one end sliced off. On this side a small roof supported by four poles is erected. The other end of the house is rounded.

These dwellings were huge. Indeed, if we compare the average height of a person to one of the entrance doors, we can see that these houses were easily three storeys high. The length of a longhouse was just as impressive as it had the dimensions of three houses in a row side by side. These houses had no windows; the openings were the front and side doors as well as the square air vents designed to let smoke out. These air vents were located atop the house. On the model, we can see four of them.

Later on in the video, we see two round earthenware vessels placed right next to a door on one side of the house. The following image shows us a close-up of the air vents on the roof.

The last shots depict the longhouse interior. We can clearly see the large rounded poles that provide the support structure. Lines have been stretched just under the roof of the house to dry corncobs. On each side of the inner walls, on the long sides, large platforms have been erected, each a storey high. There are four of these platforms, or two on each side. As these platforms are used as sleeping areas, dining areas and workplaces, different objects, rolled-up skins, tools and containers have been placed there. On the ground of the house, pottery has been placed near the hearths where fires are made.