An
earth lodge is a semi-subterranean building covered partially or completely with earth, best known from the
Native American cultures of the
Great Plains and
Eastern Woodlands. Most earth lodges are circular in construction with a dome-like roof, often with a central or slightly offset smoke hole at the apex of the dome. Earth lodges are well-known from the more-sedentary tribes of the Plains such as the
Hidatsa,
Mandan, and
Arikara, but they have also been identified
archaeologically among sites of the
Mississippian culture in the eastern United States.