Painting of Mississippian house construction.

Mississippian buildings were of pole and thatch construction. A framework of wooden poles was first set into a two- to three-foot dug trench. The trench was then filled in and the poles lashed together with saplings. The interior and sometimes exterior walls were either covered with layers of woven mats or were plastered with a mixture of clay and grass (daub). Bundles of prairie grass thatching covered the roofs. Most dwellings housed single families and averaged 12 X 18 feet. Other structures included council lodges, communal buildings, and grain storage. Those on top of mounds were ceremonial structures or homes of the elite and rulers. Small circular structures have been found at Cahokia Mounds that were likely sweat lodges.