Pauls, Elizabeth P. 1964–

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Pauls, Elizabeth P. 1964–

PERSONAL:

Born September 19, 1964. Education: University of Iowa, B.A., 1990; University of California, Berkeley, M.A., 1991; University of California, Berkeley, Ph.D., 1997.

ADDRESSES:

Office— P.O. Box 327, Arlington Heights, IL 60006-0427. E-mail— bethpauls@gmail.com.

CAREER:

University of Iowa, Office of State Archaeologist, director/state archaeologist.

WRITINGS:

(Editor, with Donna C. Roper)Plains Earthlodges: Ethnographic and Archaeological Perspectives, University of Alabama Press (Tuscaloosa, AL), 2005.

SIDELIGHTS:

Elizabeth P. Pauls was born September 19, 1964. In 1991, Pauls earned a bachelor's degree in anthropology from the University of Iowa. Pauls earned both a master's degree in anthropology and a doctoral degree in anthropology from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1991 and 1997 respectively. Later, Pauls became the State Archaeologist and the Director of the University of Iowa's Office of State Archaeologist. Pauls's interest in anthropology manifested itself in her first book, published in 2005 by the University of Alabama Press,Plains Earthlodges: Ethnographic and Archaeological Perspectives.

Pauls edited Plains Earthlodges with Donna C. Roper. Pauls and Roper explore the lives of the Native Americans through the earthlodges they built. The team explores a number of different Plains Native American tribes. This work focuses on tribes that inhabited the territory near the upper Missouri River and its nearby tributaries. The Mandan Tribe, which settled in North and South Dakota; the Hidatsa Tribe, which settled in North Dakota; the Oglala Sioux Tribe, which settled in South Dakota; and the Cheyenne Tribe, which settled in a number of states in the West, are among the tribes discussed.

The book delves deeply into the history and significance of the dome-shaped earthlodges that these tribes built and inhabited. These earthlodges were constructed from earth, tree saplings, clay, and large wooden posts. The lodges resembled mounds from the outside but were far more advanced than they appeared. Because the lodges were partly constructed underground, the people living inside of them were shielded from the freezing temperatures and the snow of the Midwest plains' winters. The lodges also provided a place for Native Americans to escape the harsh summer heat. The lodges were constructed with a hole that provided ventilation so the inhabitants could light hearth fires inside the structures. The book also covers the maintenance and life span of the Native American earthlodges.

The Native Americans who built these domiciles also conducted rituals inside of them. The book details these rituals and gives insights into the part they played in famous Native American rites like the Sun Dance and various craft traditions.

One chapter in the book, titled "Confounding Stereotypes: Building an Earthlodge for Fun and Edification," focuses on the rebuilding of a Hidatsa settlement in 1970. The rebuilding of this settlement and the historic earthlodges took place at an event in Minnesota called Farmfest.

A critic for the Kansas State Historical Society Web site commended the work and said the book "provided insight" into these historic domiciles. The critic also urged potential readers not to allow the "academic timbre" of the book to keep them from reading it.

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Choice: Current Reviews for Academic Libraries, February, 2006, A.B. Kehoe, review of Plains Earthlodges: Ethnographic and Archaeological Perspectives, p. 1052.

Journal of the West, winter, 2006, Joseph C. Jastrzembski, review of Plains Earthlodges, p. 86.