It can reveal where posts were placed.

It can indicate the shape of a building.

Nearby concentrations of charcoal, pottery, stone, or metal can suggest how the space was used.

A house is therefore more than an architectural feature.

It is a record of ordinary life.

And ordinary life is exactly what colonial documents tend to ignore.

A Spanish chronicler was much more likely to record the name of a leader than the way a family prepared dinner.

Archaeology can reverse that imbalance.