Follow the instruction to Find an example of art or architecture from American history since 1877 - Essay Example

Sod House Sod houses were most prominent in 1870s in American (Barns 1970). They were built due to lack of trees or stonesto use in construction of houses. The only available material for building that the community had to rely on was praire sod. Sod comprised of the top layer of the soil with grass, their roots, and the dirt attached to the roots. Cutting sod was the most difficult part during construction since they lacked necessary equipments. People used to cut sod from areas they intended to build the houses.

It helped to keep away burrowing animals such as snakes, insects, and vermin. Many houses were huge with many rooms, but the floor and walls were full of dirt. Despite the fact that sod houses were full of dirt and mud falling from the ceiling, the society was proud of them. Some people were much comfortable, and they lived even for decades. It indicates that the society had limited resources, and many lived in poverty. In addition, the sod houses were used to keep away dangerous animals, insects, and snakes that outline that people used to live in the forest or bushy grassland.

The preparation of sods and construction of houses involved much tedious work which required a lot of efforts. During this time, people worked together as a community in order to combine the effort. It clearly indicates that it was the culture for the people to live in unity. The smoothening of the inner walls by plastering and the use of cooking ports in cooking also shows that the people did craft work (Barns, 1970). Additionally, the use of agricultural equipments in cutting the rod evidenced that the ancient American society relied on agriculture for food.

ReferenceBarns, G. (1970). The Sod House: Volume 511 of Bison books. New York: U of Nebraska Press.